Resort architecture[1] or Bäder architecture (German: Bäderarchitektur) is an architectural style from the turn of the 19th/20th century which is especially characteristic of spas and seaside resorts on the coast or of health spas by Swiss lakes. The architecture of health spas in the interior of Europe is generally referred to as spa architecture (Kurarchitektur).
Architecture critics talk of Bäderarchitektur occasionally in order to describe groups of buildings or "ensembles" that are commonly found in German health spas on the North and Baltic Sea coasts that charge spa taxes.
This architectural style was developed in the late 19th and early 20th century. It is often characterised by two to four storey buildings whose façades are decorated with balconies and verandas. In larger villas there are occasionally central avants-corps. Arched or rectangular windows predominate, occasionally flanked by half-columns or blind pilasters. Triangular gables and occasionally also curved gables or small turrets close off the ends of the attics. What is special about this form of architecture is its basic composition in classical styles that are very freely combined and which may be mixed with art nouveau ornamentation, for instance on the capitals.
The most common colour is white, which is why the health spas are occasionally described as "white pearls". As a result, the rare examples in colour, for example, painted in Bordeaux red, olive green, beige or blue, set amongst their white counterparts, are very striking. Overall the buildings appear rather delicate and are often built of wood with a core of stone.
Among the best-known examples today are those found on the Baltic coast on the island of Rügen, for instance in Sellin, Binz or Göhren. Heiligendamm near Bad Doberan is the oldest German seaside spa; here to there are numerous buildings from that era.
Entire ensembles in white with occasionaly coloured buildings are found in the parish of Heringsdorf on Usedom and in Kühlungsborn. One of the oldest buildings in this style was built by Georg Bernhard von Bülow in 1845 in Heringsdorf, Villa Achterkerke. One of the most important art-historical buildings, thanks to its glass mosaic, is the Villa Oechsler built in 1883 by Antonio Salviati.