History
The celebrity of Baden dates back to the days of the Romans, who knew it by the name of Thermae Pannonicae, and remains of their occupation still exist. The settlement was mentioned as Padun in a 869 deed and received town privileges in 1480. Although sacked at various times by Hungarians and Turks, it soon flourished again. Several members of the Austrian imperial family had made Baden their summer residence and had luxuriant villas build here, most notably Emperor Francis of Austria. After the town was ravaged by a blaze in 1812 it was extensively rebuilt in a Biedermeier style according to plans by architect Joseph Kornhäusel, it is therefore sometimes referred to as the Biedermeierstadt. In World War I Baden temporarily was the seat of the high command of the Austro-Hungarian Army. The opening of the casino in 1934 finally made the town the most important spa resort of Austria. After World War II Baden served as the headquarters of the Soviet forces within Allied-administered Austria until 1955.
Read more about this topic: Baden Bei Wien
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“We don’t know when our name came into being or how some distant ancestor acquired it. We don’t understand our name at all, we don’t know its history and yet we bear it with exalted fidelity, we merge with it, we like it, we are ridiculously proud of it as if we had thought it up ourselves in a moment of brilliant inspiration.”
—Milan Kundera (b. 1929)