The former spa hotel Ludwigsbad in Bad Aibling was

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

’s first peat pulp

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...

and the world’s first

saline Saline may refer to: * Saline (medicine), a liquid with salt content to match the human body * Saline water, non-medicinal salt water * Saline, a historical term (especially US) for a salt works or saltern Places * Saline, Calvados, a commune in ...

peat pulp health resort. Its origins date back to a "Soolen- und Moorschlamm-Badeanstalt" founded by the royal Bavarian court physician

Desiderius Beck Desiderius Beck (January 12, 1804 – August 11, 1877) was a royal Bavarian court physician. In 1845 he opened the first Bavarian brine and mud bathing establishment in Bad Aibling on Rosengasse, which later became Ludwigsbad. Beck failed due to ...

in 1845.

History

19th century

In the middle of the 19th century, the spa was the centre of Bad Aibling's

health resort A destination spa or health resort is a resort centered on a spa, such as a mineral spa. Historically, many such spas were developed at the location of natural hot springs or mineral springs; in the era before modern biochemical knowledge and p ...

business. Despite this, it got into economic difficulties, which were solved when the spa was taken over by the entrepreneur Karl von Berüff."Zur Gründungszeit eine Weltneuheit". Oberbayerisches Volksblatt. 24. September 2011. https://www.ovb-online.de/rosenheim/bad-aibling/gruendungszeit-eine-weltneuheit-1418813.html (in German) File:Ludwigsbad 1900.png, External view of the Ludwigsbad ca. 1900 File:Speisesaal des Kurhotels Ludwigsbad in Bad Aibling um 1900.png, Dining room about 1900

20th century

After the owner's family had contracted debts and made default in payments, the Ludwigsbad had to be put up for compulsory sale in 1902.Manfred Schaulies (2018): Familie Meggendorfer – Geschichte einer Kaufmannsfamilie. Der Mangfallgau 22: 64–195 (in German) The entrepreneur and financier Ludwig Meggendorfer acquired the long-standing estate. Extensive reconstruction introduced a then very advanced equipment including a steam heating system, electrical light baths, hydro-electric baths and shower rooms. Under the control of the engineer von Hößle a modern spa house was erected, which featured an automatic peat pulp conditioning plant. This installation according to the "Meggendorfer-System" was able to optimise both the consistency of the mud and to disinfect it. File:Ludwigsbad 1902.png, External view, ca. 1905 File:Ludwigsbad 1918.png, Total view of the Ludwigsbad installations, ca. 1918 File:Desiderius beck.png, Memorial plaque for Dr. Desiderius Beck at the former hotel's northern wall File:Ludwig Meggendorfer. Gedenktafel am Hotel Ludwigsbad 2006.png, Memorial plaque for Ludwig Meggendorfer

21st century

File:Ludwigsbad.png, The dismantled spa hotel Ludwigsbad before the arson (Summer 2006)

References

External links

{{Commons category, Ludwigsbad (Bad Aibling)
Article on the Ludwigsbad in the official history of the city of Bad Aibling (in German)
Bad Aibling buildings and structures destroyed by arson defunct hotels in Germany hotels established in 1845