Anyone standing today by the LuhaÄovice springs and tasting the salty Vincentka water would hardly imagine that the remains of an ancient ocean lie hidden beneath their feet. The LuhaÄovice mineral waters did not come into being by chanceâtheir story begins tens of millions of years ago, at a time when the warm Tethys Sea lapped at the shores of what is now the White Carpathians.
During the late Mesozoic and early Cenozoic eras (roughly 100 to 20 million years ago), the vast Tethys Sea covered a large part of Central and Southern Europe. Over millions of years, layers of sand, clay, and calcareous mudâsediments that geologists today call flyschâaccumulated on its floor. The characteristic alternation of harder sandstone and softer claystone layers is still visible today on the exposed rock faces in the valleys around LuhaÄovice.
Flysch rocks form the geological foundation of the entire White Carpathians region and the adjacent LuhaÄovice ZĂĄlesĂ. LuhaÄovice lies in the western part of the Carpathians, specifically in the so-called RaÄany Unit of the Magura Flysch. This unit is characterized by thick layers of sedimentary rocks that formed in a deep-sea environment.
Flysch sediments have one key property: they contain 20 to 25 percent carbonate cementâthe remains of marine organisms and dissolved minerals. It is precisely this cement that is one of the sources of the minerals found in LuhaÄoviceâs waters today.
The process of mineral water formation is complex and takes thousands of years. Simplified, it can be broken down into several steps:
Salt (NaCl) from marine sediments. Flysch rocks contain so-called fossil marine watersâremnants of original seawater trapped in the pores of the rocks. These âfossilizedâ waters are rich in sodium chloride, or table salt, which gives the LuhaÄovice springs their characteristic saltiness.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) from the Earthâs depths. Deep beneath the Carpathian flysch, at depths of 25 to 30 kilometers, carbon dioxide is formed. It rises to the surface along tectonic faultsâcracks in the Earthâs crust. As CO2 penetrates the flysch rocks, it dissolves minerals within them and enriches the water. The result is a sparkling mineral water saturated with minerals.
Iodine and bromine from organic remains. Tertiary sediments also contain the remains of marine organisms, from which trace elements such as iodine, bromine, and fluorine are released. It is precisely this elevated iodine content that distinguishes LuhaÄoviceâs waters from many other European mineral springs.
The mere presence of minerals in the rocks would not be enough. For a spring to form, there must be a path through which water can rise from the depths to the surface. In the vicinity of LuhaÄovice, this role is fulfilled by a system of tectonic faultsâdeep cracks in the Earthâs crust that formed during the folding of the Carpathians.
Geologists refer to the so-called LuhaÄovice spring structureâa specific arrangement of faults and strata that allows deep groundwater to rise precisely in the spa valley. The intersection of two or more fault lines creates areas where the Earthâs crust is most permeable, and it is precisely there that the most abundant springs emerge.
There are hundreds of mineral springs in Europe, but few places offer such a unique combination of conditions as LuhaÄovice. There are three key factors:
First, thick flysch sediments rich in marine minerals provide the raw material. Second, deep tectonic faults extending into the Earthâs mantle ensure a supply of carbon dioxide. And third, the specific geometry of the faults in the LuhaÄovice valley allows the water to rise to the surface.
The result is cold hydrogen carbonate-chloride-sodium acidulous waterâthat is, water richly saturated with carbon dioxide, with a high content of sodium, chlorides, and hydrogen carbonates, enriched with iodine, bromine, and other trace elements. Such a combination is rare on a pan-European scale.
Similar iodine-rich mineral waters can be found, for example, in Govora, Romania, or at certain Italian spas. Unlike thermal springs (such as those in Karlovy Vary, where the water is heated by volcanic activity), the waters in LuhaÄovice are coldâtheir temperature at the surface ranges from 10 to 12 °C. It is therefore not a volcanic phenomenon, but a result of the unique geological structure of the Carpathian flysch zone.
Among others, Michal ZĂĄdrapa devoted a detailed study to the LuhaÄovice springs in his 2014 bachelorâs thesis, completed at VĆ B â Technical University of Ostrava. The thesis clearly summarizes the hydrogeological conditions of the area and the history of the springsâ use for spa purposes. Further information on the geology of the Moravian Carpathians is provided by the moravske-karpaty.cz portal.
For visitors to LuhaÄovice, this conveys a single message: when you taste Vincentka or Ottovka, you are drinking water that has traveled a journey spanning millions of yearsâfrom an ancient sea, through deep layers of rock, along tectonic faults, all the way to the surface of the spa valley. It is one of the most remarkable geological stories in Central Europe.
Other articles in the series: The Oldest Residents of LuhaÄovice · The SerĂ©nyi Family · AntonĂn VĂĄclavĂk and the LuhaÄovice ZĂĄlesĂ
Karel KadlÄĂk · LuhaÄovice.cz