Kissingen

Bad Kissingen

Bad Kissingen viewed from Bodenlaube ruins

Coat of arms

Bad Kissingen

Location of Bad Kissingen within Bad Kissingen district

Coordinates: 50°12′N 10°4′E / 50.200°N 10.067°ECoordinates: 50°12′N 10°4′E / 50.200°N 10.067°E

Country

Government

• Lord Mayor

Kay Blankenburg (SPD)

Area

• Total

69.42 km² (26.80 sq mi)

Elevation

220 m (720 ft)

Population (2015-12-31)

• Total

21,696

• Density

310/km² (810/sq mi)

CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)

97688

0971

Website

Bad Kissingen is a spa town in the Bavarian region of Lower Franconia and seat of the district Bad Kissingen. Situated to the south of the Rhön Mountains on the Franconian Saale river, it is one of the health resorts, which became famous as a "Weltbad" in the 19th century.

The town was first documented in the year 801 as chizzicha and was renowned above all for its mineral springs, which are recorded from as early as 823. Kissingen was first mentioned as "oppidum" (town) in 1279. The town developed to a spa in the 1500s and recorded its first official spa guest in 1520. Kissingen grew to be a fashionable resort in the 19th century, and was rebuilt as such during the reign of Ludwig I of Bavaria. Crowned heads of state such as Empress Elisabeth of Austria, Tsar Alexander II of Russia and King Ludwig II of Bavaria, who bestowed the 'Bad' on Kissingen in 1883, were among the guests of the spa at this time.

On 10 July 1866 during the Mainfeldzug of the Austro-Prussian War, Kissingen was the site of fierce battle between Bavarian and Prussian troops.

Imperial Chancellor Otto von Bismarck visited Kissingen's spas many times, and in 1874 narrowly avoided assassination by Eduard Franz Ludwig Kullmann there. In 1877 the Kissingen Dictation (German: Kissinger Diktat) was written here, in which Bismarck explained the principles of his foreign policy. Bismarck’s former home in Kissingen is now the Bismarck Museum. Other well-known visitors to the resort included author Leo Tolstoy and artist Adolph von Menzel.

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Wikipedia