BADEN-BADEN

city, Baden-Wrttemberg Land (state), southwestern Germany. It lies along the middle Oos River in the Black Forest (Schwarzwald). Baden-Baden is one of the world's great spas. Its Roman baths (parts of which survive) were built in the reign of Caracalla (AD 211217) for the garrison of Strasbourg. The town fell into ruins but reappeared in 1112 as the seat (until 1705) of the margravate of Baden. Almost entirely destroyed in 1689, it revived as an asylum for refugees of the French Revolution. The popularity of Baden-Baden as a spa dates from 1808, but it reached its zenith under Napoleon III during the 1850s and '60s, when it became a fashionable resort for European nobility and society. Notable buildings include the casino, the modern baths, the Stiftskirche (founded 7th century, rebuilt 1753, and now the parish church) with tombs of the margraves, and the 15th-century Neues Schloss, the former castle-residence of the margraves and later of the grand dukes of Baden, now housing the historical museum. Nearby are the ruins of the Altes Schloss, the Lichtental Convent (founded 1254), and the Greek Chapel (1863). The resort is popular for its thermal saline and radioactive waters. Pop. (1989 est.) 50,761.