Bad Aibling (; ) is a

spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath, Somerset, Ba ...

and former district seat in

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

on the river

Mangfall The Mangfall () is a river of Upper Bavaria, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Inn. The Mangfall is the outflow of the Tegernsee lake and discharges into the Inn in Rosenheim. The Mangfall is long. Towns and villages on the Mangfall * G ...

, located some southeast of

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. It features a luxury health resort with a peat pulp bath and

mineral spa Mineral spas are spa resorts developed around naturally occurring mineral springs. Like seaside resorts, they are mainly used recreationally although they also figured prominently in prescientific medicine. Origins Spas were used for mille ...

History

Bad Aibling and its surroundings were settled by

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

tribes from about 500BC until 15BC. After

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

occupation, it was finally settled by

Bavarii The Baiuvarii or Bavarii, sometimes simply called Bavarians (; ) were a Germanic people who lived in and near present-day southern Bavaria, which is named after them. They began to appear in records by the 6th century AD, and their culture, lang ...

tribes in the 5th century AD. In 804, Bad Aibling was mentioned for the first time as "Epininga". In mediaeval times, it was an administrative centre in the lordship of the Counts of Falkenstein. In 1166, it was mentioned in the

Codex diplomaticus Falkensteinensis The Codex Falkensteinensis (also referred to as Codex diplomaticus Falkensteinensis or Liber traditionum comitatus Neuenburg-Falkenstein) is an important medieval manuscript. It was written in 1166 as a feud directory and urbarium by Canon regula ...

as "Aibilingen". After the obliteration of the Neuburg-Falkenstein dynasty, it became part of the realm of the

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a former Bavarian dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, ...

family. In 1845, the first treatments with peat pulp were offered by the physician Desiderius Beck. Bad Aibling received the title "Bad" (spa or springs) in 1895. In the year 1933, Bad Aibling officially became a town. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Bad Aibling was the site of POW Discharge Center #26, where German POWs were released from captivity to civilian status. In 1946, a

DP camp DP may refer to: In arts and entertainment Film, television, and theatre * ''Danny Phantom'', an animated television series * David Production, a Japanese animation studio * Director of photography, a job in filmmaking * Digital Playground, an ...

housing former members of the

Royal Yugoslav Army The Yugoslav Army ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Jugoslovenska vojska, JV, Југословенска војска, ЈВ), commonly the Royal Yugoslav Army, was the principal Army, ground force of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. It existed from the establishment of ...

was set up on the grounds of the town's airbase. The camp was first operated by

UNRRA United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA, pronounced ) was an international relief agency founded in November 1943 on the joint initiative of the United States, United Kingdom, USSR, and the Republic of China. Its purpose ...

, and later by the IRO. From 1948 onwards, the area was home to the ''IRO Children's Village'', a DP camp for unaccompanied children and youth belonging to more than 20 nationalities. Over 2,300 inhabitants passed through this facility (the largest of its kind in the US Zone) before it was closed in late 1951. Later, the area evolved into a major centre for intelligence organizations and secret services. In 2005, the American Bad Aibling

ECHELON Echelon may refer to: * A level formation ** A level or rank in an organization, profession, or society ** A military sub-subunit smaller than a company but larger than a platoon ** Echelon formation, a step-like arrangement of units * ECHELO ...

station ( Field Station 81) closed after several decades of operation. After the departure of the

NSA The National Security Agency (NSA) is an intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the director of national intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collection, and proces ...

, parts of the station have been used by the

Bundesnachrichtendienst The Federal Intelligence Service (, ; BND) is the foreign intelligence agency of Germany, directly subordinate to the Federal Chancellery of Germany, Chancellor's Office. The Headquarters of the Federal Intelligence Service, BND headquarters is ...

(BND), with NSA employees moving to the Mangfall barracks. The

radome A radome (a portmanteau of "radar" and "dome") is a structural, weatherproof enclosure that protects a radar antenna (radio), antenna. The radome is constructed of material transparent to radio waves. Radomes protect the antenna from weathe ...

s are still used intensively. The station is used in cooperation with the NSA, which provides the BND with search terms (such as email addresses), which then forwards the results back to the NSA. The

Thermae In ancient Rome, (from Greek , "hot") and (from Greek ) were facilities for bathing. usually refers to the large Roman Empire, imperial public bath, bath complexes, while were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed i ...

opened in 2007, complementing the traditional peat pulp baths with mineral water ( Desiderius-Quelle). In the same year, the historical Ludwigsbad spa hotel, the nucleus of Bad Aibling's health resort business, burned down due to arson. On 9 February 2016, a serious railway accident occurred near the town when two passenger trains collided, causing 11 fatalities.

Geography and demographics

The town of Bad Aibling, with about 18,000 inhabitants, is at

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

and covers an area of . Bad Aibling consists of the neighborhoods (

Stadtteil A quarter is a part of an urban area, urban settlement. A quarter can be administratively defined and its borders officially designated, and it may have its own administrative structure (subordinate to that of the city, town or other urban area ...

e) of Abel, Adlfurt, Bad Aibling Mitte, Berbling, Ellmosen, Fachendorf, Gröben, Harthausen, Haslach, Heimathsberg, Heinrichsdorf, Holzhausen, Köckbrunn, Markfeld, Mietraching, Mitterham, Moos, Natternberg, Thalacker, Thürham, Unterheufeld, Weg, Westen, Westerham, Willing, and Zell. File:Bad aibling glonn.png, Glonn river in downtown File:Bad aibling kirchzeile.png, Kirchzeile with Hofberg File:Bad aibling kirchzeile_2.png, Obere Kirchzeile File:Bad aibling klein_venedig.png, "Klein Venedig" (Little Venice) File:Bad aibling moorabbau.png, Peat mining in the Schuhbräu-Filze File:Bad aibling rosenheimer_str.png, Inner Rosenheimer Straße File:Bad aibling sebastianik.png, St. Sebastian's church File:Radomes of Bad Aibling Station 1.jpg, ECHELON station File:Bad aibling station 2.jpg, ECHELON station File:Bad aibling station 3.jpg, ECHELON station File:Bad aibling station 4.jpg, ECHELON station File:Bad Aibling Theresienmonument-1.jpg, Theresienmonument File:Bad aibling zentralfriedhof.png, Italian style central cemetery File:Bad Aibling, straatzicht langs het water 2012-08-06 15.05.JPG, Water through the town File:Bad Aibling, straatzicht2 Bahnhofstrasse-Sedanstrasse 2012-08-06 14.51.jpg, Bahnhofstrasse-Sedanstrasse File:Bad Aibling, straatzicht3 Bahnhofstrasse 2012-08-06 14.55.jpg, View to a street: die Bahnhofstrasse File:Klafferer_hofberg.png, View from the Klafferer to Hofberg

Economy and infrastructure

In Bad Aibling, there are several large spa hotels and rehabilitation hospitals that rely on

peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...

pulp as a basic treatment. Additionally, in 2007 the new thermae were opened.

Companies based in Bad Aibling

Several companies in the

pharmaceutical industry The pharmaceutical industry is a medical industry that discovers, develops, produces, and markets pharmaceutical goods such as medications and medical devices. Medications are then administered to (or self-administered by) patients for curing ...

textile manufacturing Textile manufacturing or textile engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful good ...

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

, plastics manufacturing, and dairy processing are located in Bad Aibling.

Administration and public institutions

* Municipal institutions * Employment office Bad Aibling * Institutions of the Rosenheim district office (veterinary office, motor vehicle registration authority) * Local

court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...

* Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), Federal Intelligence Service

Mayors

Education

* German football boarding school (Deutsches Fußballinternat Bad Aibling) * Gymnasium Bad Aibling (

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

for

secondary education Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education. Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...

) * Wilhelm-Leibl-Realschule (secondary school) * Wirtschaftsschule Alpenland (secondary school for economics) * Grund- und Hauptschulen (

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

and secondary education) * Sonderschule (primary and secondary education for children with special needs) * Volkshochschule Bad Aibling ( adult evening classes)

Number of inhabitants

* 1840: 2,597 * 1871: 3,479 * 1900: 5,181 * 1925: 6,218 * 1939: 7,764 * 1950: 10,908 * 1961: 9,991 * 1970: 10,860 * 1987: 12,583 (census) * 2000: 16,437 * 2010: 18,272 * 2015: 18,408

Culture and attractions

Echelon festival

The Echelon Open Air & Indoor Festival is an electro-,

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

and

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

-festival that has taken place in Bad Aibling annually in August since 2009. With about 25,000 visitors in 2015 it is the largest festival of its kind in Bavaria. It is located on the abandoned Bad Aibling Station which was used for the festival's eponymous global surveillance network

.Info – Echelon Open Air & Indoor Festival
. In: echelon-openair.de. Retrieved 6 August 2012.

Twin town

Bad Aibling has been twinned with * Cavaion Veronese,

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, since 2006.

People affiliated with Bad Aibling

* Eleonore Baur(18851981), also known as "Sister Pia", a

war criminal A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...

of the National Socialist era * Desiderius Beck(), was a Bavarian court physician. In 1845, he opened the first Bavarian brine and peat mud baths in Bad Aibling in Rose Street, later Ludwig bathroom. * Käthe Bierbaumer(1884?), Patron of the

Thule Society The Thule Society (; ), originally the ('Study Group for Germanic Antiquity'), was a German occultist and group founded in Munich shortly after World War I, named after a mythical northern country in Greek legend. The society is notable chie ...

and funder of

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

Eduard Dietl Eduard Wohlrat Christian Dietl (21 July 1890 – 23 June 1944) was a German general during World War II who commanded the 20th Mountain Army. He received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. Military career Born in ...

(18901944), German general of World War II * Amelie Kober(born 1987), German Federal Police officer and

Olympic medalist This article includes lists of all Olympic medalists since 1896, organized by each Olympic sport or discipline, and also by Olympiad. Medalist with most medals by sport Summer Olympic sports Sports that will appear in the 2028 Summer Olympics ar ...

snowboard Snowboards are boards where the user places both feet, usually secured, to the same board. The board itself is wider than most skis, with the ability to glide on snow."snowboarding." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 17 Mar ...

ing *

Wilhelm Leibl Wilhelm Maria Hubertus Leibl (October 23, 1844 – December 4, 1900) was a German realist painter of portraits and scenes of peasant life. Biography Leibl was born in Cologne, where his father was the director of the Cathedral choir. He was a ...

(18441900), German realist painter of portraits and scenes of peasant life * Johann Sperl(18401914), German painter * Friedrich Meggendorfer(18801953), German psychiatrist and neurologist * Joseph Maximilian von Maillinger (1820–1901), General of Infantry of

Bavarian Army The Bavarian Army () was the army of the Electorate of Bavaria, Electorate (1682–1806) and then Kingdom of Bavaria, Kingdom (1806–1918) of Bavaria. It existed from 1682 as the standing army of Bavaria until the merger of the military sovereig ...

Franz Osten Franz Osten (23 December 1876 in Munich – 2 December 1956) was a Bavaria, Bavarian filmmaker who along with Himansu Rai was among the first retainers of Bombay Talkies. Osten partnered with Rai on a number of India's earliest blockbuster film ...

(1876–1956), German film director, who lived after the Second World War in the town *

Klaus Wennemann Klaus Wennemann (18 December 1940 – 7 January 2000) was a German television and film actor. Wenneman was born in Oer-Erkenschwick, North Rhine-Westphalia. He is perhaps best known for his leading roles as the Chief Engineer, (the LI), in '' ...

(1940–2000), actor *

Julian Weigl Julian Weigl (born 8 September 1995) is a German professional Association football, footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach. He has also represented the Germany national football team, Germany ...

(born 1995), German footballer for Sport Lisboa e Benfica

References

External links

*
The health and cure administration

{{authority control Rosenheim (district) Spa towns in Germany Towns in Bavaria