Baden

The thermal springs in Baden were first used shortly after 14 AD, when legionaries from the nearby Roman camp Vindonissa began bathing in the hot springs along the Limmat river. The Romans called the settlement Aquae Helveticae, meaning 'Waters of the Helvetii.' Archaeological finds from 2006-2022 reveal an extraordinarily wealthy settlement with bath complexes ranking among the most significant north of the Alps. The springs emerge at 47 degrees Celsius.

From 1421, the Swiss Confederation chose Baden as the regular meeting place of the Tagsatzung -- the annual multi-week assembly of all Swiss cantons, comparable to today's Council of States. Baden was chosen because it was neutral ground, centrally located, had excellent inns, and the thermal baths offered relaxation between sessions. The Tagsatzung hall in the Rathaus was the most important gathering place of Swiss governance for nearly 300 years.

Burg Stein was built before the year 1000 on a 445m hill overlooking Baden's Altstadt. Under Habsburg rule, it served as the administrative center of the Vorlande and housed the famous Habsburger Urbar -- a detailed record of all Habsburg possessions. In 1415, the Swiss confederates conquered Baden, plundering and destroying the Stein. It was rebuilt between 1657-1670 but destroyed again in 1712 during the Second Villmergen War. Today only the Burgkapelle Sankt-Nikolaus survives.

On 2 October 1891, Charles Eugene Lancelot Brown and Walter Boveri founded Brown, Boveri & Cie (BBC) in Baden. Brown was a brilliant designer born in Winterthur; Boveri was a cool-headed project manager from Bamberg. BBC transformed Baden from a sleepy spa town into an industrial powerhouse. In 1987, ASEA and BBC merged to form ABB, today a global leader in power and automation technology.

The Teufelskeller near Baden is a prehistoric landslide area formed roughly 100,000 years ago, featuring bizarre Nagelfluh rock formations with towers rising 20 metres above the forest floor. The legend of the Chrueziberg tells of a king's daughter who visited a hill inhabited by spirits. During terrible storms the spirits devastated the hill, and the princess was turned to stone. She was eventually rescued by a miraculous image from a nearby monastery.

In 1847, the Spanisch-Broetli-Bahn became the first railway line entirely on Swiss soil, connecting Zuerich to Baden. It was built because Zurich's wealthy wanted fast access to Baden's thermal spa. The line fueled Baden's golden age as a fashionable resort.

The Holzbruecke in Baden is a covered wooden bridge crossing the Limmat, 39 metres long, first mentioned in 1242. The current bridge dates from 1810. At the western end stands a life-sized sandstone statue of St. John of Nepomuk, installed in 1707 -- the only large Baroque sculpture in Baden. St. John of Nepomuk is the patron saint of bridges.