Bad Fideris
The Bad Fideris was a spa south of the community Fideris in Grisons Prättigau . Mentioned for the first time in 1464, it was considered one of the most important baths in Switzerland from the 16th to the end of the 19th century . The healing spring released a sodium- and iron-containing acid. The last season started in 1939, in 1967 a flood spilled the springs and destroyed the buildings that were no longer maintained. Today there are no traces of its 500-year history on the site of the former Fideriser Bads.
history
Beginnings
The Bad Fideris was first mentioned in a document in 1464. In 1496, Count Gaudenz von Matsch, together with the Castels court, also sold Bad Fideris to Archduke Siegmund of Austria-Tyrol . The new masters leased the bath from then on as a fief.
In 1545 the Raschitscherbach, on the right bank of which the bath was located, flooded. This destroyed the facilities and buried the springs. Bailiff Peter Finer von Aspermont from Grüsch, to whom the future Emperor Ferdinand I had given the fief for life four years earlier, had the bath rebuilt. During the restoration, another spring (later referred to as the "lower spring") was discovered.
The Fideriser water (carbonated soda-iron-sourlings) was used for treatments against anemia as well as for stomach, intestinal, bladder and kidney ailments.
Development and expansion
As early as 1550, the complex again had a kitchen, a butcher's and a bakery in addition to additional rooms and rooms. In the 16th century, Fideris, with Alvaneu-Bad , Baden , Brigerbad , Bad Pfäfers , Bormio in Veltlin and Bad Tarasp, was one of the most important baths in Switzerland.
The two large bath buildings stood on a leveled slope. In 1611 the spa guests had more than 60 wooden tubs at their disposal, the water temperature and volume of which they could regulate. Access to the facility was via a bridge that crossed the Arieschbach. This crossing was torn away by floods and rebuilt several times; partly as a simple footbridge, as a hanging structure or as a covered bridge.
After the Prättigau was ransomed from Austria in 1649, the feudal takers at the time, Paul Valär from Fideris and Jann von Sprecher, were able to buy themselves free from the feudal profession. Several changes of ownership followed until Pankratius Engel from St. Antönien took over the bathroom. Under his leadership and later under the leadership of his son Simon, major investments were made in the expansion of the baths and in their protection by Wuhren . Pankratius had a sawmill built in 1766.
Under Simon Engel, the upper spring was discovered in 1782, which from then on was used as a drinking source. This spring sprang from a marl slate rock around 135 meters south of the bath house. It delivered 1.5 liters of mineral water per minute , which the guests were offered to drink. There was also a drinking hall right by the source. The lower spring was equipped with a pumping station that led the water into the bath via a large boiler.
The Danube era
Around 1806 Hans Däscher from Luzein bought the bath. He had the saw built in 1766 broken off and moved to the Luzein hamlet of Dalvazza. He did not care about the preservation of the buildings. His successor made up for that: in 1817, Johann Luzi Donau von Fideris became the owner of the facility. In the 41 years under Danube as director, the bath experienced a great boom: he had a drinking arbor and a new bridge built over the Arieschbach, heightened the two houses and built a dance floor and a wash house in addition to new stables. In 1830 the bath had its own doctor and pharmacy.
Under the Danube, the company also benefited from the expansion of the new Talstrasse through the Prättigau, which was built from 1843 to 1864. From then on, Johann Luzi Donau was considered “the Fideriser Badwirt” par excellence. In the Danube era, in 1830, a comprehensive and detailed description of the most important baths in Switzerland was published. In it, the author listed the Fideriser bath as “the most popular baths” alongside baths such as Baden, Leukerbad , Lostorf or Schinznach-Bad . At least at this point in time, the pool was open from the beginning of June to the end of September.
Bloom in the second half of the 19th century
After a few changes of ownership, a company took over the facility in 1865, after which the bath was under the management of Fideriser director Johannes Alexander for 18 years. At the end of the 19th century, the bath could accommodate up to 240 guests (1895: 240 guests present at the same time). One year after this visitor record, the guests in Bad Fideris already had electric light.
On Sundays, residents of the area also flocked to the site; not primarily to bathe, but to have fun with music and dance: in its prime, the bath had its own “spa music”.
The "Fideriser Torte", which is still known today, was created in the in-house bakery at the end of the 19th century. Ulrich Boner, who worked as a pastry chef in Russia, is said to have brought the recipe back from his stay there. It has been included in the inventory of Switzerland 's culinary heritage .
Decline
As an employer as well as a buyer of local products, the bathroom represented an important branch of the economy for Fideris and the surrounding area. The effects of the First World War, however, were evident in a marked downturn in overnight stays. However, operations could be maintained through the interwar period until 1939. Six years after this last season, the property was sold for demolition. It was no longer used until a flood in 1967 destroyed the facility.
Known guests
- Simeon Bavier was the first Graubünden member to be a member of the Federal Council from 1879 to 1882.
- Johann Beeli von Belfort (1685–1742). Landammann, envoy of the three leagues and district judge of the gray league .
- Otto Carisch , Swiss Reformed pastor and historian. Died in the summer of 1858 in Bad Fideris.
- Regula Engel-Egli , wife of a Swiss mercenary officer in the service of Napoleon Bonaparte (the “Swiss Amazon”).
- Michael Gaismair , peasant leader in Tyrol and Salzburg at the time of the German Peasants' War.
- Stefan Anton George , German poet.
- Conrad Gessner , Swiss doctor, natural scientist and classical philologist.
- Jörg Jenatsch , Bündner pastor and politician. Perpetua von Rosenroll, the sister of Jakob Ruinelli who was killed by Jenatsch in a duel in 1627, tried to have Jenatsch murdered in the kitchen of the Fideriser Bad.
- Otmar Kunz (around 1530–1577), from 1564 to 1577 Prince Abbot of the Benedictine Abbey of St. Gallen.
- Sabine Lepsius and Reinhold Lepsius , German portrait painters.
- Thomas Planta , Roman Catholic Bishop of Chur. Died in Bad Fideris in 1565.
- Johanna Spyri , Swiss writer for young people and the creator of the well-known fictional character Heidi. The herds of goats in Fideris provided her with the material to tell Moni the goat boy .
literature
- Hans Simmen: Bad Fideris. In: Bündner Calendar. 145, 1986, pp. 35-47.
- Heinrich von Malten: Description of all famous baths in Switzerland together with a general overview of the baths of the second rank and the unused medicinal springs. A handbook for use by the sick and healthy, especially travelers. Aarau 1830.
Web links
- Bad Fideris collection of the Graubünden media library.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Quirinus Reichen: Baths. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . May 4, 2017. Retrieved June 27, 2019 .
- ↑ a b c d e Hans Simmen: Bad Fideris. In: Bündner Calendar. 145, 1986, pp. 35-47.
- ^ A b Heinrich von Malten: Description of all famous baths in Switzerland together with a general overview of the baths of the second rank and the unused healing springs. A handbook for use by the sick and healthy, especially travelers. Aarau 1830.
- ^ Ottavio Clavuot: Fideris. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . November 20, 2013 , accessed June 27, 2019 .
- ↑ Fiderisertorte. In: Switzerland's Culinary Heritage.
- ↑ Oscar Vasella: Peasants' War and Reformation in Graubünden 1525-1526. In: Journal of Swiss History. 20. 1940, p. 138.
- ^ Joseph Müller: Karl Borromeo and the St. Gallen monastery. In: Journal for Swiss Church History 14. 1920, p. 192.