From the train station to history: Baden-Baden between world heritage, transport connection and urban identity

View of the Florentinerberg in Baden-Baden with Friedrichsbad (front), Stiftskirche (left) and New Palace (top right)

In the seminar "Urban typologies - architecture journalism workshop: We write about architecture", students at the Chair of Urban Quarter Planning are working on architectural journalism. The lecturer is the editor and building historian Ulrich Coenen.

The 17 seminar participants research under supervision and write articles about architecture, urban planning and monument preservation. Various journalistic forms of presentation are practiced.

One of the main topics was the spa town of Baden, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2021. The lecturer, who specializes in spa towns and their architecture, introduced the seminar participants to the topic of European spa architecture in a lecture. This was followed by an excursion to Baden-Baden, after which three discussions were held with experts: Nobuhiro Sonoda, Chairman of the Baden-Baden/Rastatt Chamber Group of the Baden-Württemberg Chamber of Architects, Thomas Schwarz, Lt. City Planning Director and Head of the Office for Urban Development and Building Law of the City of Baden-Baden and Dr. Eva Zimmermann, Head of the Cultural Heritage / World Heritage Department of the City of Baden-Baden.

Selina Hofstetter has written a report on the challenges facing Baden-Baden:

Selina Hofstetter
From train station to history: Baden-Baden between World Heritage, transport links and urban identity

What does the UNESCO award mean for the spa town's urban development?

Baden-Baden on an exceptionally hot Saturday afternoon in June. There's nothing you want more than to cool off in the shade with a cold drink in your hand.

The scene seems to have been arranged: A cloudless sky stretches across the Oos valley, the light sculpts the facades. The spa gardens, carefully composed between nature and architecture, unfold as a green stage. The Trinkhalle, Kurhaus with casino and theater form an ensemble of different 19th century architectural styles. But behind this picturesque backdrop lies a central question: how can the spa town, recently awarded UNESCO World Heritage status, preserve its historical identity and at the same time cope with growing traffic and tourism?

The city as a stage set, built for strolling, meeting and representing. Today, this backdrop serves a new audience: bridal couples, equipped with voluminous dresses and photographic entourages, use the architectural order as a projection surface for private stagings. The public space, once designed for 19th century society, temporarily becomes the stage of a digital age.

Baden-Baden was never conceived solely for the upper middle classes. The aristocracy, artists and intellectuals were among the defining figures of the time. Architectural historian Ulrich Coenen, a specialist in spa towns and their architecture, describes the spa town as a special urban form and "laboratory of modernity" in which social, urban and cultural developments were concentrated.

Around 75 AD.AD, the Romans founded the spa town at the hot springs, which was primarily used for the recreation of legionaries. The Roman name Aquae has been retained to this day and was developed into Baden-Baden. This ancient origin has shaped the town from the Middle Ages to the present day: historic buildings, spa parks and cultural facilities combine to create an urban identity that unites wellness, culture and relaxation in a unique way.

UNESCO World Heritage: history and responsibility

The city of Baden-Baden is now part of the transnational World Heritage "Great Spa Towns of Europe". Its inclusion on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2021 officially recognizes what has been manifested in the city's historic architecture since the 19th century. As Coenen emphasizes, Baden-Baden is the best-preserved German spa town, as it was largely spared destruction during the Second World War.

Representative architecture, landscape design and social aspirations were combined here to form a synthesis whose preservation today requires not only museum care, but also conceptual development. Baden-Baden has been awarded the title of "World Heritage Site" together with ten other 19th century European spa towns in a total of seven countries. They share responsibility for the further development of this heritage.

Public transport as a challenge

If you want to get to know Baden-Baden not only through postcards, but also by public transport, you will first experience the gap between aspiration and reality. The historic train station is located in the Oos district, five kilometers away from the actual city center. Once you arrive, you board a bus in the direction of Kaiserallee or Luisenstraße. Only then do you enter the old town with its sometimes spectacular architecture.

If you get off at Kaiserallee, you head towards the beautiful gardens, the Trinkhalle and the Kurhaus. However, if Luisenstraße is your final destination, you will be greeted by an unattractive Leopoldplatz, which is an unpleasant place to be, especially in the summer heat with its pavement.

There was once a connection via a branch line - the former terminus station is now the foyer of the Festspielhaus. The dismantling of the tracks in the 1970s marked a step backwards in terms of infrastructure, the consequences of which can still be felt today. "A mistake that we can mourn today," regrets Thomas Schwarz, head of the local authority's Office for Urban Development and Building Law.

The consequence of this decoupling is not only logistically problematic, but also affects the identity of the city itself. The World Heritage Site demands more than the mere preservation of facades. It demands a reactivation of the urban planning standards that once characterized the city. In the historic spa town, buildings and paths were part of an overarching order. Today's traffic, on the other hand, follows this order less closely. It is an expression of a break with the past, an urbanity without structure.

A city in transition

"The city is changing," remarks Nobuhiro Sonoda, Chairman of the Baden-Baden/Rastatt Chamber of Architects. He grew up in Baden-Baden, where he still lives and works as a freelance architect. The increase in tourism, boosted by the UNESCO title, has a direct impact on traffic congestion. The cityscape suffers from the growing car traffic, especially from day tourists who prefer individual mobility.

This poses a growing challenge for the city: how can a living space be maintained that is equally a place to live, experience and relax without being overwhelmed by the volume of traffic? "The higher numbers of day tourists are a side effect of the World Heritage title that we have to deal with," says Thomas Schwarz.

Individual projects are trying to counteract this. The "Rad-Allee", a cycle path corridor from the train station to Geroldsauer Mühle, is intended to make the Oos valley a tangible experience and promote alternative forms of mobility. "Transport and urban development are interdependent and must be solved together," says Schwarz. A comprehensive concept that does justice to the World Heritage title and integrates the mobility needs of residents and visitors has yet to be developed.

Between heritage and future

The city of Baden-Baden thus symbolizes a dilemma faced by many World Heritage sites: Recognition by UNESCO brings international visibility and tourist magnetism, but it also creates pressure. The task of heritage conservation does not end with the preservation of the building fabric. It begins with the integration of historical structures into contemporary urban development. And this development must also answer questions of accessibility, infrastructure and everyday life.

After all, the heritage of the spa town lies not only in its architecture, but also in its spirit. This heritage should not be preserved like a fossil, but transformed into a form that does justice to Baden-Baden today. A World Heritage title may honor the past, but its real significance lies in the future. It will decide whether Baden-Baden can continue to be a spa town in the full sense of the word or whether it will degenerate into a mere backdrop for a golden age.

Roman bath ruins (so-called soldiers' bath) under the Friedrichsbad in Baden-Baden

Drinking hall in Baden-Baden, built by Heinrich Hübsch (1839-42)

Kurhaus in Baden-Baden, built by Friedrich Weinbrenner (1821-24)

Promenade with theater (left) and Kurhaus colonnades

Leopoldsplatz