Maria Treben Günzel (27 September 1907, in

Žatec Žatec (; german: Saaz) is a town in Louny District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 19,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Ohře river. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument ...

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

– 26 July 1991, in

Grieskirchen Grieskirchen is a town in Austria. It is capital of the Grieskirchen district of Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria border ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

) was an Austrian writer and

herbalist Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remed ...

who came to fame in the 1980s for her books.

Early life

Treben was born in 1907 in

, then

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, the middle of three daughters of the owner of a printing shop who died when she was 10. After the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the

Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and sk, Sudety) is the historical German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the ...

became part of the newly founded

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. In 1945, at the end of the Second World War, she and her husband Ernst Gottfried Treben were victims of the

Expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia The expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia after World War II was part of a series of evacuations and deportations of Germans from Central and Eastern Europe during and after World War II. During the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, th ...

. For several years they lived in refugee camps until they found refuge in Austria and settled down in

in 1951. She died in 1991.

Career

Treben became famous through her two books: ''Health Through God's Pharmacy'' and ''Maria Treben's Cures''.''Maria Treben's Cures'': The first was translated into 24 languages and sold over 8 million copies. Treben addressed seminars and presented at natural health conferences in Germany, Austria and across Europe, attracting hundreds of people. She is perceived as a pioneer of the renewed interest for natural remedies and traditional medicine at the end of the 20th century.

Remedies

Treben used traditional German and Eastern European remedies handed down from previous generations. She only used local herbs and always accompanied her remedies with advice on diet. She commonly used

Thyme Thyme () is the herb (dried aerial parts) of some members of the genus ''Thymus'' of aromatic perennial evergreen herbs in the mint family Lamiaceae. Thymes are relatives of the oregano genus ''Origanum'', with both plants being mostly indigenou ...

Greater Celandine ''Chelidonium majus'', the greater celandine, is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant in the poppy family Papaveraceae. One of two species in the genus ''Chelidonium'', it is native to Europe and western Asia and introduced widely in North Ame ...

Ramsons ''Allium ursinum'', known as wild garlic, ramsons, cowleekes, cows's leek, cowleek, buckrams, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic, bear leek, Eurasian wild garlic or bear's garlic, is a bulbous perennial flowering plant in the amaryllis family Amary ...

, Speedwell,

Calamus Calamus may refer to: Botany and zoology * ''Calamus'' (fish), a genus of fish in the family Sparidae * ''Calamus'' (palm), a genus of rattan palms * Calamus, the hollow shaft of a feather, also known as the quill * '' Acorus calamus'', the swe ...

Camomile Chamomile (American English) or camomile (British English; see spelling differences) ( or ) is the common name for several plants of the family Asteraceae. Two of the species, ''Matricaria recutita'' and ''Anthemis nobilis'', are commonly us ...

Nettle {{redirect, Nettle Nettle refers to plants with stinging hairs, particularly those of the genus ''Urtica''. It can also refer to plants which resemble ''Urtica'' species in appearance but do not have stinging hairs. Plants called "nettle" include ...

and

Lady's Mantle ''Alchemilla'' is a genus of herbaceous perennial plants in the family Rosaceae, with the common name lady's mantle applied generically as well as specifically to ''Alchemilla mollis'' when referred to as a garden plant. The plant used as a herb ...

. She treated a broad range of conditions from

psoriasis Psoriasis is a long-lasting, noncontagious autoimmune disease characterized by raised areas of abnormal skin. These areas are red, pink, or purple, dry, itchy, and scaly. Psoriasis varies in severity from small, localized patches to complete ...

constipation Constipation is a bowel dysfunction that makes bowel movements infrequent or hard to pass. The stool is often hard and dry. Other symptoms may include abdominal pain, bloating, and feeling as if one has not completely passed the bowel movement ...

and

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder in which people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy, ...

. She used her own recipes as well as traditional healing remedies like Swedish bitters that she used as a cure-all. Some of her remedies and advice proved to be controversial, such as some of the more esoteric ingredients used in the greater swedish bitters recipe ^{hich?/sup>. To this day she is widely read and referred to for her knowledge of European medicinal herbs.

Death

Maria Treben died in 1991.

Works

* Maria Treben: ''Gesundheit aus der Apotheke Gottes - Ratschläge und Erfahrungen mit Heilkräutern'', Verlag Wilhelm Ennsthaler, Steyr, 1980,
* Maria Treben: ''Maria Treben's Heilerfolge - Briefe und Berichte von Heilerfolgen'', Verlag Wilhelm Ennsthaler, Steyr, 1980,
* Maria Treben: ''Allergien - vorbeugen - erkennen - heilen / Gesund mit Maria Treben'', Ennsthaler (auch bei Heyne, München)
* Maria Treben: ''Streß im Alltag. Vorbeugen, erkennen, heilen''. München: Heyne, 1990,

References

External links

Article in ''The Canadian Journal of Health & Nutrition''. MARIA TREBEN: A Pioneer of Herbal Healing

Online reference of herbs recommended by Maria Treben to treat various conditions
* Health Through God's Pharmacy by Maria Treben.
* Maria Treben's Cures: Letters and Accounts of Cures Through the Herbal "Health Through God's Pharmacy".

Review of "Health Through God's Pharmacy"

{{DEFAULTSORT:Treben, Maria
1907 births
1991 deaths
People from Žatec
German Bohemian people
Herbalists
Austrian women writers
20th-century German women writers
20th-century Austrian writers}