3 min read

Bad Reichenhall: Not Bad At All

Photos taken/written by Jennifer Mahon

State Spa Building in the Royal Spa Park (Königlicher Kurpark)

Day 13...of 19... Leaving Salzburg, we Hotwire-ed a hotel and ended up at Hotel Salzburg Park. Despite the name, this hotel is actually 20 km outside of Salzburg—and, surprise! It’s not even in Austria; it’s in Germany. The town? Bad Reichenhall. After arriving, I learned that "Bad" actually means "Spa," which makes total sense once you see the place.

BAD REICHENHALL

Since we had no clue we'd end up in this town, I had no expectations, but this was one of those happy surprises. The hotel was super cute, inexpensive, had a massive room, and—bonus—free parking. While parking the car, we noticed a beautiful park right next door with a giant grass-covered wall. So, bags dropped, and off we went to explore.

Turns out, we were right next to the Royal Spa Park (Königlicher Kurpark), and that giant grassy wall? It was the Gradierhaus (or Gradierwerk) which translates to Salt Evaporation House. More on that below, but there was something about this place—it definitely has an "old people" vibe, but at the same time, it felt magical. It’s touristy, but not full of tourists. It has so much to see, but it’s tiny at the same time.

YOU'VE GOTTA SEE...

GRADIERHAUS

This strange-looking structure dominates the Königlicher Kurpark. I linked the area to Google Earth because it doesn't even come up on a Google Map search - like it doesn't exist! Google Earth still doesn`t recognize it by name so I had to manually pin the spot - good luck to anyone actually looking for this thing!

At first, we had no idea what it was—just a massive wall with grass, twigs, and thorns, with water trickling down. Built in 1912, this is the largest open-air Alps Brine inhalatorium (fancy for salt evaporation house) in the world. Saltwater flows down the walls and evaporates, releasing salt particles into the air, which are said to improve respiratory health.

Apparently, the thing to do is walk around the Gradierhaus or sit by the fountain (the town supplies plenty of lounging chairs) for about an hour and breathe in the salty air. Does it work? Maybe. Probably. Maybe that’s why when I think back on it, it seems magical to me. Would explain all the elderly people lounging around in hopes of the Gradierhaus healing whatever ails them.

Fun fact: Mozart and his family were regulars here, and Mozart swore by the healing powers of the Gradierhaus. So, if it’s good enough for Mozart...

Photos: Gradierhaus or Gradierwerk (Salt Evaporation House) in Bad Reichenhall

KÖNIGLICHER KURPARK

The beautiful park where the Gradierhaus is in, the Kurpark was initially laid out in 1870 by landscape architect Von Effner. It’s a mix of grassy areas, shrubs, and trees, with sections lined with colorful flowers during the summer. The park is also home to Philharmonic concerts, which take place outdoors when the weather’s nice or inside the State Spa Building Rotunda when it’s not. I think that’s the name—honestly, everything I found online about this place is in German, and my knowledge of the language only extends to ordering white wine and finding the bathroom!

There’s also the Old Salt House, which we didn’t make it to because everything was closing by the time we explored the town. But we did get a look at the Evangelical Church—it’s cute from the outside, though the inside was closed.

Photos: Fountain in the Royal Spa Park (Königlicher Kurpark) beside the Gradierhaus | State Spa Building in the Royal Spa Park (Königlicher Kurpark) | Sneaking a peek at Bad Reichenhaller Philharmonie

Photos: Little bit of the Alps showing in the background | Somewhere in the Old Town | Mozart Fountain in a cute courtyard somewhere in the Old Town

YOU'VE GOTTA EAT...

MAMA ROSA

Dinner time rolled around, and everything in Bad Reichenhall seemed to be closing up. Do people here even go out to eat? After walking the entire town centre (which, by the way, took all of 45 minutes), we finally found Mama Rosa, still open for dinner.

Just like we stumbled upon the most authentic Greek restaurant in Füssen, Germany, it seems we found the most authentic Italian spot here in Bad Reichenhall. The staff spoke only a tiny bit of English, so we resorted to pointing and miming to get our orders across.

But ordering white wine (Weiß wein) was a breeze! The food? Fantastic. Fresh pasta, fresh seafood, great wine, and surprisingly delicious cannolis for dessert—all for 39 EUR total! Considering our usual dinner bill ran around 80 EUR for two, this was a steal.

That’s it for Bad Reichenhall—a town we didn’t plan on visiting but were so glad we did - Bad Reichenhall was not bad at all!