Thermal springs and spa: Wiesbaden is a historic spa city, which has catered to people from countries near and far for many centuries. Even the "old" Romans knew of the "Aquis Mattiacis".If you like saunaing and wellness you really have to plan one day for relaxing at the Kaiser-Friedrich Therme in the city center. This old spa lets you feel like Caesar with its old roman frescoes and its four saunas, swimming pool and whirlpools.
The spring bathing business became important for Wiesbaden near the end of the Middle Ages. In 1370, sixteen bath houses were in operation. By 1800, there were 2,239 inhabitants and twenty-three bath houses. Among visitors to the springs were Goethe, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Richard Wagner, and Johannes Brahms. In 1900, there were 86,100 inhabitants and 126,000 visitors. In those years there were more millionaires living in Wiesbaden than in any other city in Germany. Gambling always followed bathing ("Kur") en suite. Wiesbaden was famous in the 19th century for its casino ("Spielbank"), once rivaling those of Bad Homburg, Baden-Baden or Monaco. Fyodor Dostoevsky suffered from an acute gambling compulsion, he lost all his travel-money in Wiesbaden in 1865.