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The history of the spa town can be traced back to ancient times. The Romans were already aware of the hot springs that rise on the Florentine Hill. They called the place civitas aquensis, which means water community. Baths played an important role in ancient Rome. Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, known as Caracalla, who ruled in the 3rd century, was a ruthless emperor, but he is still praised as the guardian of the thermal baths to this day. He is not only the patron saint of the famous Caracalla thermal baths in Rome, but also of those in Baden-Baden.
After the fall of the Limes and the conquest by the Alemanni around the year 260, the civitas aquensis sank into a kind of slumber. The name Baden was first mentioned in a document in 856.
However, the healing effects of the springs were not forgotten. And in the 16th century, Baden-Baden found an expert advocate: Philippus Theophrastus Aureolus Bombast von Hohenheim. The famous physician and alchemist was also known as Paracelsus. He enthused: “The hot waters of Baden are more perfect than anything else”.
Even during the Rastatt Congress in 1797, in Napoleonic times, people enjoyed the advantages of Baden-Baden! After the long meetings, people sought relaxation in the hot springs in the evenings – and gambling, of course!
But it wasn’t until the 19th century that people rediscovered the drinking cures that the Romans had already used. All that was missing was a place where the precious water could be consumed in pleasant surroundings. – The drinking hall! It was built in 1839 by the Karlsruhe architect Heinrich Hübsch. He was a representative of the new romantic style. The “Wandelhalle” is 90 metres long. A magnificent building. – It is the calm, light aura that characterises this building! The 14 frescoes by Jakob Götzenberger symbolically tell us the most beautiful fairy tales of the Upper Rhine Valley.
Incidentally, it is thanks to the Stuttgart publisher Friedrich Cotta that the healing water from the springs on the Florentinerberg flows into the drinking hall here. He had a water pipe laid especially for a hotel. Today, a branch of this pipeline feeds the fountains in the “Trinkhalle”.
