Baden bei Wien

Baden lies south of Vienna at the edge of the Vienna Woods, where warm sulphur springs have drawn bathers since Roman times. Recorded as Padun in 869, it was later surrounded by castles and vineyards whose produce was granted to monasteries. Duke Albert II gave Baden market rights in 1341, and Emperor Frederick III raised it to a town in 1480. Its baths attracted rulers as well as other visitors.

Ottoman incursions devastated Baden in 1529 and 1683. In 1613 Emperor Matthias established a court and regulations for the baths, while Maria Theresa supported a new bathing complex in 1758. Mozart visited repeatedly and composed his Ave verum corpus here in 1791. Emperor Francis I spent his summers at Baden from 1796 to 1834, drawing his court with him. After a great fire in 1812, the town was rebuilt to plans by Joseph Kornhäusel.