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The city of Baden-Baden, with 54,600 inhabitants, is located west of Baden-Württemberg, around 40 km south of Karlsruhe. It consists of the districts of Balg, Ebersteinburg, Haueneberstein, Lichtental, Neuweier, Oos, Sandweier, Steinbach, and Varnhalt. Baden-Baden is located on the western edge of the northern Black Forest, and the eastern parts of the city nestle into the slopes of the Black Forest. A visit to Baden Baden is a must on a Black Forest holiday.
As early as the end of the 19th century, the city was known as a glamorous health resort. Today, the “summer capital of Europe” is valued by locals and guests as a world-famous health resort and spa, vacation spot and international festival city. Here you will find thermal baths, culture, a beautiful landscape, numerous villas of the rich and famous, luxury hotels, health resorts, and the Casino also contributes to its international fame.
Until 1931 the city was only called Baden, although it was mostly called Baden in Baden to better distinguish it from other cities (Baden near Vienna and Baden in Switzerland). Since the name “Baden in Baden” was not easily crossed, the city was unofficially referred to as Baden-Baden by visitors as early as the 19th century. This is how today’s double name came about. In 1997 Baden-Baden was honoured by the International Olympic Committee with the title “Olympic City”.
The thermal water rises from twelve springs that are 2,000 meters below the earth. Thanks to its many minerals, it is known for its healing effects on all kinds of illnesses. The best place to enjoy the soothing water is in the thermal baths in Baden-Baden. The traditional Friedrichsbad, as well as the modern Caracalla Therme, invite you to spend relaxing hours in the thermal water of up to 38 ° C. Lean back, enjoy a soap brush massage or relax in a sauna and do something good for yourself and your body.
The cultural offer is very diverse. The theatre was built on the model of the Paris Opera and opened in August 1862. The theatre has had a permanent cast of actors since 1918. It focuses on works by William Shakespeare, modern classics and French-language guest performances. In the early 1990s, the theatre was completely renovated and equipped with modern technology. Its rooms, especially the foyer, offer an excellent location for weddings and events. Next to the theatre is the TIK (Theater in the Scenery House), which serves as a stage for children’s and youth play.
With 2500 seats, the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden is Germany’s largest opera and concert hall and the second-largest concert hall in Europe. Year after year, it attracts many music and culture enthusiasts from near and far with operas, musicals, concerts and top international stars. The program is rounded off with entertainment shows. The events on the stage are framed with culinary delights with their own top gastronomy. Visit the first privately run opera house in the heart of the spa town and enjoy contemplative hours with many other listeners from all over the world.
You can see the city’s history from its Roman beginnings to the present in the Baden-Baden City Museum. The main thematic focuses of the museum are bathing and cures through the centuries, as well as the glamorous world bath in the 19th century. Here you will also find special collections, such as some Bohemian glasses, historical toys, as well as coins and medals. Stone monuments and sculptural sculptures from Roman to modern times are presented in a glass pavilion, including the late Gothic portal figures of the collegiate church.
The State Art Gallery Baden-Baden, which opened in 1909, is purely an exhibition space and therefore has no holdings of its own. A new exhibition is presented here several times a year. The art gallery is connected to the Frieder Burda Museum, which opened in October 2004, by a glass bridge. The internationally renowned Frieder Burda Collection consists of around 1,000 works of art, including those by Picasso, Miró and Arp.
Casino Baden-Baden is the most beautiful place to test your hand at gambling.
The history of the opulent and beautifully designed rooms in the side wing of the Kurhaus (spa house) Baden-Baden goes back to the 19th century. Today the Casino Baden-Baden is an exclusive stage for fashion events, readings and cabaret evenings. The Casino is one of Europe’s oldest, most traditional and most beautiful casinos. Visitors can enjoy the unique ambience in the famous staterooms, many illustrious names are recorded in the guest books. There are gaming tables available to you at which classic games such as roulette, poker, and blackjack are played and numerous slot machines.
Lichtentaler Allee is a 2.3 kilometres long street with a rose garden in the patronage complex that leads through a park area in the city centre of Baden-Baden. The path is surrounded by 300 different native and exotic trees and plants. In the 19th century, the avenue was expanded into a shiny promenade and planted with rare trees. The Oosbach flows parallel to the avenue, over which numerous bridges, often equipped with wrought iron railings, lead to the hotels and guest houses surrounded by spacious gardens. But also sports facilities, a riding arena, several museums, a dahlia garden and the patronage facility, a hedge garden with extensive rose plantings, are located directly on this axis.
Here you can stroll through numerous rose arches from which the pink and red blooming roses sprout or sit on benches amid the flowers and enjoy the scent.
Every year an international jury of rose growers and experts gather here to evaluate the new roses of the current year and finally award the most beautiful one with Germany’s highest honour for roses, the “Goldene Rose” of Baden-Baden.
The Competition for New Rose Varieties in Baden-Baden is considered to be one of the most important of its kind in Europe. Enthusiasts see Baden-Baden as the secret capital of roses of Germany.
TIP: IT IS BEST TO COME HERE SHORTLY BEFORE SUNSET FOR UNIQUE AND PARTICULARLY ROMANTIC PHOTOS. THEN THE LIGHT IN THE ROSE GARDEN IS AT ITS MOST BEAUTY!
Merkur is the 668-meter-high local mountain of Baden-Baden. From the top of the mountain and from an observation tower, the Merkur Tower, you have a great view of the city in the middle of the Black Forest.
Suppose you are looking for a little more action and would like to top off your vacation with a memorable experience. In that case, you can even start a paragliding flight from Merkur.
At the summit, you’ll find a restaurant, along with a children’s playground and plenty of grass for sunbathing. You can get to the top comfortably and without great effort with the Merkur mountain railway, Germany’s longest and steepest funicular railway. Alternatively, you can storm the summit on foot.
In the spa gardens of Baden-Baden, very close to the Casino, the 90-meter-long Drinking hall, completed in 1842, invites you to stroll. You cannot overlook the imposing building with its 16 columns. In the arcades of the hall, 14 murals designed by Jakob Götzenberger with local sagas and legends are on display, which you can visit free of charge. The walkway of the Trinkhalle Baden-Baden is open to visitors 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
The ruins of Hohenbaden Castle, also known as the Old Castle, high above Baden-Baden, are one of the most popular excursion destinations in the region. The complex, which dates back to the Middle Ages, is a popular hiking destination for a day trip but can also be reached by car. In addition, the surroundings are also particularly worth seeing because, behind the castle, the Battertfelsen rises up to 55 meters high. It is a popular climbing area and can be hiked around on a circular route. Above the rock, the ramparts of a Celtic settlement can also be seen.
The castle ruins themselves go back to a castle built around 1100 for the margrave of Baden. It was the political centre of the margraviate until 1479 when Christoph I moved to the New Castle in Baden-Baden and was therefore expanded several times and made into a representative complex. But after the rulers resided in the town in the valley, the complex fell into disrepair. The remains of the complex were not secured until the 19th century.
Today there is a romantic castle restaurant with guest rooms in the preserved part of the complex. The entire castle ruins can be visited free of charge. For this purpose, it was equipped with staircases and paths laid out on the walls. The castle tower can also be climbed here. From here, the view extends to the city of Baden-Baden and the neighbouring mountains of the Black Forest, such as the Merkurberg, which can be reached by mountain railway.
The Geroldsau waterfall is one of the most popular excursion destinations in the region and therefore should not be missed.
The approximately six-meter-high waterfall is located in the Geroldsau district, around ten kilometres from downtown Baden-Baden. The best way to get there is on foot via the panorama path or by car. A trip in the warm season is charming. When hundreds of rhododendron bushes bloom and give off a great scent, a short hike along the waterfall trail is a feast for all the senses.
From the city of Baden-Baden, you can quickly reach many destinations in the surrounding area, so sightseeing in the town, glamorous nights in the Kurhaus and experiences in nature can be wonderfully combined during a holiday. A possible destination is the Mummelsee, one of the most visited lakes in Baden-Württemberg. The Mummelsee is located on the Black Forest High Road so that it can be easily reached by car. If you like to go hiking, you have the choice between numerous paths and hiking trails of various lengths and with different degrees of difficulty in the surrounding area.
TIP: WINE LOVERS SHOULD MAKE A DETOUR TO THE SURROUNDING AREA. THE SO-CALLED REBLAND WINE REGION ATTRACTS WITH PICTURESQUE VINEYARDS AND WINERIES WHERE YOU CAN TASTE BADEN WINE.
