The Friedrichsbad is a spa in the city of

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the Rhine, the border with Fra ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. The

Neo-renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range ...

spa building was completed in 1877.

History and architecture

The architect Karl Dernfeld designed the Friedrichsbad in the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...

style. It was built between 1869 and 1877. The lush Renaissance-style facade of the Friedrichsbad is adorned with two panels bearing the following inscription from

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

’s

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroa ...

in gold letters: Baden-Baden-Friedrichsbad-24-Nordost-Dernfeldstaffeln-gje

''„Wunderwirkend strömt die Welle,'' ''Strömt der heisse Dampf der Quelle,'' ''Muth wird freier, Blut wird neuer,'' ''heil dem Wasser, heil dem Feuer!“'' '' orking wonders the wave is streaming'' ''Streaming the hot steam of the spring'' ''Feelings become freer, blood newer'' ''Hail water! Hail fire!'

In 1867, the

North German Confederation The North German Confederation (german: Norddeutscher Bund) was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was transformed in the subsequent year into a confederated st ...

decided to ban gambling in all of Germany from 1872 onwards. During the public discussions about

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live enterta ...

s that had been going on for a number of years, the city of

was looking for alternatives in order to remain attractive to spa guests. Karl Dernfeld, who was relatively unknown at the time, became Baden-Baden's district building inspector in 1868. Together with the grand ducal spa doctor and Medical Councilor Dr. Carl Frech, he was commissioned to visit well-known health baths in order to implement the knowledge gained for the construction of the Friedrichsbad. Direct architectural models for the Friedrichsbad are the Raitzenbad in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...

and the Graf-Eberhardsbad (today ''Palais Thermal'') in

Wildbad Bad Wildbad is a town in Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located in the government district (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Karlsruhe and in the district (''Landkreis'') of Calw. Its coordinates are 48° 45' N, 8° 33' E. About 10, ...

, which Dernfeld visited during his trip with Dr. Frech to get to know the most important health resorts in Germany and Austria-Hungary. The Eberhardsbad in Wildbad was built between 1840 and 1847, the Raitzenbad in Budapest from 1866 to 1873. As far as old writings can be read, Dernfeld is also said to be inspired by the

Baths of Caracalla , alternate_name = it, Terme di Caracalla , image = File:Baths of Caracalla, facing Caldarium.jpg , caption = The baths as viewed from the south-west. The caldarium would have been in the front of the image , coordinates = ...

and the

Baths of Diocletian , alternate_name = it, Terme di Diocleziano , image = Baths of Diocletian-Antmoose1.jpg , caption = Baths of Diocletian, with the basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri built in the remains of the baths. , map_dot_ ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. The extensive

excavations In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

were started in 1869. Remnants of Roman baths were found. The opening of the Grand Ducal Friedrichsbad took place on December 15, 1877. Dernfeld's original architectural plans are lost. Changed therapeutic considerations have led to multiple spatial changes during 125 years of operation of the spa. For example, "apparatus for mechanical therapeutic gymnastics" were installed in the Friedrichsbad in Baden-Baden as early as 1884. This might have been one of the first therapeutically supervised facility that resembles modern fitness studios. At that time, not only active devices that had to be worked on were set up, but also passive devices that moved different body parts with machine power.

The spa

The thermal water has its source on the slopes of the Florentinerberg in Baden-Baden. Around 50% of the thermal spring water flows through the ''Friedrichstollen'' which is the main catchment tunnel. From depths of between 1200 and 1800 metres, the water reaches the surface at temperatures ranging from 56 °C to 68.8 °C from a total of twelve separate sodium chloride-bearing artesian springs. The springs are approximately 12,000 to 17,000 years old and discharge around 800,000 litres of thermal water a day (that's 9 litres a second) with a daily mineral content of 2,400 kg. As of 2020, the Friedrichsbad belongs to the Carasana Bäderbetriebe GmbH and claims to combine the Roman bathing culture with Irish hot air baths. The Friedrichsbad is now home to massage rooms as well as private suites and exhibition space that shows the Roman bath ruins of the Friedrichsbad.

Trivia

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has pr ...

(1835–1910) is said to have commented the Friedrichsbad spa as follows: "After 10 minutes you forget time, after 20 minutes you forget the world.”

Photo gallery

File:Friedrichsbad in Baden-Baden.JPG, Front view of the Friedrichsbad File:Baden-Baden 10-2015 img52 Friedrichsbad.jpg, Front view File:Baden Baden - Friedrichsbad - View SE.jpg,

Cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, f ...

in the renaissance style File:Baden-Baden-AltesDampfbad-Friedrichsbad.jpg, Old Steam Bath Building File:Baden-Baden-Friedrichsbad-10-gje.jpg, The Friedrichsbad in the spring time File:Baden-Baden-Friedrichsbad-55-Giebelfiguren-gje.jpg, Gable figure on the roof of the Friedrichsbad File:Baden-Baden-Friedrichsbad-Goethe-02-gje.jpg, Goethe quote part I File:Baden-Baden-Friedrichsbad-Goethe-01-gje.jpg, Goethe quote part II

References

External links