Of course, there was already music in Kissingen before that. Above all, however, he rediscovered the buried 'Scharfen Brunnen' (Sharp Well) in 1738 during a relocation of the Saale in the spa garden area, which is now called the 'Rákóczy Spring'.įor Bad Kissingen, relations in the imperial and royal sphere play an important role, because music for the spa, an essential part of the spa's appeal, came from Bohemia. The Würzburg Residence is his most famous work, but he also left his mark on Bad Kissingen: The plans for the royal spa house (demolished around 1820) and the nave of the Marienkapelle were made by him. His name also brings a Bohemian into the picture: Balthasar Neumann, one of the most important architects of the Baroque and Rococo periods, was born in Eger in 1687. You can still meet him today: he is sitting, unmissable, on a chair in front of the Wandelhalle – as a sculpture by the Hungarian sculptor and painter Imre Várga. The water was as wildly gushing as one imagined a freedom hero to be, and thus had his name.

But he was a popular topic of conversation at the time when the spring named after him was discovered.

It is a curiosity that the Hungarian prince, of all people, who comes to mind first and foremost for the people of Kissingen had nothing whatsoever to do with their town: the 'freedom hero' Ferenc Prince Rákóczy, who dared to revolt against the Habsburgs. Of course, there have always been, especially in the cultural sphere.

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