History
The medical Institute in Brandýs nad Orlicí began operation in May of 1898. The building was commissioned by Dr. Josef Wieser (a student of the famous Dr. Kneip) and Jan Horský. Brandýs nad Orlicí became a spa town in the heart of nature with ideal railway connections with Prague, Vienna, Olomouc, and other major cities of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
The spa initially had 40 rooms available for 60 patients. Gradually, the building expanded. First, changing rooms were built, and in 1904 the new owner E. Rechziegel added two side wings for peat and carbonic baths, resulting in a total of 60 rooms. In addition to spa treatments, guests had the opportunity to enjoy the rich cultural life of the city and directly in the spa, where they would find a library, restaurant, billiards, bowling and a tennis court in the spa park. Guests came from abroad as well. The spa was in operation only seasonally, from April to November.
In the late twenties, the Institute was purchased by the ČSD Hospital Insurance company who began to reconstruct the building. The re-opening ceremony was held on March 7th of 1930 and was associated with the celebration of the 80th birthday of T. G. Masaryk. An average of one thousand patients passed through over a single year, and a patient's stay lasted a month.
After the Second World War, the Institute was renamed the "Tomas Sanatorium" in honour of the ČSD union leader Alois Tomas, who was imprisoned for participation in the resistance in a concentration camp and executed in 1943.
From October 1949, the institution was taken over by the Czech Central National Insurance Company and operation was extended to year-round.
In the mid-fifties, the interior of the building was substantially modified – it became a professional children's medical center for orthopaedic defects (ODLOV) for children 6 to 15 years old. The first patients entered in 1958. Since treatment sometimes lasted longer, an elementary school was established in the building.
Between 1990 and 1991, adjustments were made to the inner building to serve adult patients from 1 January 1992, when the hospital was given the name the Brandýs nad Orlicí Rehabilitation Institute.
