Andrea Schaer

Andrea Schaer is a freelance archaeologist, cultural historian and author.

The “Kesselbad” and “Hell”…

Andrea Schaer 22.09.2022 In the Middle Ages and the early modern period, the thermal baths at Baden im Aargau played host to scores of distinguished visitors. These esteemed guests had access to exclusive baths and bathing areas with special amenities, and some of these areas are still preserved today.

The baths at Baden in about 1600. Reconstruction after M. Merian.

Isis and Verena: two holy women at Baden’s healing springs

Andrea Schaer 11.07.2022 At the thermal springs in Baden, the Romans worshipped a goddess with her roots in Egypt. After the Baden region converted to Christianity, a saint from Lower Egypt became the patroness of the spa town on the Limmat.

Isis (left) and St Verena (right). Isis: Roman statue from the 1st century BC, Verena: sculpture dating from the late 15th century.

Bathing in the open air

Andrea Schaer 27.06.2022 Up to the mid-19th century, the mineral hot baths in Baden im Aargau were known for their open-air thermal pools.

The square in the “Grosse Bäder” of Baden im Aargau, ca. 1780. On the left is the public outdoor pool; on the right, the legendary St Verenabad.

The baths at Baden – Switzerland’s first “tourist hot(s)pot”

Andrea Schaer 11.03.2022 Long before Switzerland became a popular tourist destination, the hot mineral springs at Baden in Aargau were a magnet for people in search of rest and relaxation. The first souvenir of Switzerland: high-profile guests and numerous travel reports carried the spa town’s reputation into the wider world.

Knife scabbard fittings made by the Roman bronze-smith Gemellianus were popular souvenirs from Aquae Helveticae, today’s Baden, in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD.