Bad Schwalbach | |
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 A residential area in Bad Schwalbach | |
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Bad Schwalbach within Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis district  | |
 Location of Bad Schwalbach | |
  Bad Schwalbach  Bad Schwalbach | |
| Coordinates:50°08′N08°04′E / 50.133°N 8.067°E /50.133; 8.067 | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | Hesse |
| Admin. region | Darmstadt |
| District | Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis |
| Subdivisions | 8 districts |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2019–25) | Markus Oberndörfer[1] (SPD) |
| Area | |
• Total | 40.27 km2 (15.55 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 361 m (1,184 ft) |
| Population (2023-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 11,602 |
| • Density | 288.1/km2 (746.2/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Postal codes | 65307 |
| Dialling codes | 06124 |
| Vehicle registration | RÜD, SWA |
| Website | www.bad-schwalbach.de |
Bad Schwalbach (German pronunciation:[baːtˈʃvalbax]ⓘ; calledLangenschwalbach until 1927) is the district seat ofRheingau-Taunus-Kreis, inHesse,Germany.
Bad Schwalbach is aspa town some 20 km northwest ofWiesbaden. It lies at 289 to 465 m abovesea level in theTaunus, along the small riverAar (Lahn) (a tributary of theLahn). Over 56 percent of the municipal area is forest.
Bad Schwalbach borders in the north on the community ofHohenstein, in the east on the town ofTaunusstein, in the south on the community ofSchlangenbad, and in the west on the community ofHeidenrod.
Bad Schwalbach’sStadtteile are Adolfseck, Bad Schwalbach,Fischbach (Bad Schwalbach), Heimbach, Hettenhain, Langenseifen,Lindschied andRamschied.
Bad Schwalbach was first mentioned in a document in 1352 asLanginswalbach. The first reliable report of themineral springs came in 1568 from theWorms doctorTabernaemontanus, who also made the place known in his 1581 workNeuw Wasserschatz (New Water Resources). Although Langenschwalbach was utterly destroyed in theThirty Years' War, it was quickly rebuilt, and the healing water trade began to blossom. At first, the water would be sold by the jug or barrel throughoutEurope by mail order. Only a few seekers of healing undertook the arduous journey to the Taunus.
The health resort started at the beginning of the 19th century only after the improvement of road conditions through construction. The Aartalbahn (railway) fromWiesbaden to Langenschwalbach, finished in 1889, also contributed substantially to its founding. Many crowned heads, princes and counts then came to take the waters and visit the gaming parlours where few strict rules applied. After the end of theFirst World War, the nobility quickly lost importance and thus began the long, drawn-out and somewhat painful transition from a luxury spa to a public one, which only ended after theSecond World War.
In a wood near Bad Schwalbach in late 1800 or early 1801, Katharina Pfeifer is said to have borne the outlawSchinderhannes (Johannes Bückler) a child.[3]
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(July 2021) |
The municipal election held on 26 March 2006 yielded the following results:
| Parties and voter communities | % 2006 | Seats 2006 | % 2001 | Seats 2001 | |
| CDU | Christian Democratic Union of Germany | 34.1 | 13 | 33.0 | 12 |
| SPD | Social Democratic Party of Germany | 30.8 | 11 | 32.8 | 12 |
| GREENS | Bündnis 90/Die Grünen | 11.1 | 4 | 9.3 | 4 |
| FDP | Free Democratic Party | 4.0 | 1 | 3.9 | 1 |
| BSB | Bad Schwalbacher Bürgerblock | 15.8 | 6 | 11.2 | 4 |
| FWG | Freie-Wähler-Gemeinschaft | 4.1 | 2 | 9.8 | 4 |
| Total | 100.0 | 37 | 100.0 | 37 | |
| Voter turnout in % | 46.6 | 52.4 | |||
TheKurbahn, which operates on the rails of the former Moortransportbahn in the spa park, provides special access to the town’s and health resort’s history. From April to October, the trains are run by theBad Schwalbacher Kurbahn Verein e.V. on all Sundays and holidays. From Moorbadehaus Station the line leads to the Moorgruben by way of Golfhaus, Schwalbenbrunnen and Waldsee.
Bad Schwalbach's only museum was reopened in 2002 with new exhibits. Through its exhibits, it attempts to lead visitors through Bad Schwalbach’s history and its life as a health resort. Among other things, the museum includes thepharmacy museum, once displayed in private rooms. The pharmacy museum contains the oldest pharmacy in the Taunus (established in 1642), fully furnished. The museum also houses the town archive.
Also worth seeing are the seven fountains and many temples, among them theElisabethentempel, which was endowed byElisabeth of Austria-Hungary (Sissi) while she was staying at the spa in Langenschwalbach. It affords a good view over the town.
North of the town is found Alexander’s Rest – so called even inGerman – a sheltered bench which also serves as a memorial to a British spa visitor who was killed at this spot in a bicycle accident in August 1896 (he is buried at the local cemetery).
The largest employer is the Schwälbchen Molkerei Jakob Berz AG (dairy).
Bad Schwalbach lies onBundesstraße 260, also known as theBäderstraße (“Bath Road”), as well asBundesstraßen 54 and 275. The nearestAutobahninterchange is on theA 66 15 km away. There is also another interchange 20 km away at Idstein on theA 3.
Bad Schwalbach also lies on theAartalbahn, but there has been no regular passenger service since 1986, only seasonal railway-museum tours by theNassauische Touristikbahn. Bad Schwalbach is therefore the only Hessian district seat which is no longer served by rail. There have been efforts to have the line reactivated, yet they have all been unsuccessful so far. This line has been labelled a cultural monument and is Hesse's longest building monument – only the Romanlimes, a land monument, is longer.
TheRealschule (Hufeisenschule) in what was then called Langenschwalbach was attended from 1846 to 1848 byNicolaus Otto (1832–1891), the inventor born in nearbyHolzhausen an der Haide who developed theOtto engine.
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(in German)Towns and municipalities inRheingau-Taunus-Kreis district | ||
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