Bad Orb is thriving. Bad Orb is a boomtown - the momentum is right here in the Spessart. The spa town is a green oasis, a health hotspot, a must-visit destination for families and leisure, and a hub for botanical exploration. Bad Orb’s green heart is the spa district: Here you’ll find the BOTANICA student-run café, a contemporary Kneipp facility, the newly designed ALEA CENTER COURT tennis complex in Orbgrund, the modernized mini-golf course right next to the TAPATA tapas bar, the ALEA HUMMELWEIDE flowering meadow - and so much more. From the spa district, the town is reinventing itself. Numerous new sports and outdoor offerings are emerging in Bad Orb, such as the new padel tennis court, the mini-golf course, and the golf course on the Horstberg, which is currently undergoing a transformation. The ALEA infrastructure initiative aims to propel Bad Orb toward a thriving future. Numerous social and green-blue infrastructure projects are in the works or have already been implemented. The new BALNOVA bathhouse and diagnostic center takes Bad Orb to the next level as a medical hub. The ALEA SCHOOL complements the location initiative by adding education as a fundamental infrastructure component.
Bad Orb is an attractive place to live for young families. The infrastructure initiative launched by the city, the spa association, and the non-profit ALEA Park GmbH aims to create a magnetic effect and further enhance Bad Orb’s appeal.
Alongside accommodation and healthcare, education is a fundamental component of the infrastructure that contributes to Bad Orb’s appeal. An international school, the ALEA SCHOOL, is being established in Bad Orb. The ALEA SCHOOL is an independently operated school with a cosmopolitan profile. It will combine the German curriculum with that of the internationally recognized International Baccalaureate (IB) program. This bilingual G9 high school offers both the German Abitur and the IB Diploma as internationally recognized qualifications for higher education. Planned start of classes: 2025–2026 school year.
Bad Orb is located just outside the Rhine-Main metropolitan region. Bad Orb shares a particularly long history with Frankfurt. In 1899, Frankfurt noblemen purchased the Bad Orb saltworks. The Bad Orb spa gardens were designed by landscape architect Heinrich Siesmayer, just like Frankfurt’s famous Palmengarten. The connection to Frankfurt is flourishing once again in Bad Orb: Since summer 2023, the destination brand ALEA PARK has been a strategic partner of Eintracht Frankfurt and promotes Bad Orb as a spa destination at Deutsche Bank Park. At the new school in Bad Orb, the ALEA SCHOOL, a palm-themed auditorium inspired by the Palmengarten and a palm courtyard are also planned at the center of the school campus.
The spa district is the cultural heart of Bad Orb. Concerts, conferences, culinary events, and other gatherings take place here regularly. Since 2024, ALEA has been enriching Bad Orb’s calendar of events. In its first full season, ALEA brought numerous renowned guests to Bad Orb: At ALEA TANZT!, TV star Joachim Llambi and his daughter Helena Llambi hosted a live dance show at ALEA PARK. ZDF news anchor Jana Pareigis, bestselling author and cult forester Peter Wohlleben, and the California delegation from Strauss partner Los Angeles FC visited Bad Orb. Eintracht President Mathias Beck, the Eintracht Business Eagles featuring 1990 World Cup champion Uwe Bein, and current SGE stars Robin Koch, Hugo Ekitike, and Timothy Chandler were in Bad Orb. During the European Championship, Stefan Effenberg and Co. broadcast the special Euro Championship edition of “Doppelpass” live from Bad Orb. The global stars of Metallica toured the construction site of the ALEA RESORT. During the second ALEA summer, the Wald & Wonnefestival took place: German poet LEA enchanted the crowd with an open-air concert in the sunshine. TV host Judith Rakers led the program, which featured science slams and keynote talks on mental health.
The spa district in Bad Orb offers visitors a wide range of sports and outdoor activities. ALEA has created a sports complex featuring a redesigned tennis facility, padel tennis courts, and a newly built mini-golf course with a traditional 18-hole layout and high-quality artificial turf. Padel, the popular Latin American sport, arrived in Bad Orb in the summer of 2024! Padel is a classic racket sport closely related to tennis and squash. Padel is typically played as doubles, though singles matches are also possible. Like squash, this booming sport involves playing off the walls – the back and side walls are part of the playing area. As in tennis, the ball is hit over the net with a racket. Padel courts, rackets, and balls are slightly smaller than those used in tennis. In the future, golf will become more accessible to beginners at ALEA GOLF Bad Orb Jossgrund. At the heart of the new concept is the so-called ALEA Green Fee – through ALEA Club membership, individual golf sessions can be booked conveniently and with low barriers to entry; club membership is not required.
Bad Orb is home to unique botanical treasures. The founding fathers of the Orber spa gardens acted with great foresight and left us today a legacy whose value cannot be overstated. Bad Orb’s park, over 100 years old, is home to a remarkable number of venerable giant trees. What is more enduring, more worthy of preservation, than the trees in our beautiful park? They are symbols of an attitude that our world needs today more than ever. For thinking and acting sustainably means offering future generations the same foundations and opportunities for development. That is why, in 2024, ALEA planted no fewer than 112 large trees, 58 large shrubs, 4,220 shrubs, and 65,000 groundcovers and perennials in Bad Orb. Among them are botanical rarities such as the imposing Grandiflora magnolia, the honey locust, and the bluebell tree. They are considered trees of the future and climate-resilient trees, as they exhibit remarkable resistance to heat and drought.
Bad Orb is a spa town. Its forests and waters are its greatest assets. The town of Bad Orb looks back on a proud history as a spa destination. The natural brine springs have been an important economic factor since 700 B.C., providing a livelihood for Bad Orb’s citizens as far back as the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The regional and national salt market soon demanded the development of more efficient methods. The saltworks was built, featuring ten graduation towers with the distinctive blackthorn latticework – one of which still stands today. In the 18th century, this represented the cutting edge of German engineering. And because a new, disruptive industry flourished in the 19th century, Bad Orb once again adapted to the spirit of the times: the mere extraction of salt gradually gave way to the medical use of Orb’s brine springs. The Orb spa was born.
Bad Orb is reinventing the spa experience and has established itself in recent years as a national pioneer in innovative concepts for the future of spa medicine. Preserving values, embracing change: Bad Orb is a place of relaxation, fresh air, and unique botanical beauty.
The Bad Orb estate is home to a wealth of gold – both white and green. The white gold is bringing new vitality to Bad Orb. At the BALNOVA bathhouse, the spa experience will be elevated to a new level of quality in the future. This ensures Bad Orb’s long-term status as a spa town. Now for the green gold: The Orb Forest is also a treasure worth preserving. Together with forest therapy expert Dr. Gisela Immich, Bad Orb has set out to become Hesse’s first forest spa. The aim is to make the forest available to the people, the citizens of Bad Orb, and all visitors to the beautiful Spessart region. In this way, the forest is to be developed and utilized as an additional therapeutic resource alongside the brine, and the Orb bathing tradition is to be expanded to include the very contemporary use of forest therapy.
What the spa industry needs today – in addition to an attractive image – are new approaches to financing. The vision: workplace health management is the new spa. Today, it is employers who are competing for qualified workers in a crowded market. Attractive employers provide childcare options, offer healthy food in cafeterias, and enable flexible work schedules. In the future, companies will also increasingly purchase health benefits for their employees. Those who take care of their people build loyalty. There is enormous potential here, and Bad Orb can be a pioneer and model city in this regard.
The concept of the spa retreat is more relevant than ever: promoting mental balance and self-healing away from the daily grind, going on a digital detox, and healing with the power of nature. What could be a better fit for our times, with their mindfulness and back-to-nature movements? As a medical spa, the concept appeals to a vast target audience across all stages of life.
Bad Orb is working to reposition itself as a medical destination. In particular, the natural healing elements of water and forest play a central role in this effort. Key components for Orb’s future as a health resort include, in addition to the development of the Leopold Spring, the BALNOVA bathhouse with its radiology and physical therapy center, as well as the CURA SILVA therapeutic forest. The next major milestone on the path to Bad Orb’s future is the BALNOVA bathhouse. With state-of-the-art facilities such as the VISIO+ diagnostic center and the progressive PHYSIO+ physical therapy concept, BALNOVA will further strengthen Bad Orb as a health destination. Completion is scheduled for 2026. The target date for the opening of the CURA SILVA spa and healing forest is spring 2026.
At the BALNOVA bathhouse, brine is used for balneotherapy: The integrated physical therapy and diagnostic center will provide state-of-the-art medical facilities for the therapeutic use of brine. The plan is to closely integrate physical therapy and balneology: For example, rehabilitation measures will be carried out at the PHYSIO+ physical therapy practice in close collaboration with the Orbe spa physicians. Conversely, brine therapy and other balneotherapeutic treatments can also be integrated into the rehabilitation program.
Imaging diagnostics at VISIO+ will meet the highest global standards, featuring, for example, a state-of-the-art 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner, a CT scanner, and cutting-edge X-ray diagnostics. BALNOVA’s medical services are rounded out by a state-of-the-art outpatient surgical center. The team of specialists led by Prof. Dr. Gabor Szalay will combine cutting-edge diagnostics with the ability to perform a wide range of outpatient procedures.
Another goal of the BALNOVA concept is to position Bad Orb as a center for competitive sports, with plans for close collaboration with clubs and associations. ALEA and BALNOVA have been spa partners of Eintracht Frankfurt since 2023, and even more intensive medical cooperation is planned for the future.
“We see an opportunity to reposition Bad Orb as a medical hub with close ties to elite sports. Thanks to Strauss’s long-term involvement in professional sports, we have excellent connections to clubs and associations. This will further enhance Bad Orb’s appeal,” says BALNOVA developer Henning Strauss.
In Bad Orb’s vision for the future of spa medicine, the forest plays a key role alongside water: The comprehensive forest therapy concept CURA SILVA, featuring a therapeutic forest, is intended to provide Bad Orb with an additional natural remedy in the future. “Water and forest – Bad Orb has the natural potential to combine these unique selling points for the health resorts of tomorrow. Brine, the Spessart, and health resorts are our heritage and our future,” says Henning Strauss. In addition to the certification of a therapeutic forest, CURA SILVA also encompasses cutting-edge research and scientific discourse. The first CURA SILVA Symposium, held in late May, brought together leading scientists in the fields of therapeutic forest use and the application of nature-based methods for promoting health in Bad Orb. The long-term goal is to establish an international forest therapy center in Bad Orb.
The private pop-up medical practice ALEA HOUSE OF MEDICAL EXPERTS (HOME) at the Strauss Group’s ALEA RESORT in Bad Orb is also a progressive, interdisciplinary medical concept. Four specialties (neurology, cardiology, dermatology, and internal medicine) with leading experts in their respective fields under one roof, interconnected and holistic: In Bad Orb, health and preventive care are being reimagined. Medical expertise can be consulted in a consolidated manner, and health data is securely collected in one place, thereby facilitating diagnosis and treatment. ALEA HOME is also connected to a renowned external laboratory. The specialists take turns practicing on weekdays and offer consultations and check-ups—including the highly sought-after skin screenings. Comprehensive preventive care programs are planned for the future. The unique selling point is the setting: Bad Orb offers top-tier medical care in a discreet and high-quality, cozy environment in the green spa district.
Bad Orb is working to reposition itself as a medical destination. In particular, the natural healing elements of water and forest play a central role in this effort. Key components for Orb’s future as a health resort include, in addition to the development of the Leopold Spring, the BALNOVA bathhouse with its radiology and physical therapy center, as well as the CURA SILVA therapeutic forest. The next major milestone on the path to Bad Orb’s future is the BALNOVA bathhouse. With state-of-the-art facilities such as the VISIO+ diagnostic center and the progressive PHYSIO+ physical therapy concept, BALNOVA will further strengthen Bad Orb as a health destination. Completion is scheduled for 2026. The target date for the opening of the CURA SILVA spa and healing forest is spring 2026.
TAPATA is a tapas bar, café—and a Mediterranean getaway right around the corner. The restaurant brings the magic of the Mediterranean to Bad Orb: hot and cold tapas, pasta, and pinsa, specialty coffees, and contemporary cocktails. The tapas bar is located in the picturesque Orbgrund neighborhood, right next to ALEA SPORT PARK, which features mini-golf, tennis, and the brand-new padel tennis court. Following a successful inaugural season, TAPATA returns in July 2025 with a comprehensive update. The kitchen and menu have been expanded, bringing even more vacation flair to Bad Orb’s park: Mediterranean surf ’n’ turf, an open kitchen, and soul food.
Starting in late summer 2025, “Lina’s” at the Bad Orb Golf Course will serve food and drinks based on the recipes of Grandma Lina – the grandmother of ALEA founder Henning Strauss. The communities of Jossgrund and Bad Orb meet on the golf course grounds – and this is also where efforts to strengthen local culture through cuisine will continue. The traditional recipes of the grandmothers and great-grandmothers from the Spessart region are a treasure that must be preserved for future generations. With a contemporary presentation, Lina’s carries the secret recipes of regional cuisine into the future.
BOTANICA at ALEA PARK is a top-notch kiosk and educational café. Apprentices and students from the Strauss company run Botanica independently. Park strollers and Sunday picnickers sweeten their weekend trip to Bad Orb at BOTANICA: cold brew, flat white, and espresso martini, matcha latte, exclusive New World wines from California, homemade organic ice cream (including plant-based options), croissants, and Sylt bread from the Strauss bakery.
ALEA has collaborated with singer-songwriter Joshua Harfst to arrange and produce a new version of the Orb song. This new rendition celebrates Bad Orb’s anthem and brings it into the present day through music and film. The song is available to stream on Spotify. The music video was filmed in early December in the Orbwald forest on the Horstberg.
In response to the enthusiastic reception of the premiere at the “Forest” theme day on November 8, 2024, at the Bad Orb Concert Hall, ALEA founder Henning Strauss is continuing the music project: In addition to the professional studio recording and the high-quality music video released under the newly founded label ALEA SOUNDS, ALEA is also continuing the story of Bad Orb through lyrics. The addition of a new verse celebrates the spa town’s new beginning and awakening into a thriving future.
