Donat was first commercially available in 1908, but the history of
Rogaška Slatina springs is much older. Excavation in the area confirmed Celtic and Roman settlements, indicating that the spring was already in use in ancient times. The first owner of the springs was the parish of the nearby village Sveti Križ, and the first written records about the springs date back to 1141, when the mineral water spring was cited in a document as a boundary point in a property transaction. The first known analysis of the water was carried out in 1572.
Habsburg Monarchy In 1670
Paul de Sorbait, Habsburg court physician and professor at the
Medical Faculty of Vienna, introduced the water to the court and soon after several other physicians in Vienna and elsewhere in the empire began to prescribe to their patients various therapies with the water. The wells gained much popularity 1665 when the count
Petar Zrinski promoted their healing powers. The hospital in
Graz even tested it as a clinical medicine. During this time, the first inn by the springs was built in 1676 by Baron Peter Courty. In the early 17th century
Emperor Leopold I gave the distribution rights to several important citizens of
Vienna. In 1721,
Emperor Charles VI assigned the sale rights to the Association of Viennese Pharmacists which retained these rights until 1782. Then a period of regression followed as far as the development of Rogaška was concerned, as
Emperor Joseph II dissolved the Association of Pharmacists, and ownership fell into the hands of the local owners. In the early 19th century, the
Styrian provincial governor, Count
Ferdinand Attems, begun a major campaign for the purchase of land around the Rogaška springs. His intention was supported by the general public and physicians of the empire as he wanted once and for all to prevent uncontrolled and unsafe use of springs and develop a modern, provincial-run spa. The works begun in 1801 and in 1869 the Rogaška water became the third most sold worldwide water immediately after the mineral water from French
Vichy and German Selters. It was possible to purchase the water in all of the Austrian provinces, in Italy (Aqua di Cilla), Greece and also in Egypt. It even won a prize at the
World's Columbian Exposition - World Exhibition in Chicago in 1893. In 1908, a highly mineralized water spring was discovered by a team under the leadership of the geologist and inspector of the
Karlovy Vary spa, dr. Joseph Knett. This mineral water was given the name DONAT.
Kingdom of Yugoslavia In the
interwar period, this part of Slovenia became a part of the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Rogaška, as the most luxurious and modern resort in the entire territory, attracted the new elite, the government and military authorities and industrial moguls.
Communist Yugoslavia Following the Second World War, new wells were found under the guidance of Professor Bać from Sarajevo and in collaboration with the Geological Institute in Ljubljana. This drilling signified a new beginning with regard to research and methods of capturing underground water in Slovenia. Up to the present time, the comprehensive geological, hydro-geological and geophysical research was carried out at Rogaška Slatina under the guidance of Professor Bać and Anton Nosan from the Geological Institute in Ljubljana. On the basis of the positive results of this research, quite a few wells were drilled for the capture of mineral water and gas which ensured a sufficient supply of mineral water, of type Donat (and Tempel), to the Health Spa Resort and its Bottling Complex. Donat is a brand name registered by the company
Droga Kolinska (located in
Ljubljana) which is in turn owned by
Atlantic Grupa and also produces Slovenia's best known soft drink,
Cockta. Today, Donat is distributed in various European countries.
Production and sales In 1934, most bottles were exported throughout Yugoslavia and abroad from the Tempel spring (90%), then from the Donat (16%) and Styria (14%), a total of 2,500,000 bottles. In 1974, the bottling plant in Rogaška Slatina marketed Donat and Styria as medicinal water, and Tempel as table water. Styria was not sold due to insufficient quantity, and the other two were sold throughout Yugoslavia and Europe. They were in third place among Yugoslavian sellers of mineral water, after Radenska and Knjaz Miloš. Unlike Italy and France, they did not bottle mineral water, despite technical and financial obstacles, because evaporates from them, and they wanted to sell strongly carbonated water. At that time, bottles were already more expensive than water itself, and plastic baskets for bottles were also very expensive. In 1975, geophysicist Janez Lapajne near Spodnja Kostrivnica determined the location for the most important well for pumping Donat Mg. In 1976, Donat was succeeded by Donat Mg. In 1977, Donat Mg surpassed Tempel for the first time in terms of production. Sales and exports grew. They opened a new filling line. In 1986, a new distribution center was built in the port of Belgrade. ==Mineral content==