Kuressaare was the first city in Estonia to become a member of European Healthy Cities Network in 1998, although the capital of Saaremaa has been an important health resort since the 19th century. In the 1820s, curative sea mud was discovered and in 1824, the first spa in Estonia was built in Saaremaa.
Ladies in bright summer dresses and parasols, and gentlemen in lightweight suits, came to take mud baths, wander about the park, and listen to concerts in the bandstand.
There appears to be no limit to the curative mud and the reputation of Kuressaare as a health resort seems to grow each year. Four grand spa-hotels, three of which are by the sea, attract tourists all year round with mud and other natural cures. The town is filled with people throughout the summer, but from late autumn to early spring, it is rather quiet and less populated. The air is better than in most European cities, so one can feel like he or she is on the healthiest vacation even when feeding ducks in the park, walking by the sea, or skating and skiing on the frozen sea.