Govora Heritage Lab Heritage, community and therapeutic landscape

"Places care about people as much as people care about places. Health and wellbeing are now at the top of public policy concerns and the heritage sector has an enormous contribution to make, given the significant level of personal satisfaction that working in and with the past brings. By refocusing on personal health and wellbeing, heritage sites can explore new operating models that will help them become more sustainable in the long term."¹

Ben Cowell, Managing Director, Historic Houses

Spa resorts were conceived as therapeutic landscapes dedicated to health, care and wellbeing, where curative factors and the natural landscape were harmoniously integrated with the built environment and spa ritual - an idea supported by doctors, urban planners and architects alike. In Western Europe, they were often described as "hospitals set in beautiful surroundings"², innovative places designed to support healing and promote wellness. Architecture and u