Friedrichsbad
A neo-renaissance Roman-Irish bath from 1877 where the route through seventeen stations is the point.
Balnevia
- Bathing
- Indoor
The Friedrichsbad was built over Roman foundations and opened in 1877 as the most modern bath in Europe. Its seventeen-station Roman-Irish circuit — warm air, steam, soap-brush massage, cold plunge, domed thermal pool — is followed in strict order.
Balnevia view
Why visit
For the domed central pool under blue and white majolica, and for a bathing ritual that has barely changed in a century and a half.
Recommendations
Hotels nearby
Explore places to stay near Friedrichsbad.
The water
Thermal water
- Source
- Fettquelle and Murquelle
- Mineralisation
- Sodium chloride with lithium and fluoride
- Character
- Roman-era saline thermal water, cooled for the domed pool
Facilities
- Thermal pools
- Sauna
- Massage treatments
- Steam room
- Relaxation areas
History
Built on the site of the Roman soldiers' baths of Aquae Aureliae; Mark Twain famously wrote that here you forget time within ten minutes.
Practical information
Textile-free throughout; certain days are mixed and others single-sex. Allow three hours for the full circuit.
Getting there
In the old town at Römerplatz, a short walk from Baden-Baden's Kurhaus and Lichtentaler Allee.
Location
Related places
More thermal baths in Germany
Baden-Baden/Germany
Caracalla Therme
Baden-Baden's modern thermal bath, opposite the historic Friedrichsbad.
Bathing temperature 34°C
Erding/Germany
Therme Erding
Europe's largest thermal complex, built over a 1,900-metre-deep spring.
Bathing temperature 34°C
Bad Wildbad/Germany
Palais Thermal
A Moorish-Revival bathing palace in the northern Black Forest, restored to its 19th-century state.