Coudray-House Bad Berka

A hands-on museum with Aha-Experiences south of Weimar

Oberlandbaumeister Clemens Wenzeslaus Coudray designed this building on behalf of the Grand Duke Carl August as a bathing and social house for the Berka spa guests.

The ceremonial opening took place on 24 June 1825 in the presence of the Weimar court. Master builder Coudray received much praise for his “well-done building” in classicist style.

From now on, the house was the cultural and social centre of Berka’s bathing life. In addition to catering, balls, concerts, theatre performances and other events were held.

After the Second World War the house belonged to the Volksheilbad, and since 1994 it has belonged to the town of Bad Berka again. Today the Coudray House is a cultural centre of the town with many events and exhibitions.

PERMANENT EXHIBITION “BERKAER BADEGESCHICHTEN” (BATHING STORIES)

The modern permanent exhibition in the Coudray House takes visitors on an entertaining journey through 200 years of spa and health care development in Bad Berka. Among other things, the exhibition shows the beginnings as a bathhouse and its conversion into a military hospital or bakery school.

In the historic “Badegesellschaftshaus” on the northern edge of the spa gardens, the essence of what Berka is all about is presented in a fresh guise. A timeline gives visitors a chronological overview of events since 1807 in words and pictures, and they can rummage through drawers, reach for the earpiece, leaf through photo albums and scroll through old films to their heart’s content. From the discovery of the steel spring to the beginnings of tuberculosis treatment in the Sophien sanatorium to the high-tech medicine of our day, the educational is mixed with the entertaining.

In this hands-on museum, aha experiences are guaranteed for Berka citizens and guests alike!