History

The history of the Wildbad in Rothenburg ob der Tauber

15th century

After a massive earthquake around 1400, springs suddenly erupted on the slopes of the Tauber near Rothenburg ob der Tauber and brought to light water containing sulphur and metal, which was said to have healing properties. Shortly afterwards, Rothenburg's mayor Heinrich Toppler had the first small bathhouse built at the springs in the Tauber valley. As it was located outside an enclosed settlement, i.e. in ‘wild’ and impassable terrain, it was called the Wildbad. Wild baths were also built in Burgbernheim, Castell, Nördlingen and Wemding at this time.

Not much is known about bathing life in the 15th century. What is certain, however, is that the people of Rothenburg greatly appreciated the wild baths as a welcome addition to the town's five bathing parlours. As the Wildbad was located at the gates of the town, it was particularly important that guests felt safe - offences were severely punished.

16th century

At this time, the Wildbad was in municipal hands and under the control of the master builder, who was responsible for the running of the baths. He kept a close eye on the numerous helpers of the Wildbad bathers, which included bath attendants, bath maids and water carriers. At that time, it was not only part of the Wildbader's duties to run the baths and provide accommodation for guests, but also to look after their physical well-being and run an inn. It was only much later that the Wildbad's inn was leased out.

In those days, guests spent their days at the Wildbad bathing, eating and sleeping. At the time, the doctor Johann Fischer von Dailfingen recommended a bathing time of no less than 8 hours. At the beginning of the 17th century, this rule was abandoned and in the early 19th century, bathing in the Wildbad only lasted half an hour a day.

17th century

The amenities of the Wildbad also attracted Melchior Otto Voit from Salzburg to Rothenburg ob der Tauber in 1644. After Archbishop von Hatzfeld had died suddenly of a stroke two years earlier, Otto became the new Prince-Bishop of Bamberg. In the midst of the turmoil of the Thirty Years' War, he founded the Academia Bambergensis in 1647, the nucleus of today's Otto Friedrich University of Bamberg.

The Swedish colonel Count Gustav Gustavson was a guest at Wildbad in 1650. He came from a scandalous liaison between the Swedish King Gustav Adolf and his Dutch mistress Margareta Slots. In 1633, aged just 17, he commanded the Swedish troops that occupied the bishopric of Osnabrück. The Thirty Years' War eventually led him to Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Wildbad.

19th century

The year 1802 was a fateful one for Rothenburg ob der Tauber: the free imperial city lost its independence and was incorporated into the Electorate of Bavaria. As a consequence, its assets were confiscated and the town's property sold off. The Wildbad also came into private hands in 1806. The new owner was a former Wildbad landlord, but he was not a good businessman. The Wildbad soon got into financial difficulties. In 1819, the house was heavily in debt and was auctioned off.

When ‘wild water’ entered the healing spring in the middle of the 19th century, bathing and spa operations also declined. In 1894, the town sold the Wildbad to the Gögging orthopaedist Friedrich Hessing.

1902

Under Friedrich Hessing, the Wildbad experienced its “golden years”. When the imposing spa hotel opened in 1902, its construction had cost more than 1.5 million marks, an unimaginably high sum at the time.
The splint sleeve apparatus and the Hessing corset were ingenious inventions by Friedrich Hessing, based on the principle of “simultaneous relief, fixation and extension of the diseased parts”. The splint sleeve apparatus was used for diseases of the legs and hips. The body weight was absorbed at the pelvis and the body load was transferred directly to the floor via the apparatus. The amazing effect: patients were able to walk again immediately and move freely. The device was particularly effective for bone fractures, joint tuberculosis and spinal polio.

1917

After the “golden years”, bad times suddenly came for Wildbad. The First World War cast its shadow, and Wildbad's guests stayed away. Past glories began to fade and Hessing seemed to run out of money. So in 1917, he decided to sell the Wildbad to the Genossenschaft deutscher Bühnenangehöriger in Berlin. The sale of the Wildbad marked the end of an era and one of the most formative times for the Wildbad in Rothenburg.

1920-1951

The Wildbad had changing owners, including the industrial magnate Fritz Rauth and the Bavarian Local Health Insurance Association. During the Second World War, the building served as a military hospital, children's home, H.J. school and US camp. In the post-war period, the former spa hotel was a collection centre for displaced persons from the Baltic states who were waiting to emigrate to Canada and Australia.

1951-1976

During these years, the Bavarian riot police used the Wildbad as a training centre.

1977

When Transcendental Meditation (TM) wanted to open the ‘Residence of the Age of Enlightenment’ in the Wildbad and organised its first conference at the end of the year, the town of Rothenburg exercised its right of first refusal and bought the entire property for DM 300,000 from the legal successor to the Reich Association of Local Health Insurance Funds and transferred it to the Neuendettelsau Diaconia for the same price.

1980-1983

The first plans to expand the Wildbad into a conference centre were drawn up. At the Dinkelsbühl regional synod in April 1981, the synod members decided on the ‘small solution’, i.e. the expansion of the Kurhaus on the banks of the River Tauber into a youth conference centre. The state church, the Diakoniewerk Neuendettelsau and eight West Central Franconian deaneries joined forces in the new Wildbad sponsoring organisation. The conference centre began operating as early as 1983.

1986/87

At the Neuendettelsau spring synod, the ‘big solution’ for the Wildbad was decided with the further expansion of 44 rooms and a complete renovation of the building services. The Upper House was inaugurated on 3 October.

1990

On completion of the renovation work, the theatre hall was officially opened.

The Wildbad became a ‘state church institution’ and was placed under the direct management of the state church office. The sponsoring association was transformed into a ‘consultative’ advisory board.

2003

On 1 June, the 100th anniversary of the Protestant Conference Centre was celebrated.

2010

The Wildbad was commissioned by the Evangelical Church in Bavaria to become the place for questions of business ethics in cooperation with the Church Service in the World of Work (KDA). The first Forum Church - Economy - Working World took place in October 2011.

2017

The art residency wildbad project was launched. Every year until 2024, a high-calibre jury of experts selected international artists to live and work at Wildbad as part of the art residency. The open-ended artworks were handed over to the Wildbad at the end of the residency and formed a constantly growing, unique art and sculpture park right on the Wildbad's doorstep.

2018

Thanks to regular cultural events such as classical concerts, theatre and cabaret evenings, as well as dinner concerts and Sunday cafés, the Wildbad has become an attraction for locals and tourists alike and a unique ‘pearl on the Tauber’.

2024

An important step for the future of the Wildbad: After the regional church council decided to restructure and conceptually reorient its conference and accommodation centres in November 2023, the Evangelical Church and Stadtwerke Rothenburg o.d.T. GmbH developed a joint solution for the continued existence of the Wildbad. Stadtwerke Rothenburg o.d.T. GmbH has acquired the Wildbad and will lease it to the future hotel operator, Schlosshotel Hellenstein GmbH, from 1 January 2025. This has secured the continued operation of the traditional Wildbad in the long term. The hotel and conference operations will continue under the name Wildbad Rothenburg o.d.T.