Roman Bath Badenweiler

The Roman Bath Ruins of Badenweiler are the ruins of a Roman thermal bath in Badenweiler in the district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald. They are among the oldest buildings in Baden-Württemberg and are still considered one of the best-preserved thermal baths north of the Alps.

From 15 BC, the Romans integrated the area of present-day Southwest Germany into their empire in several stages until 150 AD. They also brought with them a highly developed bathing culture, and from thermal springs, which were already used in Celtic times, spa and healing baths emerged. The spring deities guaranteed the success of the cure. The Roman bath in Badenweiler was dedicated to the goddess of the Black Forest, Diana Abnoba.

The thermal baths in Badenweiler were built in various construction phases; at least six are verifiable. While a small building with two bathing pools was built in the first half of the 1st century AD, later additions included reception and changing rooms, sweat rooms with cold water basins, and stone-walled terraces.

After the end of the Roman Empire around 260 AD, the elaborate bathing culture also ended in numerous cases. However, Alamannic finds in Badenweiler prove that the Germanic tribes continued to use the facility here for at least some time. While one view suggests that the Germanic tribes eventually destroyed the bath, it is also suspected that it might have been affected by the severe Basel earthquake of 1356.