The springs of Baden were known to the Romans, and the foundation of the town is referred to the Emperor Hadrian by an inscription of somewhat doubtful authenticity. The name of Aurelia Aquensis was given to it in honour of Aurelius Severus, in whose reign it would seem to have been well known. Fragments of its ancient sculptures are still to be seen, and in 1847 remains of Roman vapour baths, well preserved, were discovered just below the New Castle. From the 14th century down to the close of the 17th, Baden was the residence of the margraves, to whom it gave its name. They first dwelt in the Old Castle, the ruins of which still occupy the summit of a hill above the town, but in 1479 they removed to the New Castle (still so called), which is situated on the hill-side nearer to the town, and is remarkable for its subterranean dungeons. During the Thirty Years' War Baden suffered severely from the various combatants, but especially from the French, who pillaged it in 1643, and laid it in ashes in 1688. The margravine Sibylla rebuilt the New Castle in 1697, but the margrave Louis removed to Rastadt in 1706. Since the beginning of the present century the Government has greatly fostered the growth of the town.
BADEN, Switzerland, a small town in the canton of Aargau, on the Limmat, 14 miles N.W. of Zurich. It is much frequented on account of its warm medicinal springs, which are about 20 in number, and vary in temperature from 98° to 126° Fahrenheit About 15,000 persons visit the place annually. Tacitus, in the first book of his Histories (c. 67), incidentally speaks of it as in modum municipii extructus locus, amæno salubrium aquarum usu frequens; and numerous remains of pillars and inscriptions, coins, and other antiquities confirm his description. It was destroyed by the Alemanni and the Huns, but was again frequented during the reign of Charlemagne, though its modern prosperity only dates from the 15th century. For a long time the countship of Baden was in the hands of the Hapsburgs, but it was conquered by the Swiss Confederates in 1415. It was here that the famous disputation of Eck with Zwingle and Œcolampadius took place in 1526; and here was held the conference of 1589. In 1714 the peace which put an end to the war of the Spanish Succession was concluded at Baden between Austria and France; and four years afterwards a treaty between Zurich, Berne, and St Gall received its name from the town. Resident population, 3412.
BADEN, the chief town of a circle in Lower Austria, about 12 miles S. of Vienna on the railway to Gratz. It is beautifully situated at the mouth of the romantic Helenenthal, near the banks of the Schwachat, a rapid stream with several waterfalls, and has become a favourite summer resort with the inhabitants of the neighbouring capital. The warm baths, which give name to the town, are thirteen in number, and vary in temperature from 72° to 97° Fahr. They rise, for the most part, at the foot of the Calvarienberg, which is composed of dolomitic limestone. The number of patients is about 8000 annually. The celebrity of Baden dates back to the days of the Romans, who knew it by the name of Aquæ Cetiæ; and remains of their occupation still exist. In 1812 the town suffered severely from a fire, but it has since been elegantly rebuilt. The principal buildings are the church of St Stephen, the theatre, the casino, and the military hospital. A short distance to the west of the town stands the castle of Weilberg, which belongs to members of the imperial family. The only manufacture of much importance that is carried on in Baden is the production of steel-wares; these, especially the razors, are of excellent quality. Permanent population, about 6500.
BADGER (Meles), a family of Plantigrade Carnivora, possessing greatly elongated bodies and short limbs, each of the latter furnished with five toes, provided at their extremities with long, powerful claws, by means of which they form deep burrows in the earth. The carnassial tooth, which in the bears is wholly tuberculate, is in the badgers provided also with a cutting edge, their whole dentition being specially adapted to the partly vegetable, partly animal diet on which they subsist. The badger differs from all other mammals in having the lower jaw so articulated to the upper, by means of a transverse condyle firmly locked into a long cavity of the cranium, that dislocation of the jaw is all but impossible, and this enables those creatures to maintain their hold with the utmost tenacity. The European badger (Meles Taxus) may be taken as typical of the entire family. It is nowhere abundant, but is found over the entire northern parts of Europe and Asia. It is a quiet, inoffensive animal, nocturnal and solitary in its habits, sleeping by day in its burrow, and issuing forth at night to feed on roots, beech-mast, fruits, the eggs of birds, some of the smaller quadrupeds, frogs, and insects. It is said also to dig up the nests of wasps in order to eat the larvæ, as the ratel—a closely allied South African form—is said to rob the bees of their honey. The male and female are seldom seen together, and are supposed to trace each other by means of the odour of the secretion contained in a glandular pouch beneath the tail. Although the badger does not seek to attack, yet, when driven to bay, its great muscular power and tough hide renders it a formidable antagonist, as was often seen in the days, now happily gone by, when badger-baiting was a favourite amusement of the English peasantry. Fossil remains of the badger have been found in this country, apparently contemporaneous with the extinct cave bear, hyena, and tiger; still more ancient remains are said to have been found in the Red Crag of Suffolk, and should these prove authentic, the European badger, says Professor Owen, “will be the oldest known species of mammal now living on the face of the earth.” The American badger (Meles Labradorica) is a native of California and Texas, and in its habits closely resembles the former species; it seems, however, to be more carnivorous. According to Gray, several species inhabit the southern parts of Asia. When badgers were more abundant than they now are, their skins dressed, with the hair attached, were commonly used for pistol furniture. They are now chiefly valued for the hair, that of the European badger being used in the manufacture of the best shaving-brushes, while the softer hair of the American species is employed for the same purpose, and also for painters' pencils. 5197 skins of the American badger were imported into London during 1873.
