Schlangenbad is a municipality in the

Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis Rheingau-Taunus is a Kreis (district) in the west of Hesse, Germany. Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis is part of the Darmstadt region; its main administrative seat is Bad Schwalbach. Outposted sections of the local administration are located in Idstein and R ...

in the ''

Regierungsbezirk A ' () means "governmental district" and is a type of administrative division in Germany. Four of sixteen ' ( states of Germany) are split into '. Beneath these are rural and urban districts. Saxony has ' (directorate districts) with more res ...

'' of Darmstadt in

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Dar ...

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 ...

Geography

Location

The community, which is a health resort (''Kurort''), lies above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

in a sheltered location on a valley slope on the southern slope of the

Taunus The Taunus is a mountain range in Hesse, Germany, located north of Frankfurt. The tallest peak in the range is '' Großer Feldberg'' at 878 m; other notable peaks are ''Kleiner Feldberg'' (825 m) and '' Altkönig'' (798 m). The Taunus range span ...

from

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

, from

Eltville Eltville am Rhein (from ''Alta Villa'', Latin for "high estate, high town", corrupted to ''Eldeville'', ''Elfeld'' and later Eltville, ) is a town in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. It lies on ...

and from Bad Schwalbach.

Neighbouring communities

Schlangenbad borders in the north on the town of Bad Schwalbach, in the east on the town of

Taunusstein Taunusstein () is the biggest town in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt in Hessen, Germany. It has 30,068 inhabitants (2020). Geography Location Taunusstein lies roughly 10 km northwest of Wiesbaden and abo ...

and the district-free city of

, in the south on the town of

and the community of

Kiedrich Kiedrich is a municipality in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. Geography Kiedrich lies in the Rheingau on the south slope of the Taunus, approximately 2 km north from the town of Eltvil ...

and in the west on the town of

Oestrich-Winkel Oestrich-Winkel () is a town with roughly 12,000 inhabitants in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Oestrich-Winkel, which culturally belongs to the Rheingau region, lies o ...

Constituent communities

Schlangenbad's ''

Ortsteil A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

e'' are the state-recognized health resort of Schlangenbad and its outlying centres of Georgenborn, Wambach, Bärstadt, Hausen vor der Höhe, Obergladbach and Niedergladbach.

Climate

In Schlangenbad, the climate is what is known in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

as a ''Schonklima'', which means a climate with temperatures that never get too high (no higher than in the warmest months) and without great temperature fluctuations, usually occurring together with good shelter from prevailing winds. It does, however, cool off quite sharply in the nighttime. This moderate climate is comparable to a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

. The temperate climate permits a remnant population of

Aesculapian Snake The Aesculapian snake (now ''Zamenis longissimus'', previously ''Elaphe longissima''), is a species of nonvenomous snake native to Europe, a member of the Colubrinae subfamily of the family Colubridae. Growing up to in length, it is among th ...

s to survive in the area, despite the general cooling of the climate in what is now Germany. These snakes were once widespread in

Middle Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common History, historical, Society, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestanti ...

in warmer times, but are now otherwise only found in Mediterranean lands. Indeed, snakes are Schlangenbad's namesake: the community's name literally means “Snake Bath” in

Spa operations

Schlangenbad's thermal springs were discovered in the mid 17th century. Today, nine springs are running altogether. They issue from the ground at temperatures between and on the south slope of the Bärstädter Kopf.

Rheumatic Rheumatology (Greek ''ῥεῦμα'', ''rheûma'', flowing current) is a branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis and management of disorders whose common feature is inflammation in the bones, muscles, joints, and internal organs. Rheumatolog ...

and other inflammatory illnesses are treated at the spa.

Sport and leisure facilities

* Thermal outdoor swimming pool with kelosauna * Aeskulap-Therme (baths) * Schlangenbad tennis courts * Heinz Grein-Sporthalle Georgenborn * Sporthalle Bärstadt * Hausen football pitch

Hiking trails

* The Rheinsteig, a new trail from Schloss Biebrich near Wiesbaden to Bonn by way of the

Loreley The Lorelei ( ; ), spelled Loreley in German, is a , steep slate rock on the right bank of the River Rhine in the Rhine Gorge (or Middle Rhine) at Sankt Goarshausen in Germany, part of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site. ...

, the “Enemy Brothers” castles (Liebenstein and Sterrenberg) and

Lahneck Castle Lahneck Castle (German: Burg Lahneck) is a medieval fortress located in the city of Lahnstein in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, south of Koblenz. The 13th-century castle stands on a steep rock salient above the confluence of the Lahn River with th ...

. *

Hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

trail to Rauenthal about 45 minutes away, with an outstanding view over the Rhine Gorge. * Loop trails at the "Förster-Bitter-Eiche" carpark near the "Hinterlandswald".

Politics

Community council

The municipal election held on 26 March 2006 yielded the following results:

Town partnerships

Craponne Craponne (; frp, Crapona) is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. History The name of the commune derives from ''crappe'', which means quagmire in Old French. From 1800 to 1960, Craponn ...

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Education

* Bärstadt

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

Famous people

Sons and daughters of the town

* Ludwig von Lauter (1855–1929),

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

n artillery

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Max Knoll Max Knoll (17 July 1897 – 6 November 1969) was a German electrical engineer. Knoll was born in Wiesbaden and studied in Munich and at the Technical University of Berlin, where he obtained his doctorate in the Institute for High Voltage T ...

(1897–1969), German electrical engineer, codeveloper of the first

electron microscope An electron microscope is a microscope that uses a beam of accelerated electrons as a source of illumination. As the wavelength of an electron can be up to 100,000 times shorter than that of visible light photons, electron microscopes have a hi ...

Former and current Schlangenbad residents

*Ludwig Berger (1892–1969), filmmaker and writer *

Volker Schlöndorff Volker Schlöndorff (; born 31 March 1939 Friday) is a German film director, screenwriter and producer who has worked in Germany, France and the United States. He was a prominent member of the New German Cinema of the late 1960s and early 1970s ...

(1939– ), filmmaker and

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

winner *Wolf von Lojewski (1937– ), television moderator *Zascha Kourosh Pezeshkan (1969–Present), KRAFT Construction in Florida

Fiction

Grant Allen Charles Grant Blairfindie Allen (February 24, 1848 – October 25, 1899) was a Canadian science writer and novelist, educated in England. He was a public promoter of evolution in the second half of the nineteenth century. Biography Early life a ...

's fictional late 19th century lady detective Miss Lois Cayley visits Schlangenbad in the 1899 novel ''Miss Cayley's Adventures''.

References

External links

*
Hessisan spas - Schlangenbad
{{Authority control Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis Spa towns in Germany