Bad Orb facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bad Orb
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Bad Orb seen from Molkenberg
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| Country | Germany | |
| State | Hesse | |
| Admin. region | Darmstadt | |
| District | Main-Kinzig-Kreis | |
| Elevation | 200 - 250 m (−620.2 ft) | |
| Population
(2022-12-31)
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| • Total | 10,725 | |
| Time zone | CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) | |
| Postal codes |
63619
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| Dialling codes | 06052 | |
| Vehicle registration | MKK, GN, SLÜ | |
Bad Orb is a special town in Germany. It's known as a "spa town" because it has natural springs with salty water. People visit Bad Orb to relax and get healthy. The town is in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis district of Hesse.
Bad Orb is about 32 kilometers (20 miles) east of Hanau. It's surrounded by the beautiful, wooded hills of the Spessart forest. More than 10,000 people live here. The town's economy mainly relies on health and tourism.
Contents
Exploring Bad Orb: Where is it?
Location and Surroundings
Bad Orb sits in a valley next to the Orb River. This river flows into the Kinzig River. The town is surrounded by the green Spessart hills, including the Wintersberg. Nearby big cities include Hanau, Aschaffenburg, and Frankfurt to the southwest. Fulda is to the northeast.
Neighboring Towns
Bad Orb shares its borders with several other communities. Clockwise from the north, these are Wächtersbach, Bad Soden-Salmünster, the unincorporated area Gutsbezirk Spessart, Jossgrund, and Biebergemünd.
Bad Orb's Story: A Look Back in Time
Early Days and Salt Production
People called Celts lived in this area around 650 BC. We don't know if they knew about the salt here. In 1054, a king named Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor gave the area around Orb to a church group in Mainz. This meant Mainz controlled the town until 1803. Bad Orb was first written about in 1059. It was called a town for the first time in the 1200s.
In the past, Bad Orb was allowed to make its own coins. These coins were called the Orber Hälbling. Parts of the old town wall you can see today were built around this time.
An old trading path called the Eselsweg (which means "donkey trail") starts in Bad Orb. This path goes all the way to Großheubach. Long ago, people used this trail to carry salt to the Main River.
Making salt from natural salt springs was very important for the town. There were eleven "thorn houses" or "salt works." In these places, salty water (called brine) dripped over long lengths of blackthorn branches. This made the water even saltier before it was boiled to get the salt. Salt production was at its highest in the 1600s and 1700s.
Becoming a Spa Town
After some big changes in Germany, Orb became part of the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1814. People started using the springs for health treatments as early as 1837. After a war in 1866, Bad Orb became part of Prussia in 1867.
In 1884, two brothers, Friedrich and Wilhelm Hufnagel, started a medical center for children. Today, this is known as the Spessart-Klinik. After 1900, people began using the salty water for different medical treatments. Salt production stopped in Bad Orb in 1899. In 1909, Bad Orb was officially named a "nationally certified spa town." The remaining salt works are now used for medical treatments like breathing in the salty air.
World War II and Modern Times
From 1939 to 1945, during World War II, there was a prisoner-of-war camp called Stalag IX-B near Bad Orb. It was located on a hill called Wegscheideküppel. Soldiers from different countries were held there. There is a monument at a graveyard near the old camp site to remember those who passed away.
After the Prussian state ended, Bad Orb became part of the state of Hesse.
What Bad Orb is Known For Today
Bad Orb is a spa town. This means that hospitals, places for rehabilitation, and doctors are very important here. Besides health services, tourism is the town's biggest industry. Many people visit to enjoy the spa and the beautiful surroundings.
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Town Leaders
- 2021 - now: Tobias Weisbecker
- 2016 - 2021: Roland Weiß
- 2010 - March 2016: Helga Uhl
- 1998 - 2010: Wolfgang Storck
Sister City
Bad Orb has a special friendship with another town:
Istra, Russia
Fun Things to See and Do in Bad Orb
Bad Orb has a charming old town with many traditional half-timbered houses. You can still see large parts of the medieval town wall, including old towers and a gatehouse. Some famous old buildings include those on Hauptstraße, the Henkershaus, Alt-Orb, Goldenes Rad, and Salzgrafenhaus. The old castle now holds a town museum.
There are two main churches:
- St. Martin is a Gothic church from the 1300s. It burned down in 1983 but was rebuilt.
- Martin-Luther-Kirche was built in 1902 and 1903 in a Gothic Revival style.
The town offers many things for visitors, like the Saline (the old salt works) and the Kurpark (a spa park). The forests around Bad Orb have many trails for hiking and biking.
There is also the Spessart Wildpark, a wildlife park that opened in 1937. Its future is currently uncertain.
Important Places and Services
Bad Orb is home to the Frankfurter Schullandheim Wegscheide. This is a summer camp for children that started in 1920. It's on the land of an old army training camp. The "Spessart Clinic" is also here, which is a children's hospital founded in 1884.
Local Issues: Wind Farms
Like in other towns nearby, there are discussions about building tall wind farms on the wooded hills around Bad Orb. Some people are worried about how this might affect the forests, animal homes, and the town's beauty for visitors. They also wonder if there is enough wind for the farms to work well.
Famous People from Bad Orb
Born in Bad Orb
- Karl von Braun (1832-1903), a legal expert.
- Georg Adalbert Huhn (1839-1903), a priest and member of parliament.
- Gregor Kraus (1841-1915), a botanist and professor. He started the study of microclimatology.
- Burkhard Oly (1938-2008), a sculptor and goldsmith.
People Connected to Bad Orb
- Helmut Jahn (1936-2013), a painter who lived in Bad Orb.
- Franz Leopold Koch (1782-1850), a pharmacist who started the first bathhouse in Orb.
- Franz Josef Scherf (1865-1929), a doctor and spa director in Bad Orb.
See also
In Spanish: Bad Orb para niños
