02 Drinking hall / Tourist info

02

02 Drinking hall / Tourist info

Duration: 3:35

Drinking Hall

The history of the spa 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. In ancient Rome, bathing played an important role. Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, called Caracalla, who ruled in the 3rd century, was a ruthless emperor, but as a guardian of the thermal baths he is praised until our time. He is not only the namesake 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. In 856, the name Baden was mentioned in a document for the first time.

The healing effects of the springs, however, were not forgotten. And in the 16th century, Baden-Baden found a knowledgeable 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 benefits of Baden-Baden! After the long meetings, people sought relaxation in the hot springs in the evening - and gambling, of course!

But it was not until the 19th century that people rediscovered the drinking cures that the Romans already used. The only thing missing was a place to drink the precious water in pleasant surroundings. - The drinking hall! It was built in 1839 by the architect Heinrich Hübsch from Karlsruhe. He was a representative of the new romantic style. The Wandelhalle is 90 meters long. It is a magnificent building. - It is the calm, light aura that distinguishes this building! The 14 frescos of Jakob Götzenberger tell us symbolically 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 here into the drinking hall. He had a water pipeline laid especially for a hotel. Today, a branch of this pipe feeds the fountains of the Trinkhalle.