Wiesbaden Feature on ‘Lost in Places’: In Hot Water

Sandra Weinachtby Sandra Weinacht
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The Romans called it Aquae Mattiacorum, the waters of the Mattiaci, and Wiesbaden has soaked up that reputation ever since. Twenty-six thermal springs still rise here, the hottest at about 150°F (66°C). By the nineteenth century, the town had turned that steam into an elegant industry, drawing aristocrats, artists, and industrialists to bathe, promenade, and try their luck at the tables.

Travel writer Andrew T. Nelson, author of the Substack newsletter Lost in Place, captures that spa-town spirit in a Wiesbaden story that is “part history lesson, part good company”.

The grand Nassauer Hof, opened in 1813, is where Kaiser Wilhelm II and Tsar Nicholas II met in 1903, with guests as varied as Audrey Hepburn and the Dalai Lama following. Across the Bowling Green, the Kurhaus casino is where Dostoyevsky famously lost his travel money in 1865, an experience that fed into The Gambler.

Historic square in Germany with fountain and classical architecture at sunset.Wiesbaden Kochbrunnen Fountain (c) Brian Lehmkuhl
Historic building in Germany with lush greenery and warm sunset lighting.Kurhaus Wiesbaden (c) Brian Lehmkuhl
Scenic view of the historic observatory in a lush green park in Wiesbaden, Germany.Wiesbaden Neroberg Hill Park (c) David Vasicek CC-BY-4.0

Five Ways to Wiesbaden

  • Kaiser-Friedrich-Therme: An Art Nouveau bathing palace from 1913, built on the site of a Roman bath. Tiled pools, ornate interiors, and wellness with a touch of civic pride.
  • The Kurhaus and the Bowling Green: A sweep of lawn leads to neoclassical columns and Imperial German self-assurance. Place your bets, then keep your shirt.
  • The Kochbrunnen: Wiesbaden’s best-known spring steams away inside a pretty 1887 pavilion, surrounded by nineteenth-century architecture and cafés made for strolling.
  • The Nerobergbahn: A little funicular from 1888 climbs the Neroberg to woodland paths and a Russian Orthodox church from the 1850s, built by a devoted husband as a memorial to his young bride.
  • The Rheingau: Wiesbaden is the gateway to Riesling country, with vineyard hills rolling toward Eltville and Rüdesheim, and to Kloster Eberbach, the twelfth-century Cistercian abbey where The Name of the Rose was filmed.

Nelson’s favorite moment is the Christmas market season, when the Sternschnuppenmarkt, the Shooting Star Market, twinkles around the Marktkirche. There is mulled wine, handmade ornaments, and, after a bit more of the wine, the firm belief that standing outside in the frigid damp is the most natural thing in the world.

Christmas market in front of Wiesbaden Cathedral with festive lights and decorations.Wiesbaden Christmas Market (c) Roger Richter CC-BY-4.0
two woman standing on a Christmas market holding mugs and talking to each otherWiesbaden Christmas Market, WICM, Svenja Muenzer

Read Andrew Nelson’s full piece, “Wiesbaden: In Hot Water,” on his substack Lost in Place.