Bad Orb - History

History

Bad Orb was first documented in 1059 AD and received its town privileges in 1244 AD - which included the minting of a coin, the Orber (one half Pfennig). The remains of the battlements also originate from this time such as the walls and gates. The extraction of salt from several salt springs gives the city the look it has today. There were 11 salinas, one of them was renovated and preserved, sometimes called thorn houses or salt works, belonging in the decoction facility, in which brine dripped over a total length of 2050 meters of blackthorn twigs in order to raise the salt concentration of the water before boiling. The production of "white gold" reached its high point in the 17th and 18th centuries. The remaining salina today is used for healthcare, especially inhalation and relaxation. During secularization Bad Orb became Bavarian in 1814 when before it belonged to the Electorate of Mainz. During the campaigns of the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, Bad Orb became Prussian. After 1900 brine began to be used as an alternative medicine and is, thus, the second largest money maker for Bad Orb after tourism. Bad Orb was named a nationally certified spa town in 1909. In 1884 a children's medical facility was founded by the brothers Friedrich and Wilhelm Hufnagel, a pastor and a doctor - today known as the Spessart-Klinik.

This area of Germany is known to hold ancient Germanic tribal standards known as Orbism, ancient Orb ruins were found at an undisclosed area of Leopold Koch Straße.

Bad Orb was the site of a P.O.W. camp during WWII named Stalag IX-B. The camp held reports of 3000-4500 American Soldiers, though it is unknown the number of French, Italian, Serbian and Russian soldiers also held there. Toward the end of the war the conditions at Stalag IX-B deteriorated precipitously, as a result of poor supply and scarcity of fuel. Based on interviews with former P.O.W.s there it could rank as one of the worst German camps that held American P.O.W.s, most of them captured after the Battle of the Bulge, though the Russians were treated far worse, based on eye witness accounts, and buried in mass graves. There is a monument to the Russian Dead located at the grave site. The US mission to liberate Stalag IX-B began on April 2, 1945.