Our springs

We are very fortunate to be the owners of several mineral water springs. It is our responsibility to manage the natural waters that these springs give us with care. A close relationship with nature is very important to us. We share with it the elixir of life: water.

We draw our best-known mineral water, Passugger, from the Theophil spring in Passugg. The Allegra spring is located in the neighbouring village of Malix. Passugg is home to four more historic curative and medicinal springs which are also members of our family – Belvedra, Fortunatus, Helene, Ulricus. These are not currently commercially exploited. However, we are currently working on a plan to relaunch Ulricus.

Theophil: Curative spring and mother of Passugger

The Theophil spring has been commercially exploited since 1896. It has grown to become one of Switzerland’s best-known mineral waters – yet very little has changed at the spring since 1896.

The Theophil spring is located a short distance outside Passugg in the narrow and wildly romantic Rabiusa Gorge. Mineral water was discovered gushing from the rocks here over 400 years ago. However, the spring was only given its name around 140 years ago. This was when Theophil von Sprecher laid the foundation for commercial exploitation of the mineral water. ((Link to History))

Pristine slate caverns

The Theophil spring water collects in slate caverns underground. These are hermetically sealed, meaning that the water is naturally pure. Our predecessors cut five tunnels into the rock and laid small pipes to the caverns. The temperature in the tunnel is seven to eight degrees. The dark rock is stained by minerals such as lime and iron. Natural formations endow the spaces with an intense and spiritual atmosphere. The mineral water bathing the stone all around creates a pure, fresh feeling – this is a place that never fails to move and inspire even those members of our staff with long years of experience. We feel privileged to have the fascinating task of tapping Passugger here and then bottling it in its naturally pure state, right by its source; this brings us joy every day.

Switzerland’s oldest mineral water brand

The source name remains an essential element of every bottle of Passugger. After travelling the shortest possible distance into the valley and into our plant, Passugger water is carbonated and then bottled. Passugger is the oldest mineral water brand in Switzerland. We see continuing the long tradition of our home town’s waters as a duty, and we are never tempted to follow fashions – because our water is just right, just as it has been since 1896.

And others agree. The NeueZürcher newspaper described Passugger as “probably the best water in Switzerland”. Passugger won a gold medal at the 1900 World Exposition in Paris. And it received a grand prize with a gold medal at the Zurich International Exhibition of Culinary Art (ZIKA) in 1930.

For us, Passugger is quite simply the source of hospitality since 1896.

Allegra: Well-balanced and matured on loam

Our Allegra spring nestles in Malix, a neighbouring village of Passugg. The precious mineral water is held in rock and loam strata deep inside the mountain for many years, before it flows out through fissures in the slate – to the Allegra spring.

The spring was effectively discovered twice: Over 100 years ago, people realised that there was lots of water collecting on a meadow in Malix and that there was likely to be an abundant spring underneath. The rights to the spring were assigned to PassuggerHeilquellen, but they did not exploit these rights for a long time.

A discovery beyond their wildest dreams

People only remembered about the spring at the end of the last century, when process water was needed for the plant in Passugg. A water diviner helped to open up the spring as carefully as possible. Because: A spring as natural as the Allegra is tied to time and tides – if you uncover it at the wrong moment, then, as experts know, it will simply find a different path through the rocks.

In the case of the Allegra spring, the workers were doubly lucky. They were able to open up the spring at the first attempt, using a small digger. And: They soon realised that the water wasn’t just suitable as process water – but rather that it was a wonderful natural mineral water.

A mineral water with character

Water from the Allegra spring exudes the peacefulness of its environment. And the timelessness of its years cradled in nature. You can taste the depth of its origins in every sip – it is almost as if every layer of rock and loam has left its own sensory impression.

The water is bottled in its natural state, without any further processing. A subtle, extremely well-balanced piece of Graubünden, which is consistent in its mineralisation and has a quiet strength of character that some people say you can taste.

Allegra Finin (carbonated)

The company initially bottled Allegra as a still water. Since 2009, it has also been sold in a carbonated version. And not just by chance: The gastronomic sector was demanding a carbonated water for serving by the glass. This meant several months of sensory experiments for our team, in order to establish precisely the right volume of carbon dioxide. The result was Allegra Finin, which has a slightly lower carbon dioxide content than Passugger and a significantly finer perlage, since the mineral levels of the former are lower than those of the latter; this means that the carbon dioxide binds in a different way. Allegra Finin therefore takes its place as our medium mineral water, and it has its own community of fans.

In our experience: Mineral water from the Allegra spring can hold its own both with and without carbon dioxide.

Belvedra, Fortunatus, Helene, Ulricus – our historic curative springs

Our four small traditional curative springs are just as active as they were in the olden days, and you can still visit the pump rooms. The waters from the Belvedra, Fortunatus, Helene and Ulricus springs have even higher mineral contents than those from Passugger and Allegra. Water from these springs was once an essential element of a cure in Passugg. Ulricus was still bottled and sold until well into the nineties; it is not currently commercially exploited. However, we would now like to make this high-quality mineral water accessible to a broader public once again. We are currently undertaking precise observations at the Ulricus spring and continuously measuring its mineral content, and we hope that Ulricus will soon be stimulating the senses of Swiss drinkers once again.