Healing Baths at Pyrmont. Bad Pyrmont is a popular spa resort that gained its reputation as a fashionable place for princely vacations in the 17th and 18th centuries. It is located on the River Emmer, about 6 miles west of the Weser, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Balneology is the branch of medical science concerned with the therapeutic value of baths, especially those taken with natural mineral waters. Balneotherapy may involve hot or cold water, massage through moving water, relaxation or stimulation. Many mineral waters at spas are rich in particular minerals (silica, sulfur, selenium, radium) which can be absorbed through the skin. Image from Metobius Schrift uber Pyrmont, 1556.