DEUTSCHLAND	GERMANY
Bundesland: Freistaat Bayern	Bavaria
Regierungsbezirk: Unterfranken
Kreis: Bad Kissingen

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Bad Brückenau is situated at an elevation of 332 m in the Sinn valley of the western foothills of the Kuppenrhön mountain region. The municipality has a population of about 6,400 (2015) and is subdivided into the boroughs Bad Brückenau, Pilsterhof, Röderhof, Römershag, Sinnthalshof, Staatsbad Brückenau, Stockhof, Stockpapiermühle, Volkers, Volkersberg and Wernarz.

The early history of the town is sparsely documented. The first buildings were probably erected close to a ford across the Sinn. By the 12th century the settlement had reached the size of a small town. The earliest mention of the town is made in a document dating back to 1249, when Fulda Abbey granted Sinn-Au certain privileges. In 1310 Sinn-Au was granted the rights of a town. With that, the town gained the rights to maintain its walls, hold markets, have its own council, cut tree in the forests, raise taxes on wine and so on. In 1597 the town received its present name Brückenau, when a bridge (German: Brücke) was built over the Sinn. In the 15th century mention is made of a sour-tasting well four kilometers down the valley. Even then, the water was known for its curative properties, and in 1747 the bishop Fulda built a fountain. Under his successor, the first hotels were built and two more wells discovered. The Baroque ensemble along the main axis of the Kurpark dates back to these days. In 1816, following the Napoleonic Wars, Brückenau became part of the Kingdom of Bavaria. Brückenau became the favorite spa of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, who financed an extensive renovation. After the German Revolution of 1848 and the abdication of Ludwig I, the Bavarian government leased the spa to private entrepreneurs. In the first decade of the 20th century, the town, rebuilt after the fire, began to imitate the success of the spa. Three wells were discovered, the town and a group of citizens created two parks. In the administrative reform of 1970, the Staatsbad became part of the town and all of Brückenau was granted the official title Bad.