The Marquis Wins
199 Words
The Marquis WinsI visited Baden-Baden first in 1933 and thought it one of the most beautiful places I had ever seen.
Now, when I have travelled all over the world, I still think the same.
There is something magical about the ancient town and the glorious casino, all gold and crystal.
The gardens slope down from the fairy-tale Bremer Park Hotel to the slow-moving River Oos with its tinkling cascades and romantic bridges.
In A Gamble with Hearts, my first novel set in Baden-Baden and my second, The Marquis Wins, the heroine stays in the Stephanie Hotel, which was named by the Grand Duchess Stephanie who in 1806 made Baden-Baden famous.
A niece of the Empress Josephine, it was Napoleon who married her to the Grand Duke Karl Frederick of Baden.
Unhappy in the marriage, Stephanie made Baden-Baden the centre of her life and, as the elite of Europe were entertained in her salon, the town became known as ‘Stephanie’s Capital’.
The Stephanie Hotel soon became too small to accommodate so many visitors.
Today it has become the Bremer Park, but one can still feel the glamour and beauty that the lovely Grand Duchess left behind.
She still touches the heart of all who stay in Baden-Baden.
- Writer
