Baden bei Wien

Baden is a spa town in the Austrian state of Lower Austria and the capital of the Baden district. Located about 26 kilometres south of Vienna, frequently the name is given as Baden bei Wien (Baden near Vienna); this name, however, is not official, but can be used to distinguish it from other cities of the same name such as Baden-Baden or Baden, Switzerland. The municipality consists of the Katastralgemeinden Baden, Braiten, Gamingerhof, Leesdorf, Mitterberg, Rauhenstein and Weikersdorf''.

Geography
Baden is situated at the mouth of the romantic Helenental, part of the Schwechat river valley within the Wienerwald mountain range, and used to be the principal summer resort of the wealthy inhabitants of Vienna, the neighbouring Austrian capital. It possesses a Kurhaus, fifteen bathing-establishments, a parish church in late Gothic style, and a town-hall, which contains archives. The warm baths, which gave name to the town, are thirteen in number, with a temperature of from 22°C (72°F) to 36°C (97°F), and contain, as chief ingredient, sulphate of lime. They rise for the most part at the foot of the Calvarienberg (1070 ft), which is composed of dolomitic limestone, and are mostly used for bathing purposes. Baden is surrounded by about 120 vineyards and has about 70 wine pubs (Heurigen).

History
The celebrity of Baden dates back to the days of the Romans, who knew it by the name of Thermae Pannonicae, and remains of their occupation still exist. The settlement was mentioned as Padun in a 869 deed and received town privileges in 1480. Although sacked at various times by Hungarians and Turks, it soon flourished again. Several members of the Austrian imperial family had made Baden their summer residence and had luxuriant villas build here, most notably Emperor Francis of Austria. After the town was ravaged by a blaze in 1812 it was extensively rebuilt in a Biedermeier style according to plans by architect Joseph Kornhäusel, it is therefore sometimes referred to as the Biedermeierstadt. In World War I Baden temporarily was the seat of the high command of the Austro-Hungarian Army. The opening of the casino in 1934 finally made the town the most important spa resort of Austria. After World War II Baden served as the headquarters of the Soviet forces within Allied-administered Austria until 1955.

Points of interest
The town offers several parks and a picturesque surrounding, of which the most frequented is the Helenental valley. Not far from Baden, the valley is crossed by a widespread aqueduct of the Vienna waterworks. At its entrance, on the right bank of the river, lie the ruins of the 12th century castle of Rauheneck. On the left bank, just opposite, stands the ruined castle of Rauhenstein, dating also from the 12th century. About 4 m. up the valley is Mayerling, a hunting-lodge, where Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria and Baroness Mary Vetsera were found dead in 1889. Farther up is Alland, whence a road leads to the old and well-preserved Heiligenkreuz Abbey. It possesses a church, in Romanesque style, dating from the 11th century, with fine cloisters and the tombs of several members of the Babenberg family.

The highest point in the neighbourhood of Baden is the peak of the Hoher Lindkogel (2825 ft), popularly called Eisernes Tor (iron gate), which is ascended in about three hours. The composer Ludwig van Beethoven stayed a number of times in Baden, and many of his residences can still be seen today. Street addresses include Antonsgasse 4, Breitnerstrasse 26, Frauengasse 10, Johannesbadgasse 12, Kaiser Franz Ring 9, Rathausgasse 10 (a museum open to the public), and Weilburgstrasse 13. The Baden town theatre, built in 1909 by Ferdinand Fellner, mainly shows operetta performances.

Transportation
Baden can be reached by the Süd Autobahn (A2) and is linked with the Südbahn railway line (including S-Bahn line S9) at the Baden train station as well as with the Badener Bahn tram-train to Vienna.

Government
Kurt Staska (ÖVP) is Baden's Bürgermeister as a result of elections of 2010. His deputy is Helga Krismer from the Greens.

Local board (Gemeinderat) consists of 41 places:
 * ÖVP holds 18 places
 * SPÖ has 9 members
 * local bloc — 7 places
 * the Greens hold 5 places
 * FPÖ has 2 members

Natives

 * Louis V. Arco (born Lutz Altschul; 1899—1975), a Jewish Austrian actor
 * Vincent Bach (1890—1976), trumpeter
 * (Maximilian) Hugo Bettauer (1872—1925), a Jewish Austrian writer
 * Willi End (born 1921), an Austrian mountaineer (de)
 * Lucie Englisch (1902—1965), an Austrian actress (de)
 * Bert Fortell (1924—1996), an actor (de)
 * Josef Frank (1885—1967), a Jewish Austrian-Swedish architect
 * Mizzi Griebl (1872—1952), an Austrian female singer and actress (de)
 * Archduke Carl Ludwig of Austria (1918—2007), a 5th child of Kaiser Karl I von Österreich and Kaiserin Zita (de)
 * Archduchess Maria Immakulata of Austria (1878—1968, Altshausen, Germany), the 7th child of Archduke Karl Salvator of Austria and Princess Maria Immaculata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
 * Marianne Hainisch (1839—1936, Vienna), an Austrian female feminist (women's rights activist)
 * Erwin "Jimmy" Hoffer (born 1987), a footballer
 * Natalie von Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst, Ratibor und Corvey (1911 — 1989), a 2nd daughter of Maria Henriette Erzherzogin von Österreich
 * Georg Michael Höllering (1897—1980), an Austrian-British author and film director
 * Max Kuttner (1883 (1880) — 1953), a German opera- and operetta tenor, grammophone/record- and radio singer (de)
 * Karl Landsteiner (1868—1943, New York City), a Jewish physician, discoverer of the Blood type
 * Heinrich von Lützow (1852—1935), an Austro-Hungarian diplomat (de)
 * Hertha Martin (born 1930), an Austrian actress
 * Heribert Meisel (1920—1966), a legendary Austrian sport-journalist and sport-presenter of the ORF and ZDF (de)
 * Maximilian Melcher (1922—2002), artist and lecturer (de)
 * Eduard Melkus (born 1928), an Austrian violinist and violist (de)
 * Josef Müllner (1879—1968), an Austrian sculptor (de)
 * Rosa Papier (1859—1932), an Austrian female opera singer and singing-educator (de)
 * Jakob Pazeller (1869—1957), a composer
 * Karl Pfeifer (born 1928), an Austrian journalist (de)
 * Arnulf Rainer (born 1929), an Austrian painter
 * Max Reinhardt (Maximilian Goldmann; 1873—1943, New York City), a Jewish theatre director and theatre manager
 * Franz Josef Reinl (1903—1977), an Austrian composer (de)
 * Franz Reznicek (born 1903), an Austrian architect (de)
 * Rollett family:
 * Alexander Rollett (1834—1903), an Austrian physiologist and histologist (de)
 * Georg Anton Rollett (1778—1842), an Austrian collector, natural scientist and doctor (de)
 * Hermann Rollett (1819—1904), a Vormärz-poet, writer on art, archivist of the city (de)


 * Herbert Schambeck (born 1934), a jurist (de)
 * Katharina Schratt (1853—1940), an actress
 * Anton Maria Schwartz (1852—1929), a Catholic priest (de)
 * Karl Holdhaus (1883—1975), an Austrian entomologist
 * Rudolf Steinboeck (1908—1996), an actor, director
 * Marlene Streeruwitz (born 1950), a female writer (de)
 * Theodor Tomandl (born 1933), an Austrian jurisprudent (de)
 * Carl Ignaz Umlauf (1824—1902), a composer
 * Thomas Vanek (born 1984), professional ice hockey player for the Buffalo Sabres (NHL) of Czech and Slovak descent
 * Ignaz Vitzthumb (Witzthumb) (1724—1816, Brussels), an Austrian composer, acted in the Austrian Netherlands
 * Erik Werba (1918—1992), an Austrian pianist and composer
 * Ralph Wiener (born 1924), a Kabarettist, author (de)
 * Besian Idrizaj (1987—2010), an Austrian professional football player
 * Elisabeth Woska (born 1938), an actress (de)
 * Karin Scheele (born 1968), an Austrian social democratic politician and previously a member of the European Parliament

Residents

 * Karel Komzák II (1850, Prague — 1905, Baden), Czech-Austrian composer
 * Sigi Maron (born 1944, Vienna), a singer-songwriter (de)
 * Veniamin Kostitsin (born 1949, Krasnoyarsk), a Russia-born painter active in Baden