Wiesbaden, chief town of a Prussian district in the province of Hesse-Nassau, was formerly capital of the independent duchy of Nassau. One of the oldest and most famous of the German watering-places, it is delightfully situated on the south slopes of Mount Taunus, and 5 miles NW. of Mainz by rail. The town has been called 'a city of lodging-houses,' and this may be understood from the fact that during the 'season' the number of the visitors is almost as large as that of the resident inhabitants. The principal buildings are the palace (1840); the Kursaal (1810), where the visitors convene, in its delightful park and gardens; the new town-hall (1888); the museum, picture-galleries, and library; the handsome Protestant church (1853–62); the superb Greek chapel (1855), built by the Duke of Nassau as a mausoleum for his duchess; the Catholic church; the synagogue, &c. There are some twenty hot-springs; but the principal is the Kochbrunnen
('Boiling-spring'), the temperature of which is 156° F. The spring has all the appearance of a boiling caldron, and so copiously does it pour forth its waters that, though they are used both for drinking and to supply the principal baths in the town, a vast quantity escapes, and runs away through gutters and drains, sending up clouds of vapour in its passage along the streets, and adding to the warmth of the temperature of Wiesbaden in summer. Next in heat and volume to the Kochbrunnen is the spring that rises in the garden of the Adler ('Eagle') Hotel, the temperature of which is 134° F. The use of the Wiesbaden hot-springs is considered highly efficacious in cases of gout, rheumatism, scrofula, and other skin diseases and nervous affections. The waters of these springs are saline, and contain silica and iron. The prosperity of Wiesbaden is entirely due to its springs; and the beauty of its situation and environment, the agreeable walks and rides, and the never-failing gaiety that prevails during the season render it one of the most popular of the spas. Though the public gaming-tables were abolished in 1872, the number of visitors annually is about 60,000; some 5000 or 6000 strangers winter here annually. Pop. (1871) 35,463; (1890) 64,692. Wiesbaden is very ancient; its springs were known to the Romans, who built a station here and erected a fort. Many Roman remains have been dug up here and in the neighbourhood.
See works by Otto (1877), Roth (1883), Mordhorst (1886), and Heyl (5th ed. 1889).