Baden or Aquae Helveticae forever

31 January 2026

Baden was known as Aquae Helveticae in Roman times. The settlement was already a spa town. Around 850, a Carolingian church was built on the site of today’s Catholic church.

Baden and bathing in Roman times. Historisches Museum Baden

The Counts of Nellenburg built Stein Castle in the 11th century. They were succeeded by the counts of Lenzburg and, in the 13th century, by the Habsburgs.

The castle in its heyday. Collection: Historisches Museum Baden

The ruins of the castle

The wooden bridge was built in the 13th century. Baden received city rights under Habsburg rule. In 1415, Baden was occupied and became the Untertanengebiet of the Swiss Confederation, which consisted of eight cantons. The Castle was destroyed.

The castle of the Baillif (Landvogteischloss) and the weapons of the eight cantons

The street of the Tagsatzungen, on the corner of the armoury (Zeughaus)

The Bernerhaus (1678), until 1798 the residence of the Tagsatzung representatives of Bern

The sovereign cantons met with their representatives in the Tagsatzung in Baden to discuss matters of common interest, including the administration of Aargau.

Rathausgasse and the town hall

The council chamber on the first floor of the town hall served as a meeting hall until 1712. This building on the Rathausgasse was first mentioned in 1368. Around 1500, each of the ten members of the Confederation donated an image of their coat of arms (Basel and Schaffhausen became members in 1501, Appenzell in 1513).

In 1714, Baden hosted the third and final peace congress of the War of the Spanish Succession. During the five-month negotiations, more than 60 European delegations stayed in Baden.

The ancient Inhalatorium

After the new Swiss Confederation was established in 1815, Baden began to prosper again, although Aarau became the canton’s capital. The spas were renewed and modernised, and gigantic hotels were built, including the Grand Hotel (demolished in 1944), Verenahof, Ochsen, and Bären.

From the middle of the 19th century, industrialisation also began, especially with the founding of the Brown Boveri & Cie company in 1891, which is now part of the multinational ABB. This company introduced electric lighting in Switzerland.

In 1847, Baden was the terminus of the first Swiss railway line, Zurich-Baden (Spanischbrödlibahn).