Fürstenbad – Princely baths

Mysterious workshops of soothing spirits – the ‘princely’ mineral baths

The competing ‘princely spas’ in Bad Wildbad and Baden-Baden, which could look back on a medieval and, in the case of Baden, even ancient spa tradition, were developed into sophisticated, international health resorts in the mid-19th century. In addition to their natural mineral water resources and the connection to the railway network, they benefited from the patronage of the ruling royal houses. In the early 1840s, King Wilhelm I of Württemberg responded to Baden-Baden’s rapidly growing number of guests. Together with his court architect Nikolaus Friedrich von Thouret (1767-1845), he initiated the construction of the new Wildbad spa centre with the Graf Eberhardsbad and the Badhotel. Lavish décor and lavish splendour were intended to appeal to a privileged clientele.

After the annexation of the Grand Duchy of Baden to the German Reich and the nationwide ban on gambling in 1872, Baden-Baden’s previously neglected spa industry came to the fore. Within just two decades, three large thermal baths were built, which could be sure of the special esteem of the Margraves of Baden. Since the Middle Ages, the princely house had been responsible for marketing the thermal water springs. Grand Duke Friedrich I of Baden not only lent his name to the palatial Friedrichsbad, the most lavish and beautiful in Europe at the time. He had portraits of himself and his wife Luise hung in special picture frames with antique water motifs in a central position in the large lobby on the first floor. The architecture of the Friedrichsbad was modelled on the Baths of Caracalla in Rome.