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UNESCO World Heritage Site
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Bad Ems is a small spa town (Kurort) in North-East Rhineland-Palatinate whose main claim to fame and indeed paragraph in world history is being the site of the "Ems Dispatch", a telegram that played an important part in the outbreak of the 1870 Franco-Prussian war and thus the foundation of modern Germany, indirectly leading to World War I and World War II. Bad Ems is one of 11 "Great Spa Towns of Europe", an international UNESCO world heritage site that includes famous Belle Epoque Spas throughout Europe.
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Vier-Türme-Haus ("Four tower house")
Like many, many towns in Germany—most of them with only tenuous connections to the statesman—Bad Ems has its very own "Bismarck Tower". This one opened in 1901. It is some 12.5 m tall, but cannot be climbed, as the stairs inside it were removed. It is still a somewhat interesting architectural feature, and unlike in other towns, Bad Ems can actually claim a (telegraphic) link to Bismarck
A public bath opened in December 2012
The town is small and should be walkable, except for some hills that are a bit on the steep side. Thankfully there is the Kurwaldbahn to get you up one of those hills.
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Frankfurt am Main (Lautzenhausen) · International · HHN
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