From the mid-19th century onwards, when Germany's first casino and spa rooms (kurhaus) opened here, aristocratic Baden-Baden set the standard for leisured elegance in Europe. Royal guests mingled with the wealthy from all over Europe, not only to take the waters at Europe's hottest thermal springs in sumptuous buildings like the Friedrichsbad, but also to enjoy other pleasures of the summer season, such as gambling, flirting, and horse-racing. The exclusive atmosphere in Baden-Baden and air of elegance has been more or less maintained, though today's visitors strolling down the Lichtentaler Allee come from all over the world.
The closely packed Old Town of Baden-Baden is built on the slopes of the Schlossberg. Half way up is the Gothic Stiftskirche, with the tomb of Margrave Ludwig Wilhelm, known as "Türkenlouis" (1707), and a sandstone crucifix by Nicholas of Leyden (1467). To the north-east, on the slopes of the Schlossberg, one of the world's most sumptuous bathing halls, the Friedrichsbad Baden-Baden was built in the form of a mock renaissance palace between 1869 and 1877. Inside, the little pools are exquisitely decorated with pillared arches and mock-classical tiles. The speciality of the house is the Roman-Irish Bath, a two-hour programme of showers, hot air and steam baths, soap-and-brush massage, and thermal bathing.
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