Introduction |  |
The good people of Baden-Baden may have been a little surprised when the FA chose this belle époque spa centre as the base for England’s World Cup campaign. What could this modest town in the pretty valley of the narrow river Oos have to offer to England’s footballing millionaires? Still, footballers have never been averse to a little R&R, and that’s what Baden-Baden, with its spas and casino, is best known for. The health-giving properties of the local waters have been appreciated since the time of the Romans. The casino is more recent, opening when gambling was banned in France 150 years ago and European nobility were looking for somewhere else to lose their money. Together they make an ideal location for unwinding after 90 minutes against Paraguay or Sweden.
The breathtaking Kurhaus, the centrepiece of the spa quarter, was built between the times of Waterloo and Crimea. The Romans first wallowed in the local hot, mineral-rich waters, building baths in AD 300. Baden-Baden (as opposed to the mere ‘Badens’ in Switzerland and Austria) was created as a dukedom by Napoleon – and dukes, like footballers, like their pleasures.
The finest architect of the day, Friedrich Weinbrenner, who built the glory that was Karlsruhe, was asked to design the grand Kurhaus Casino (Kaiserallee 1, 353 202, www.kurhauscasino.de). The spa was later embellished with opulent gaming rooms. Unlike Karlsruhe, Baden-Baden was untouched by World War II – although 1945 and the drawing of the Iron Curtain finished off what the Russian Revolution and World War I had started. There was little more in the way of European nobility to come out and play.
There’s a ticket to tour the Kurhaus, or, if you want to play the Casino, you’ll have to put on formal dress and stump up for the €3 entrance. If you tour, start at the Trinkhalle (Kaiserallee 3, 275 200), a neo-Renaissance edifice that houses a mineral-water fountain and the tourist office. The Kurhaus stands across the spa gardens. You then stroll past the shops in the elegant Kurhaus-Kolonnaden and along tree-lined Lichtentaler Allee out of town through gentle meadows to Kloster Lichtental monastery. Just beyond stands the Brahmshaus museum (Maximilianstrasse 85, 71172, ring for opening times), where Brahms spent his summers.
The town’s historic centre is on the opposite side of the valley. Steps lead up from pedestrianised Lange Strasse to the Marktplatz with the medieval town hall and Gothic Stiftskirche church. Rising above everything is the grand Neues Schloss castle. Nearby, next to the Gothic-Romanesque Stiftskirche church and the remains of the Roman baths, are the main spas still in operation: wonderful old Friedrichsbad (Römerplatz 1, 275 920) and modern Caracalla Therma (Römerplatz 1, 275 940). The England football team’s Schlosshotel Bühlerhöhe is outside town.
• Tourist information: Trinkhalle, Kaiserallee 3 (275 200, www.baden-baden.de).
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