Kursaal (Baden)

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Forehead

The Kursaal is a listed building in Baden , Switzerland . It is one of the social center of the spa and is located in the spa park between the station and the bathing quarter , near the Kurtheater . The building was built in 1875 according to plans by the architect Robert Moser (an earlier project by Gottfried Semper failed due to excessive costs). Since 2002, the Kursaal is Casino Grand Casino Baden used.

Building history

Kurhaus-Gesellschaft shares for more than 200 francs on March 31, 1874

Inn and spa hotel owners as well as other interested parties founded the Kurverein in 1865 to promote tourism in Baden. The board of the association prepared a building project in 1866 and asked the architect Gottfried Semper , who was then living in Zurich , for an expert opinion. Unsolicited, Semper submitted his own project for a hall with a surrounding park to his report. The total costs would have been CHF 800,000, which was far beyond the financial possibilities of the Kurverein, whereupon the break with Semper occurred. Later, the local architect gave Joseph Caspar Jeuch one a project that the builders but also did not convince.

back

In June 1871 the Kurhaus-Gesellschaft was founded and announced an architectural competition . From 23 projects submitted, Robert Moser from Baden emerged as the winner in October . Construction work began in January 1872, the design of the spa park in February 1873. The building and park were opened on May 13, 1875 with a ceremony. The construction costs originally estimated at CHF 400,000 were exceeded by 80%. Despite the assumption of a guarantee by the city, the joint-stock company was facing bankruptcy three years later, whereupon the local community decided on January 15, 1878 to acquire and lease the facility.

In 1917, Karl Moser (Robert Moser's son) was commissioned to design a music pavilion . However, the casino commission dropped the plan for cost reasons. From 1931 to 1933 a massive renovation of the Kursaal building was carried out by L. Völki. Several modern additions blocked the view of the building designed by Robert Moser. The last renovation to date was carried out in 1984–1988: The additions from the 1930s were demolished in order to better bring out the original character of the building.

building

The two-story building is kept in a historicizing style. The main wing with a hipped roof has a floor area of ​​35.5 by 26.5 meters. Two slightly drawn-in, 9.5 meter wide wings are attached to the narrow sides. As part of the renovation in the 1980s, two semicircular, glazed extensions were added to these wings. The design details of the exterior facade that disappeared at the time have only been partially restored, so that it looks rather simple today.

Grand Casino

In the Kursaal, the Grand Casino Baden went into operation on July 4, 2002 . This casino is currently one of seven in Switzerland that have received an A license from the Federal Casino Commission. This means that an unlimited number of table games and slot machines can be offered and the maximum stakes are unlimited.

In Baden, the classic games American Roulette , Baccara , Black Jack , French Roulette, Poker and Punto Banco are offered. In addition, gamblers have a total of 307 slot machines on two game levels with 76 different games. 194 of these are video machines, 53 reel machines, 16 poker machines, 27 roulette machines, 5 bingo machines and 12 multi-gaminators (July 2007). The Grand Casino Baden is also known for the poker tournaments that are held almost daily .

In 2006 the company with 250 employees generated gross gaming revenue of 101.1 million Swiss francs. Around 1200 gamblers visit the casino every day. In cooperation with the University of Social Work at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences , the “Careplay” social concept was developed, which aims to identify socially harmful play at an early stage.

As part of the referendum on June 10, 2018, the new gaming law was adopted by the Swiss electorate and came into force on January 1, 2019. With this new law, the hitherto forbidden conduct of online casino games was legalized. Licensed casinos have since been able to submit applications for a license extension.

The Grand Casino Baden also submitted a corresponding application, which was approved by the Swiss Federal Gaming Board (ESBK) in 2019. As a result, Grand Casino Baden opened “JackPots” on July 5, 2019, the first legal online casino in Switzerland.

literature

Web links

Commons : Grand Casino Baden  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Aktiensammler 02/03, p. 1, ISSN  1611-8006

Coordinates: 47 ° 28 '43.9 "  N , 8 ° 18' 37.9"  E ; CH1903:  six hundred and sixty-five thousand seven hundred twenty  /  259042