The German city of Baden-Baden, which for 200 years was “a place of attraction for Russians”, is unlikely to regain the sympathy of the inhabitants of Russia. This will result in serious consequences for the resort.
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There are 1,150 registered residents in Baden-Baden with a Russian passport and about the same number with dual citizenship. The usual situation in a small resort town has changed after the aggravation of the Ukrainian crisis.
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“The most Russian city in Germany” was shocked when the Russian flag was removed from the hall for health-improving water procedures, and the Baden-Baden town hall at the same time hung the flag of Ukraine.
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One of the local bakery chains decided to rename the pie it produces from “Russischer Zupfkuchen” to simply “Zupfkuchen”, that is, without the word “Russian”. After a wave of protests, the company returned to its former name.
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The shops on Sophienstrasse, the shopping street with the most expensive boutiques, are already empty. “The pedestrian zone looks even worse,” witnesses say.
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These are unusual events for a resort town that has been an attraction for many Russians for 200 years. Baden-Baden always enjoyed making money off of them.
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Free Democratic Party politician and chairman of the German-Russian Cultural Union René Loz called the new policy appalling. In his opinion, Baden-Baden only harms himself with such “ritual acts”.
