Bad Wiessee (

Central Bavarian Central Bavarian form a subgroup of Bavarian dialects in large parts of Austria and the German state of Bavaria along the Danube river, on the northern side of the Eastern Alps. They are spoken in the ' Old Bavarian' regions of Upper Bavaria (wi ...

: ''Bad Wiessä'') is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the district of Miesbach in

Upper Bavaria Upper Bavaria (german: Oberbayern, ; ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany. Geography Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and seat o ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Since 1922, it has been a

spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath in 1668. H ...

and located on the western shore of the Tegernsee Lake. It had a population of around 4800 inhabitants in 2014. The word "Bad" means "spa" or "baths", while "Wiessee" derives from "Westsee", meaning "western part of the lake". Bad Wiessee was first documented in 1017 in the tax book of the

Tegernsee Abbey Tegernsee Abbey (German Kloster Tegernsee, ''Abtei Tegernsee'') is a former Benedictine monastery in the town and district of Tegernsee in Bavaria. Both the abbey and the town that grew up around it, are named after the Tegernsee, the lake on th ...

, encouraged to pay goods to the abbey. Bad Wiessee is known for its healing sulfur-fountain, discovered by the Dutch oil explorer Adriaan Stoop in 1909 while he was drilling for oil. He built the first iodine sulfur bath in 1912 after oil production had been exhausted. People spend their holidays in Bad Wiessee because of its quiet atmosphere and its location at the north side of the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

. Tourism is one of the main sources of income for the population of Bad Wiessee. Although spa tourism has declined in the last decades, Bad Wiessee is still very popular for its casino and with wealthy people, many of them buying a second home or condo to spend their holidays or retirement there. The hotels, shops and restaurants cater for the medium-price-category traveller but traditional B&B and reasonable priced accommodations are still available all year round.

History

Bad Wiessee became notorious as the scene of the key events linked to the

Night of the Long Knives The Night of the Long Knives (German: ), or the Röhm purge (German: ''Röhm-Putsch''), also called Operation Hummingbird (German: ''Unternehmen Kolibri''), was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany from 30 June to 2 July 1934. Chancellor Ad ...

, 30 June 1934, when

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

and the

Schutzstaffel The ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS; also stylized as ''ᛋᛋ'' with Armanen runes; ; "Protection Squadron") was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe d ...

(SS) purged the leadership of the

Sturmabteilung The (; SA; literally "Storm Detachment") was the original paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party. It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s. Its primary purposes were providing protection for Nazi ral ...

(SA), many of whom were staying at the resort, in the Hotel Hanselbauer. The key leaders

Ernst Röhm Ernst Julius Günther Röhm (; 28 November 1887 – 1 July 1934) was a German military officer and an early member of the Nazi Party. As one of the members of its predecessor, the German Workers' Party, he was a close friend and early ally ...

, Anton von Hohberg und Buchwald,

Karl Ernst Karl Ernst (1 September 1904, Berlin – 30 June 1934, Berlin) was an SA-'' Gruppenführer'' who, in early 1933, was the SA leader in Berlin. Prior to joining the Nazi Party, he had been a hotel bellboy and a bouncer at a gay nightclub. He w ...

Edmund Heines Edmund Heines (21 July 1897 – 30 June 1934) was a German Nazi politician and Deputy to Ernst Röhm, the '' Stabschef'' of the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA). Heines was one of the earliest members of the Nazi Party and a leading member of the SA in M ...

and

Peter von Heydebreck Hans-Adam Otto von Heydebreck, called Peter von Heydebreck (1 July 1889, in Köslin – 30 June 1934, in Stadelheim Prison) was a German Freikorps- and SA leader, member of the Reichstag and a Nazi. Heydebreck served as an officer in the Ge ...

were arrested and taken to

Stadelheim Prison Stadelheim Prison (german: Justizvollzugsanstalt München), in Munich's Giesing district, is one of the largest Prisons in Germany, prisons in Germany. Founded in 1894, it was the site of many executions, particularly by guillotine during the Nazi ...

where they were later executed. From 1939 to 1945, Bad Wiessee was also the retirement home of Field Marshal

Werner von Blomberg Werner Eduard Fritz von Blomberg (2 September 1878 – 13 March 1946) was a German General Staff officer and the first Minister of War in Adolf Hitler's government. After serving on the Western Front in World War I, Blomberg was appointed chi ...

, who as Minister of Defence/War (1933-1938) had been one of the architects of the German

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

. Both Blomberg and Field Marshal

Albert Kesselring Albert Kesselring (30 November 1885 – 16 July 1960) was a German '' Generalfeldmarschall'' of the Luftwaffe during World War II who was subsequently convicted of war crimes. In a military career that spanned both world wars, Kesselring beca ...

are interred in the ''Bergfriedhof'' Cemetery in Bad Wiessee. Image:Bad Wiessee Rathaus 2.jpg, Bad Wiessee Town Hall Image:Bad Wiessee Maria Himmelfahrt 3.jpg, Maria Himmelfahrt Church Image:Bad Wiessee Seepromenade 1.jpg, Promenade on the lake Tegernsee Image:Bad Wiessee Hotel Gasthof zur Post 4.jpg, Hotel and inn "zur Post"

References

External links

Official websiteLake tegernsee and its towns
{{Authority control Miesbach (district) Spa towns in Germany