Kurpark Baden AG, Spa park in Baden, Switzerland
Kurpark Baden is an English landscape garden north of Baden's old town, about 240 by 150 metres, bordered by a slope toward the historic spa quarter. Its southern half is dominated by the Kursaal built in 1875, now housing the Grand Casino Baden; the Kurtheater Baden (1952) stands in the northwest corner, and a small pond lies between the two. The tree collection includes copper beech, ginkgo, Lawson cypress, giant sequoia and black walnut.
In 1865 the hoteliers of the spa quarter founded the Kurverein to build a conversation hall for guests. Gottfried Semper proposed a detailed park plan, and Robert Moser won the 1871 competition; the park and Kursaal opened in 1875 on land that had been the Roman settlement of Aquae Helveticae. The 1881 brick and timber theatre was replaced in 1952 by Lisbeth Sachs's Kurtheater, and the park was renovated from 2007 to 2009.
The park was laid out for the guests of Baden's thermal baths, and the Kursaal of 1875, now housing the Grand Casino Baden, still anchors its southern half. Hermann Hesse described the park in his 1925 collection Kurgast. The Kurtheater Baden, designed by Lisbeth Sachs, replaced an earlier brick theatre in 1952.
The park lies north of Baden's old town, bordered by a slope toward the historic spa quarter; the Kursaal with the Grand Casino occupies its southern half, and the Kurtheater stands in the northwest corner. A small pond sits between the two buildings. The grounds were renovated from 2007 to 2009, when a new pond was created and paths renewed.
During the 2007–2009 renovation, cantonal archaeologists found remains of the Roman road from Aquae Helveticae to Turicum (Zurich) and traces of timber-and-rubble buildings near the pond. Two well-preserved pottery kilns from the mid-1st century still held shards of their last firing.
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