Hanau-Wilhelmsbad State Park

Spa and fun - the Wilhelmsbad of the then Count of Hanau was a renowned, flourishing spa in the 18th century. In today‘s Hanau-Wilhelmsbad State Park, the buildings of the historic spa culture and the early English landscape garden with its many attractions have been almost completely preserved.

At a glance

Parkpromenade 7
63454 Hanau

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: Outdoor area freely accessible

History

In 1785, a traveller wrote happily in the Teutschen Merkur about Wilhelmsbad near Hanau: “Anyone who is not comfortable here must be very ill indeed.” There were treatments, comforts, pleasures and then nature, which surpasses everything. It was not a businessman who ensured that the charms of the popular spa were extraordinary, but William IX (1743-1821), hereditary prince and later count of Hanau. He had entered the “wellness business” after mineral springs were discovered in a local quarry. Together with the engineer Franz Ludwig Cancrin, he realised buildings in late Baroque style from 1777 onwards. They were lined up in a long axis along a promenade, in the middle of a landscape park of 37.5 hectares that was being created at the same time.

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