In the 19th and early 20th centuries in particular, many prominent figures from the aristocracy and society sought relaxation and health benefits from the mineral-rich springs of Bad Kissingen, alongside guests from the up-and-coming middle classes. Prince Otto von Bismarck, the first Chancellor of the German Reich from 1871 to 1890, spent 66 weeks of his life in the spa town. He conducted his official business from the spa, received political guests and even issued the Kissingen Dictate, named after the spa town. As seriously as Bismarck took governing, he also made intensive use of the various possibilities for external and internal application of the healing springs by means of drinking cures, brine baths and inhalation. In July 2021, this favorite place of the Imperial Chancellor was now included in the Unesco World Heritage List.
The Bismarck assassination at the Rose Garden
Bismarck’s first stay in Bad Kissingen began with a proverbial bang. In 1874, he was shot at during a cab ride to the Upper Salt Works, where Bismarck had himself driven every morning for an inhalation. As he raises his hand and hat in salute, the bullet only grazes him. The assassin is arrested. The Chancellor remains calm. According to the city guide Udo Dickhage, he even had the murder weapon given to him as a souvenir from the evidence room.
Wilhelmian weight-watchers
But back to the spa life of Bismarck, who was not only a political heavyweight. Otto von Bismarck was a spa guest in Bad Kissingen 15 times between 1874 and 1890. During his stays at the spa, the Imperial Chancellor’s state of health was not only monitored by his doctor Ernst Schweninger. The whole nation wanted to take part in the popular politician’s cures and diets. The chancellor drank and ate in abundance during his everyday life in Berlin. He loved meat and pies, even for breakfast. Bismarck grew fatter and fatter and is said to have weighed an impressive 247 pounds in 1879 at an impressive height of 1.90 meters.
Bismarck bacon and Bismarck scales
Weighing Bismarck’s body weight became a public act in Bad Kissingen. There was a scale specially constructed for him. A plush armchair on which the Chancellor took a seat. The loss of so-called Bismarck fat during his stays at the spa became a national headline. Bismarck lost a lot of flab during his many weeks at the spa in Bad Kissingen. Unfortunately, many of the pounds he lost were yo-yo fat, which he put back on when he returned to government business in Berlin.
Otto von Bismarck was very popular at the time and admiration for the Imperial Chancellor really took off when he was dismissed by Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1890. The entire republic took an interest in the fate of the chancellor without office. Numerous products as well as towers and ships were prefixed with the name Bismarck. The sour herring that he praised so highly is still known today, which then made a career as Bismarck herring. This variant also has a quote from Bismarck attached to it. He is said to have said: “If herring were as expensive as caviar, people would appreciate it far more.”
Inhalation at the graduation house and brine baths
Bismarck traveled to the graduation house at the Upper Salt Works every day. In earlier times, the plant was used to extract salt. The positive health effect that inhaling the salty air had on the lungs was discovered rather by chance.
During grading, minerals and foreign bodies contained in the brine are flushed out. These are then deposited as thorn stones on the brushwood branches. The grading of fresh brine, which contains only two percent salt at the beginning of the four stages, takes around six weeks. A higher degree of salt is achieved through constant circulation and trickling. At the end, the brine has a salt content of 15 to 20 percent. Salt was only extracted from this salt broth via the graduation tower using the boiling process. The continuous trickling along the large vertical brushwood surfaces led to the secondary use for the spa in Bad Kissing. Inhaling the salty air was like taking a walk by the sea.
Of the seven healing springs in Bad Kissingen, three are used for external application. Today, the spa town is home to the KissSalis Therme, an entire bathing landscape. In the days of Otto von Bismarck, the possibilities for external application were somewhat more spartan.
Historical city tour in Bad Kissingen
Bad Kissingen’s list of prominent visitors is long. Prince Otto von Bismarck certainly occupies one of the top places in this ranking. For all visitors to the spa town who are interested in history, a guided tour with the town guide Udo Dickhage, who takes on the role of the Grand Porter, is an entertaining and informative introduction to the town’s history. Whether Romanovs or Wittelsbachs, the emperors, kings and princes of these two noble families held a high-ranking rendezvous year after year.
More about Bad Kissingen
Award: Bad Kissingen has been a Unesco World Heritage Site since July 2021. The application of the Great Spas of Europe was successful
Bad Kissingen also has plenty of culinary delights to offer. Click here for the report on culinary Bad Kissingen.
Wall calendar with photos by Georg Berg available in bookshops (also online) in various sizes: Welterbe Bad Kissingen / also as family planner (*)
The research trip was partially supported on site by Bad Kissingen Tourismus
