Bad Cannstatt's name originates from a Castra stativa, Cannstatt Castrum, the massive Roman Castra that was erected on the hilly ridge in AD 90 to protect the valuable river crossing and local trade.[4][5] In the past, Bad Cannstatt has been known as simply Cannstatt or Kannstatt,[6]Cannstadt, Canstatt, Kanstatt, and Condistat.[7] Its name was changed to include "Bad" (German: Bath) to mention the town's spas on 23 July 1933.
Bad Cannstatt lies on the Neckar at the convergence of various regional trails.[7]
The area was inhabited by the Seelberg mammoth hunters during the last glacial period.[8]
The town was founded during the Roman period, records survive of Roman knowledge of the area's springs.[6] The nearby Sielberg is notable for its caverns and fossils.[7]
In the 19th century, it boasted an attractive town hall, a royal theater, a market house, the Wilhelma and Rosenstein palaces, and extensive industry including wool-spinning, dyeing, steelmaking, and construction of machinery. There were then about 40 mineral springs, which were considered beneficial for "dyspepsia and weakness of the nervous system",[7] as well as "diseases of the throat".[6] Cannstatt was the site of Gottlieb Daimler's invention of the first petroleum-fueled automobile in 1886[11] and housed an automotive factory before the First World War. Around that time, it also had notable railway and chemical works and a brewery. Cannstatt was incorporated into Stuttgart in 1904.[6]
Of the 19 surviving mineral springs, 11 are recognized as state wells.[clarification needed] In the world, it is now second to only Újbuda in Budapest, Hungary, in scale.[12] The Mombach spring is the only one that releases its water without pressure in large quantities; its outflow is used in the adjacent baths and the Wilhelma spa.[citation needed]
Famous residents
Famous people associated with Bad-Cannstatt include:
Gottlieb Daimler, inventor of the first automobile, developed in Cannstatt, and part-founder of Daimler-Benz. (Karl Benz independently invented a successful automobile in the same year, 96 km away in Ladenburg.)
Emy Gordon (née von Beulwitz), writer, translator and Catholic activist