Nature in a Bottle – The Springs of Spa, 45 min., WDR/arte © 2007. A film by Claudia Schmid

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Synopsis

​The small town of Spa is situated in the Walloon region of Belgium, right in the heart of the Ardennes—a spa town with a 500-year-old tradition. Just outside the town, within the High Fens (Hohes Venn), lies Wallonia’s oldest nature reserve, a landscape of grassy carpets, pools, and bogs. It is here, in the raised bog of the "Fagne de Malchamps," that the story of Spa’s extraordinary mineral water begins. The landscape is often shrouded in thick fog. Rainfall is extremely heavy and frequent, while evaporation rates remain low. These are the crucial factors that facilitate the water's percolation and effective natural purification—all within a unique ecosystem. There are 300 springs located in and around the town of Spa, the purity of which has remained undiminished to this day.

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The company Spa Monopol utilizes these springs to produce drinking water; 500 million liters are bottled annually. This exceptional water also supplies the town’s new thermal spa complex. The film follows hydrogeologist Patrick Jobé through the misty forests to the springs and the raised bog of the "Fagne de Malchamps," tracing the water's journey all the way to the bottling plant where this precious drinking water is packaged.