Wiesbaden

Twenty-six hot springs rise in Wiesbaden, the Kochbrunnen reaching about sixty-six degrees, and the Romans used them; the city grew into one of Europe's leading spa resorts in the nineteenth century, when it had more millionaires per head than anywhere in Germany. The Kurhaus of 1907 holds a casino and concert hall. The Nerobergbahn, opened in 1888, climbs the Neroberg hill on a water-ballast system: the upper car takes on water to become heavier, descends and hauls the lower car up, then dumps the water at the bottom, using no motor at all. A Russian Orthodox church with five gilded domes stands on the hill.

History

There was settlement here in the Neolithic, and continuous occupation from a Roman fort of 6 AD with a cavalry unit; Pliny the Elder mentions the hot springs, famous for bathing the army's horses, and the town appears as Aquae Mattiacorum in 121, after the Germanic Mattiaci, just across the Rhine from Mogontiacum, today's Mainz. The Alamanni captured the fort around 260, and in the 370s, as Roman allies, they took charge of the area's defence (Wikipedia, Wiesbaden).

Highlights

• The Nerobergbahn - an 1888 funicular driven entirely by water ballast.
• The Kochbrunnen - a hot spring at about sixty-six degrees in the centre.
• The Kurhaus - a 1907 spa building with casino and concert hall.
• The Russian church - five gilded domes on the Neroberg.

When to go

April to October; the Nerobergbahn runs from spring to autumn only. The Kurhaus and baths operate year-round. Wine festivals fill the streets in August.

What to expect

The funicular is seasonal and closed in winter. The casino has dress and identification requirements. The spa water tastes strongly of minerals.

Nearby

Kloster Eberbach lies west; Mainz is across the Rhine.

Key facts