History Of Baden bei Wien
Prehistoric and Roman era of Baden
Baden has human habitation from the late Stone Age, around 3000 BC. Pottery, implements, and ornaments from the so-called Baden culture have been discovered by archaeologists at King’s Cave close to the ruins of Rauheneck castle. The sophisticated metalworking abilities, ceramic methods, and trading links with other areas defined this society.
Additionally living in the Baden region were the Celts, who left behind jewelry, swords, and money. They were renowned for their social structure, religion, and art. Meaning “the fort of the Boii,” a Celtic tribe that inhabited the area, they named the area Boiodunum.
During their first century AD conquest of Pannonia, a province that included modern-day Hungary, Austria, and the Balkans, the Romans also captured the region of Baden. Building a spa complex around the hot springs, they dubbed the city Aquae, which means “the waters.” Together with a theater, a military barracks, and residences, they built temples. The native people was progressively integrated into the Roman way of life after the Romans brought their culture, language, and laws.
Medieval and early modern era of Baden
A document from 869 that described King Louis the German’s gift of territories to the abbey of Mondsee initially referred to Baden as Padun. The Celtic term for water, from which Padun gets its name, suggests that the spa tradition has endured.
By 1341 Baden was granted market privileges, and by Emperor Frederick III, city rights in 1480. The city developed into a thriving and significant center of administration, crafts, and trade. It also drew a lot of tourists looking for rest and healing in the hot springs, particularly from the royal and noble circles. Queen Beatrix of Hungary was one of them; she arrived in Baden in 1488 in an attempt to overcome her infertility.
The Turkish invasions of 1529 and 1683 severely damaged Baden and its environs. The disease that the Turks also brought killed a lot of locals in 1713. Most of the city was destroyed by a large fire in 1714. But Baden sprang back from these tragedies and had new churches, palaces, and other structures constructed in the Baroque style.
Important historical events that Baden saw included the covert conversion of August the Strong, the Elector of Saxony and ultimately King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, to Catholicism in 1697 in order to guarantee his election to the Polish throne. He did so in the court chapel, which is today the Frauenkirche, or Church of Our Lady. An such incident was the 1832 attempt by a dissatisfied captain called Franz Reidl to assassinate Archduke Ferdinand, the heir apparent to the Austrian crown. Reidl was apprehended and put to death; the archduke was just slightly injured.
19th century to the present day
The 19th century saw Baden’s zenith when Emperor Franz I and his court made it their summer home. From 1796 to 1834, the emperor spent every summer in Baden and constructed a number of residences and gardens there. He also pushed the city’s infrastructure, cultural life, and spa amenities to be developed. The emperor set an example for many members of the aristocracy, nobility, and high society who spent their summers in Baden taking advantage of the parks, entertainment, and hot baths.
A hub of music and art, Baden also drew some of the most well-known musicians and painters of the day. During his several trips to Baden between 1773 and 1791, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote some of his masterworks, including the Ave Verum Corpus, sections of The Magic Flute and La clemenza di Tito, and the Missa brevis in Bb. During his repeated visits to Baden between 1804 and 1825, Ludwig van Beethoven also composed substantial portions of the Pastoral, the Eroica, the Missa Solemnis, and the 9th Symphony. Further well-known musicians who visited or resided in Baden were Franz Schubert, Johann Strauss, Johannes Brahms, Anton Bruckner, Gustav Mahler, and Richard Strauss.
In the 19th century, Baden also saw the emergence of a thriving Jewish population thanks to tolerance decrees that Emperor Joseph II had granted the Jews civil rights and religious freedom. The Jewish population of Baden constructed a school, a cemetery, a synagogue, and other social and cultural facilities. They enriched the city’s intellectual and economic life as well. Leading members of the Jewish community included the philosopher Martin Buber, writer Arthur Schnitzler, painter Isidor Kaufmann, and entrepreneur Albert Salomon von Rothschild. When it peaked in 1934 with 1,200 people, Baden’s Jewish population was the third-largest in Austria.
But when the Nazis seized Austria in 1938, they also persecuted and exterminated the Jewish community of Baden. The synagogue was burnt down by the Nazis, who also deported the Jewish people to concentration camps and seized their possessions. The Holocaust was survived by or escaped by very few Jews. Few hundred Jews still reside in Baden today since the Jewish community was never completely rebuilt after the war.
The two world wars had a toll on Baden as well, bringing with them poverty, devastation, and death. Soviet soldiers seized Baden following the conclusion of World War II and remained there until 1955. Baden was partitioned at this time into four zones, each under the authority of a distinct ally state. A high unemployment rate, a dearth of basic commodities, and a serious housing crisis all beset the city. But Baden overcame the post-war troubles piece by piece and became again a spa and cultural hub. The 1955 Austrian State Treaty, which gave Austria her independence and sovereignty back, was held in Baden.
Incorporation of neighboring towns
The Romans called Baden Aquae Pannoniae when it was first established as a spa town. Later, the town was included into the Habsburg and Babenberg holdings, and several nobility and emperors supported it. Baden grew in area in 1850 when it took in the thermal spring-filled nearby villages of Leesdorf and Gutenbrunn. This raised the town’s revenue and reputation as well as the amount of tourists and inhabitants.
Electrification and railway connection
At the initiative of the local businessman Josef Kornhäusel, Baden was among the first municipalities in Austria to get electricity. Austria’s second electric railway, the Baden tram opened in 1894 and began to link Baden with nearby Bad Vöslau in 1895. Both visitors and residents loved the tram, which was run by a hydroelectric facility on the Schwechat river. The tram’s success led to the 1907 founding of the Badner Bahn (Vienna Local Railway), which is still in operation today. Baden became more approachable and appealing for tourists from the city and abroad when the Badner Bahn linked it with Vienna.
Expansion and unification
When Baden joined with Weikersdorf, a town on the other side of the Schwechat river, in 1912, it saw yet further geographical growth. The histories and cultures of the two cities differed and they had been divided since the Middle Ages. The union was the outcome of a plebiscite in which most locals chose to join Baden. The new town had a greater municipal territory together with a more varied population and heritage.
Role in the First World War
As the Austro-Hungarian Army High Command, the command center for all units of the Austro-Hungarian armed forces (including the Imperial and Royal Navy), was established in the town, it also played a significant role in the First World War. Moved from Teschen in Austrian Silesia to Baden, to the Imperial House, in 1916, the Army High Command remained there until the conclusion of the war in November 1918. Furthermore, from February to June 1918, Baden served as the official residence of the Imperial and Royal Court. Throughout his reign, the final emperor, Charles I, stayed in Baden a lot since, unlike his elderly predecessor Franz Joseph I, he assumed military command personally. The wartime choices and events that took place in Baden included the crowning of Charles I as King of Hungary and the peace talks with Romania and Ukraine.
Casino and health resort
When the casino opened in 1934, Baden was firmly established as the leading health resort in Austria. Designed in the Art Deco style, the casino provided a range of games and entertainment for its patrons. Together with numerous VIPs and celebrities, the casino drew Thomas Mann, Josephine Baker, and Marlene Dietrich. A source of money and jobs for the municipality, the casino represented the glitz and refinement of Baden.
Nazi era and Second World War
Having existed in Baden since the 17th century, the Jewish population there suffered significantly under the Nazi regime. The National Socialist People’s Welfare Association seized the synagogue after the interior was damaged during the November pogroms in 1938. Many Jews had to flee or were deported. A few of them perished in carnages or detention camps. Seldom did any survive and make it back to Baden after the war.
Second World War repercussions also reached Baden, particularly in its latter phases. Individual structures including the town hall, theater, and casino were destroyed during a bombing strike on April 2, 1945, the last month of the war. Soviet forces, who arrived in Baden on April 4, 1945, also took over the town.
Post-war period and Soviet occupation
The town’s significance in the post-war era was restored when it served as the Soviet occupying troops’ headquarters in Austria. Especially in the early going of the occupation, Red Army soldiers committed murders, rapes, and looting. Deported to the USSR were some of the people detained (and occasionally tortured) in the Nikoladonivilla (Schimmergasse 17) in Baden. Up until 1955, when Austria reclaimed her sovereignty and neutrality, the Soviet Union occupied the country. After thereafter, the Marshall Plan and other financing sources helped to gradually reconstruct and rebuild the town.
Tourism and World Heritage
The town underwent complete renovation of its tourism infrastructure after 1965. Baden is regarded as one of the top health resorts in Austria once more. Visitor attractions and activities in the town include the hot baths, the casino, the parks, the museums, the theater, the festivals, and the wine culture. Rich and varied in the past, Baden is also a cultural and historical treasure with several monuments and structures.
A component of the Important Spa Cities in Europe, Baden was included to the UNESCO World Heritage List in July 2021. With this award, Baden is recognized for its exceptional universal significance as a spa town and for its contributions to the advancement of European society, culture, and medicine. Together with Bath, Vichy, Spa, Karlsbad, Marienbad, Franzensbad, Baden-Baden, Bad Ems, Bad Kissingen, and Montecatini Terme, Baden is one of eleven spa towns that comprise the World Heritage Site.
