Schlangenbad is a municipality in the

Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis Rheingau-Taunus is a Kreis (Districts of Germany, district) in the west of Hesse, Germany. Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis is part of the Darmstadt (region), Darmstadt region; its main administrative seat is Bad Schwalbach. Outposted sections of the local ad ...

in the ''

Regierungsbezirk A ' (, 'governmental district') is a type of administrative division in Germany. Currently, four of sixteen ' (states of Germany) are split into '. Beneath these are rural and urban districts ' (plural, ) serve as regional mid-level local gov ...

'' of

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Geography

Location

The community, which is a health resort (''Kurort''), lies above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

in a sheltered location on a valley slope on the southern slope of the

Taunus The Taunus () is a mountain range in Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, located north west of Frankfurt and north of Wiesbaden. The tallest peak in the range is '' Großer Feldberg'' at 878 m; other notable peaks are '' Kleiner Feldberg' ...

from

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...

, from

Eltville Eltville am Rhein (; from ''Alta Villa'', Latin for "high estate, high town", corrupted to ''Eldeville'', ''Elfeld'' and later Eltville ) is a town in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. It lies on ...

and from

Bad Schwalbach Bad Schwalbach (; called Langenschwalbach until 1927) is the district seat of Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. Geography Geographic location Bad Schwalbach is a spa town some 20 km northwest of Wiesbaden. It lies at 289 to 465&n ...

Neighbouring communities

Schlangenbad borders in the north on the town of

, in the east on the town of

Taunusstein Taunusstein () is the biggest town in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the of Darmstadt (region), Darmstadt in Hessen, Germany. It has 30,068 inhabitants (2020). Geography Location Taunusstein lies roughly 10 km northwest of Wiesbaden and abou ...

and the district-free city of

, in the south on the town of

and the community of

Kiedrich Kiedrich is a municipality in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. Geography Kiedrich lies in the Rheingau region on the southern slope of the Taunus mountains, approximately 2 km north of th ...

and in the west on the town of

Oestrich-Winkel Oestrich-Winkel () is a town with roughly 12,000 inhabitants in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Oestrich-Winkel, which culturally belongs to the Rheingau region, lies o ...

Constituent communities

Schlangenbad's ''

Ortsteil A village is a human settlement or Residential community, community, larger than a hamlet (place), hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located ...

e'' are the state-recognized health resort of Schlangenbad and its outlying centres of Georgenborn, Wambach, Bärstadt, Hausen vor der Höhe, Obergladbach and Niedergladbach.

Climate

In Schlangenbad, the climate is what is known in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

as a ''Schonklima'', which means a climate with temperatures that never get too high (no higher than in the warmest months) and without great temperature fluctuations, usually occurring together with good shelter from prevailing winds. It does, however, cool off quite sharply in the nighttime. This moderate climate is comparable to a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

. The temperate climate permits a remnant population of

Aesculapian Snake #REDIRECT Aesculapian snake {{redirect category shell, {{R from another capitalisation{{R from move ...

s to survive in the area, despite the general cooling of the climate in what is now Germany. These snakes were once widespread in

Middle Europe Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern, Southern, Western and Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in this region also share some historical and cultural similaritie ...

in warmer times, but are now otherwise only found in Mediterranean lands. Indeed, snakes are Schlangenbad's namesake: the community's name literally means “Snake Bath” in

Spa operations

Schlangenbad's thermal springs were discovered in the mid 17th century. Today, nine springs are running altogether. They issue from the ground at temperatures between and on the south slope of the Bärstädter Kopf.

Rheumatic Rheumatology () is a branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis and management of disorders whose common feature is inflammation in the bones, muscles, joints, and internal organs. Rheumatology covers more than 100 different complex diseases, c ...

and other inflammatory illnesses are treated at the

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to pre ...

Sport and leisure facilities

* Thermal outdoor swimming pool with kelosauna * Aeskulap-Therme (baths) * Schlangenbad tennis courts * Heinz Grein-Sporthalle Georgenborn * Sporthalle Bärstadt * Hausen

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

pitch

Hiking trails

* The

Rheinsteig The Rheinsteig is a hiking trail following a mainly elevated path along the east bank of the Rhine River in Germany. Its route stretches from Wiesbaden to Bonn, running parallel to the Rheinhöhenweg Trail and Rheinburgenweg Trail. Descri ...

, a new trail from Schloss Biebrich near Wiesbaden to Bonn by way of the

Loreley The Lorelei ( ; or , or ; also found as ''Loreleï'', ''Lore Lay'', ''Lore-Ley'', ''Lurley'', ''Lurelei'' and ''Lurlei'' throughout history) is a , steep slate rock on the right bank of the River Rhine in the Rhine Gorge (or Middle Rhine) at ...

, the “Enemy Brothers” castles (Liebenstein and Sterrenberg) and

Lahneck Castle Lahneck Castle (German: Burg Lahneck) is a medieval fortress located in the city of Lahnstein in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, south of Koblenz. The 13th-century castle stands on a steep rock salient above the confluence of the Lahn River with th ...

. *

Hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

trail to Rauenthal about 45 minutes away, with an outstanding view over the Rhine Gorge. * Loop trails at the "Förster-Bitter-Eiche" carpark near the "Hinterlandswald".

Politics

Community council

The municipal election held on 26 March 2006 yielded the following results:

Town partnerships

Craponne Craponne (; ) is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in central-eastern France. It is a western suburb of Lyon, on the border with the Rhône department. History The name of the commune derives from ''crap ...

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Ròse''; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Rôno'') is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and Southeastern France before dischargi ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Education

* Bärstadt

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

Famous people

Sons and daughters of the town

* Ludwig von Lauter (1855–1929),

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n artillery

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Max Knoll Max Knoll (17 July 1897 – 6 November 1969) was a German electrical engineer and co-inventor of the electron microscope. Knoll was born in Wiesbaden and studied at the University of Munich and at the Technischen Hochschulen in Munich and ...

(1897–1969), German

electrical engineer 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 ...

, codeveloper of the first

electron microscope An electron microscope is a microscope that uses a beam of electrons as a source of illumination. It uses electron optics that are analogous to the glass lenses of an optical light microscope to control the electron beam, for instance focusing it ...

Former and current Schlangenbad residents

*Ludwig Berger (1892–1969), filmmaker and writer *

Volker Schlöndorff Volker Schlöndorff (; born 31 March 1939) is a German film director, screenwriter and producer who has worked in Germany, France and the United States. He was a prominent member of the New German Cinema of the late 1960s and early 1970s. He ha ...

(1939– ), filmmaker and

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

winner *Wolf von Lojewski (1937– ), television moderator *Zascha Kourosh Pezeshkan (1969–Present), KRAFT Construction in Florida

Fiction

Grant Allen Charles Grant Blairfindie Allen (February 24, 1848 – October 25, 1899) was a Canadian science writer and novelist, educated in England. He was a public promoter of evolution in the second half of the nineteenth century. Biography Early life a ...

's fictional late 19th century lady detective Miss Lois Cayley visits Schlangenbad in the 1899 novel ''Miss Cayley's Adventures''.

References

External links

Hessisan spas - Schlangenbad
{{Authority control Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis Spa towns in Germany