Baden Baden

Baden-Baden, the name being reduplicated to distinguish it from other Badens, is a town in the Grand Duchy of Baden. It is famous for its thermal springs which were known to the Romans, who called the place Civitas Aurelia Aquensis. Distant 18 miles S.W. from Carlsruhe, and 22 miles from Strasburg, it has a lovely site in a rich valley of the Black Forest, and its natural advantages have been enhanced by art, the roads and public gardens being tastefully laid out and the houses picturesquely constructed. The gambling-tables that once drew thither vast crowds of visitors have been suppressed, but the medicinal properties of the waters and the attractions of the locality still render it one of the most popular of German summer resorts. There are ancient ruins in the neighbouring town, an old church, a Jesuit college, and very commodious public buildings of modern date. The Empress Frederick has a country seat near the town.