Bad Säckingen is a health resort on the border with Switzerland. It is also known as the "city of trumpeters" because of Joseph Victor von Scheffel's novella "The Trumpeters of Säckingen".
The beginnings of the town date back to the 8th century and are related to the Säckingen monastery founded there. It existed until the 17th century, and now the remaining buildings are occupied by church charitable institutions.
Bad Säckingen's medieval old town is nicely restored. There are many picturesque tenement houses, a gothic church, and a wooden covered bridge, one of the longest in Europe. It leads to the Gothic Schonau Castle, home to the Schönau Castle Hochrhein Museum and the Trumpet Museum. The latter houses instruments, the oldest of which are over 300 years old.
Since the 19th century, Bad Säckingen has been developing as a thermal spa. The spa park is surrounded by many health facilities, including spa hospitals and sanatoriums, as well as the modern swimming pool Aqualon Bad Säckingen, which is the city's main attraction.
