Büttenquelle
From Stadtwiki Baden-Baden
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The Büttenquelle (Bütten spring) is a wall fountain in the Büttenstraße. A 15 meter long gallery behind it leads to the supplying thermal spring. The wall fountain is a replica of the original fountain, which was destroyed when the house Büttenstraße 8 was torn down in 1993.
History[edit]
The existence of the Büttenquelle was proved by a deed from 13 June 1471. The margrave gave it to the town in 1477. Probably in the 17th century the spring was caught in a gallery.
The Büttenquelle became well-known at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, when a new radioactive element was discovered in its water. At that time the Büttequelle was called the most radioactive source in Europe. The city tried to take advantage of this new attraction. Among other things, a pipeline was built between the source and the Palais Hamilton. In the mansion the so called Büttenquellen-Emanatorium was established, an institution where it was possible to inhale the natural and supposedly health-promoting radium radiation. In 1923 the institution was closed, due to lack of visitors.
In the years 1926 to 1928 the basement of the butcher shop in the Büttenstraße was expanded. During the earthworks there was a discharge of hot water. In order to stop the water a lot of cement was pushed into the hole until it was sealed. One of the consequences was that the Büttenquelle ran dry and was declared "out of order" in 1935. Only in the course of blasting operations for the department store Horten (now Wagener) in 1979, the Büttenquelle became active again. After the water had damaged the masonry of the house Büttenstraße 8, a pipe was laid from the source to the wastewater tunnel in front of the fountain. After the house was sold, the new owner tore it down in 1991. The Antiquities and Monuments Office of Baden-Württemberg obligated the owner to preserve the gallery to the source, to reinstall the head stone of the tunnel and to reconstruct the destroyed wall fountain. The Baden-Baden sculptor Walter Grimm created the replica according to old plans.
Sources[edit]
- Article Einst als radioaktivste Quelle Europas eingestuft of Karl Reinbothe in the newspaper Badisches Tagblatt 21.08.2012