WIESBADEN, chief t. in the Prussian district of the same name, in the province of Hesse-Nassan (formerly the independent duchy of Nassau), one of the oldest and famous of the German watering-places, delightfully situated on the s. slopes of 3R. Taunus, 20 m. w. of Frankfort, and 5 m. n.w. of Mainz by railway. The town has been. called "a city of loding-houses," and this may be Understood from the fact that during the the number of the visitors is greater than that of the resident But though almost every house is appropriated to the reception or entertainment of guests, the town is well and regularly built. The kursaal Comprises an extensive din ing-hall, in which frequently 300 people sit down to dinner, and which also serves as a ball-room, together with good reading-rooms, etc. In the large gardens behind the birsaal, it is the habit of the visitors to sit in the evenings at their numerous small tables, regaling themselves with coffee or ices—the men smoking, the women knitting—and all either chatting or listening to the music played by a band on such occasions. Other buildings are the schlosseken (little palace). containing a library of. 60,000 vols., and a collection of antiquities, in which are a number of curious Roman bassi-relieri, statues, altars, etc., found in the vicinity; the handsome Protestant church, finished in 1860; the superb Greek chapel, built by the duke of Nassau as a mausoleum, iu which repose the remains of his first wife. There are 14 hot springs, all of a high temperature, and numerous bathing-houses throughout the town: but the principal is the kochbrunnen, (boiling-spring), the temperature of which is 156° Fahr. The spring has all the appear ance of a boffin.. caldron, and so copiously does, it pour forth its waters, that, though they are used both for drinking and to supply the principal baths in the town, a vast quantity escapes, and runs away through gutters and drains, sending up clouds of vapor in its passage along the streets, and adding to the warmth of the temperature of Weis badeu in slimmer. Next in heat and volume to the koeldn•unnen is the spring that rises
in the garden of the Adler(Eagle) hotel, the temperature of which is 134° Fahr. The use of the Wiesbaden hot-springs is considered highly efficacious in cases of gout, rheuma tism. scrofula, and other skin diseases and nervous affections. The waters of these springs are saline, and contain silica and iron. The prosperity of Weisbaden is entirely due to its springs; and the beauty of its situation and environment, the agreeable walks and rides, and the never-failing gayety that prevails during the season, render it one of the most popular of the spas. The season lasts from June to September, and, though the public gaming-tables were abolished in 1872, the number of visitors annually is near 40,000. Pop. '75. 43,674.
Wiesbaden is very ancient; its springs are the the Fontes Mattiaci mentioned by Pliny. The Romans built a station here, and erected a fort on a hill on the n.w. side of the town, still mown as the Romerberg, and which was garrisoned by the 22c1 Roman legion. The Hattiaci, a subdivision of the German tribe called the Catti, allied them selves with the Romans; but in the 3d c. the barbarian Germans rose against the Romans, and destroyed their forts, including Wiesbaden. Urns, tiles, coins, etc. are found abundantly whenever, the foundation of a house is dug; and that the Romans appreciated the virtues of the waters is proved by the remains of ancient baths that have been found, and by the votive tablets recording the thanks of Romans who had been restored to health by the waters, still preserved in the museum.