Wiesbaden is a city in Germany, located about 30 km (~ 19 miles) from Frankfurt at the Rhine river. At the other side of the Rhine you can find Mainz. If you leave Wiesbaden you are entering the Rheingau, the area of Germany were most of its (sometimes famous) wine comes from. If you travel up the Rhine you will see many vineyards at the surrounding hills. Wiesbaden is also famous for its casino (the "Spielbank Wiesbaden", as it is called in German) and its hot springs, which are the reason why there are still many sanatoriums in Wiesbaden.
Wiesbaden is the capital of the German state (German: "Bundesland") Hessen.
Statistics
Population: 267 847 (2000 est.)
Area: 20 390 ha (2000)
History
First traces of a settlement reach back to 3000 b.c., about 15 a.d. the Romans built a military post in the area and soon started to exploit the hot springs - the first city was born. The name strated to evolve 830, when it was first called "Wisibada" by the Franconias who lived there at this time. At the end of the medieval era it belonged to Nassau, a local kingdom (Germany was split into many small kingdoms at that time). In the 19th century Wiesbaden started to grow and became more important - some political and economical figures started to visit Wiesbaden (mostly because of its hot springs) or even built their homes there. Its importance dimished because of World War I and the Great Depression.
Then a dark period in history began, when the Nazis took over Germany, who also had some offices in Wiesbaden. Many, many jews in Wiesbaden were deported and murdered. The nazis destroyed the synagog in Wiesbaden, the location of which is a memorial today.
Because it is located in the middle of Germany only very few buildings in Wiesbaden were destroyed during World War II and so Wiesbaden became the capital of Hessen after the war. Its location in the middle of Germany and the middle of Europe and its position in the Rhein-Main-Gebiet, the area around Frankfurt, helped Wiesbaden to grow, so that it is the home especially of many media businesses today. But you will also find many beautiful old buildings here because of Wiesbaden's long history - so for foreigners a walk through the city may be well worth the time.
Events in Wiesbaden
The "Theatrium" - The city decided that "Theatrium" sounds nicer, but to the people living here this event is still known as the "Wilhelmstraßenfest" (German for "Wilhelm street festival") as it takes place on the "Wilhelmstraße", which is a large street with the most exclusive shops in Wiesbaden, named after Kaiser Wilhelm II who built most of the old buildings in Wiesbaden. For a weekend this street is closed for cars and the local vineyards and restaurants open up booths were you can purchause wine (of course), cocktails, but also non-alcoholic beverages and local (and not-so-local) food. It's an event most people won't miss so you often find everybody you know there. (Except you already drank too much, of course.)
The "Weinwoche" (German, "wine week") - Like at the "Theatrium" the vineyards and restaurants once again open up their booths in the center of the city. But this time they don't open them in the Wilhelmstraße and so they don't need to close streets - that's why this event can take place not only a week (like the name suggests) but 10 days.
More information about Wiesbaden (in German and English) is available on its official website http://www.wiesbaden.de/