Spa Park Bad Kissingen with "Arkadenbau"Bad Kissingen in 1900The concert hall "Regentenbau"Town hall of Bad KissingenThe theatre of Bad Kissingen"Rosengarten" (Rose Garden) in Bad KissingenThe graduation tower is a known landmark.
In 2021 the town became part of the transnationalUNESCO World Heritage Site under the name "Great Spa Towns of Europe", because of its famous mineral springs and its architecture exemplifying the popularity of spa resorts in Europe during the 18th through 20th centuries.[4][5]
The town was first documented in the year 801 under the namechizzicha and was renowned above all for its mineral springs, which are recorded from as early as 823. At that time, Kissingen was under the domination ofFulda Abbey, later it fell to theCounts of Henneberg and was sold to thebishops of Würzburg in the 14th century. Kissingen was first mentioned as "oppidum" (town) in 1279. The town developed into a spa in the 1500s and recorded its first official spa guest in 1520. In 1814, Kissingen became part ofBavaria. The town grew to be a fashionable resort in the 19th century, and was extended during the reign ofLudwig I of Bavaria. Crowned heads of state such asEmpress Elisabeth of Austria,Tsar Alexander II of Russia andKing Ludwig II of Bavaria, who bestowed the 'Bad' on Kissingen in 1883, were among the guests of the spa at this time. Other well-known visitors to the resort included authorLeo Tolstoy, composerGioachino Rossini and artistAdolph von Menzel.[6][7]
On 10 July 1866, during theMainfeldzug (campaign at the riverMain) of theAustro-Prussian War, Kissingen was the site of fiercebattle between Bavarian andPrussian troops, which ended with a Prussian victory.[8]
Imperial ChancellorOtto von Bismarck visited Bad Kissingen's spas many times. In 1874, during theKulturkampf, he survived an assassination attempt in the town by the Catholic Eduard Franz Ludwig Kullmann. In 1877, he dictated theKissingen Dictation (German:Kissinger Diktat), in which he explained the principles of his foreign policy. Bismarck's former home in Bad Kissingen is now the Bismarck Museum.
In June 1911Alfred von Kiderlen-Waechter, German Secretary of State, and the French ambassadorJules Cambon had negotiations in Bad Kissingen about Morocco without achieving a solution. The failure of the negotiations led to theAgadir Crisis.[9]
The resort's clientele changed in the 20th century, with ordinary people increasingly replacing nobility as guests. The spa suffered a one-year interruption in 1945, the only closure in its history.
Shortly prior toWorld War IIManteuffel Kaserne (Manteuffel barracks) was established at the eastern edge of the Bad Kissingen town center by the German military as part of Hitler's program to expand the GermanWehrmacht. In 1945, the American army entered the town peacefully and took over the Kaserne, which was renamedDaley Barracks in 1953. The barracks were closed in the 1990s after the fall of theIron Curtain when the American troops were withdrawn.
After the war, the Department of Social Security built clinics in the town. A change in health legislation in the 1990s reduced the opportunities forGerman health insurance contracts to fund spa visits, which led to job losses. As a result, efforts were made to attract a new kind of clientele, helped in no small part by the EMNID survey which named Bad Kissingen Germany's best-known spa town.[10]
In 2015, about 1.5 million overnight stays of more than 238,000 visitors were registered in the town.[11] With the opening of theKissSalis Therme in February 2004, Bad Kissingen gained a spa leisure centre and, in December 2004, the German-Chinese Football Academy was opened in the town, where the Chinese "08 Star Team" lived and trained in preparation for the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008.
Kissingen about 1850, still with remains of the medieval fortification
The Battle of Kissingen, 10 July 1866
TsarAlexander II of Russia (centre, with hat in his hand) and king Ludwig II of Bavaria in 1868
Eduard Kullmann (right) shoots at Otto von Bismarck in 1874
Bad Kissingen with its new station (left), about 1875
There are 7 mineral springs in Bad Kissingen, all of which are still used today.[12] All but the Schönborn spring are cold, containing high levels of sodium, carbonates, and sulphates.[12] The springs are located in the Kissingen-Haßfurt fault zone, absorbing minerals fromPermian aged sediment layers.[12]
Bad Kissingen was one of the leading spas in the 19th and early 20th century, which in German are called "Weltbad". They differ from other spa resorts mainly through the following criteria:
Entertainment: The social life in a "Weltbad" is at least as important as the medical cure, or even more. A "Weltbad" offered many opportunities for the spa guests to spend their free time, such as exercise and sports, trips to the surroundings, theater and concert, library and games.
Guests: The "Weltbad" was attractive to guests from all five continents. Particular attention was paid to prominent visitors, who attracted more visitors, especially from nobility and upscale middle class.
Architecture: There are spa quarter, quarters with villas, areas for business and care, gardens and parks with a smooth transition into the surrounding landscape
Infrastructure and supply: Despite the small number of inhabitants, a "Weltbad" offered the guests all the contemporary comfort, which was not even common in all major cities. These include good transport connections, communication facilities (such as telegraphy and telephone on the latest state of the art), luxury goods offer, differentiated hotel and gastronomy as well as state-of-the-art technology for energy supply, water supply and sanitation.[13]
The classical music festivalKissinger Sommer with participation of internationally well known orchestras and soloists is a highlight of the cultural calendar.
Kissinger Piano Olympics (Klavierolymp), a competition of young pianistes, related to theKissinger Sommer, is held in autumn.
Another music festival called theKissinger Winterzauber takes place each winter.
The national German brass band contest has been hosted in Bad Kissingen in 2014 and 2016.
Between 1838 and 1913, the arcade (Arkadenbau) was built around the spa garden byFriedrich von Gärtner, as well as the halls for the use of the mineral water ("Brunnenhalle") and for promenades ("Wandelhalle"), following a design byMax Littmann. Littmann also designed theKurtheater Bad Kissingen, completed in 1905, and the concert hallRegentenbau, inaugurated in 1913.[citation needed]
The train station building was designed and supervised byFriedrich Bürklein. The Bad Kissingen Train station was constructed between 1871 and 1874.[18]
Bismarck-Museum
"Wandelhalle" in the spa area
"Brunnenhalle" at the spa garden
Old town hall and market square
Casino Bad Kissingen
Other architectural attractions in Bad Kissingen include:
^Andres Lepik; Katrin Bäumler, eds. (2018).The Architecture Under King Ludwig II Palaces and Factories. Walter de Gruyter. p. 195.ISBN9783035616538.
^Arnold, Michael (18 October 2015)."Zero to Hero".Oi Vietnam. Metro Advertising. Archived fromthe original on 1 December 2023. Retrieved19 October 2015.;
