General information
The Litschgi House consists of two parts: A Southern section (on the right as seen from the road), which, according to the inscription on the door lintel of the side entrance, was renovated in 1867, whereas the inscription, which is now covered up, on the inside of the building gives the year 1564 as being the year of construction for the vaulted entrance hall. The left-hand, Northern section of the buildings was purchased by the Litschgis from the municipality in 1698. The municipality originally had a community meeting hall here, which it was forced to sell to the Litschgi family following the destruction and plundering during the wars with France.
The Litschgi family of merchants, who came originally from the Aosta Valley in Italy, built on this ruined plot the building which still stands today and combined it with the right wing - the door lintel on the Basler Strasse shows 1700 as being the year of completion. With its beautiful oriel window and the extended front on the Basler Strasse, the Litschgi house is one of the most impressive bourgeois houses in south Baden. The building was renovated at the start of the 1980s. As part of these measures, a new building complex was built behind the Litschgi house, including a row of shops and apartments and the courtyard was renovated to include an underground car park. Today the hall at the Litschgi house (the Litschgi Cellar) hosts cultural events.
The Roman road
Few people travelling today through Bad Krozingen along the main road, the old Bundesstrasse 3, or B 3, will imagine that there was once an extensive Roman settlement of up to 5,000 inhabitants here. Between the first and the third centuries A. D. there were all along the main road (today’s B 3) guest houses and commercial businesses to supply the needs of long-distance travellers and traders. The archaeological excavations and coins found here indicate that the settlement was founded in around 70 A. D. and continued in use until around 260 A. D. One area to the south of the Palace, which it is thought formed the heart of the Roman settlement, forms a designated protected excavation area. Once again visible above ground level today are the Roman fountain on the B 3 main road, and the Roman cellar behind the Black Forest Clinic (Schwarzwaldklinik) in the spa area.
Town museum
Containing many finds from the archaeological excavations in the area and situated on the old Roman road, the town museum displays many aspects of the everyday life in Bad Krozingen during Roman times. The main focus of the exhibition is on the finds from the Roman pottery-making quarter, whose products achieved great sales volumes deep into Switzerland. The former sales room at the Baroque Litschgi house provides an almost Roman atmosphere. With its reconstructions of a Roman kitchen and a games table, amongst other things, it is intended to recreate a Roman guest house.
In the cellar of the town museum there is an exhibition on the history of Bad Krozingen before its first documented mention. This is divided into two parts. In one department, opened in May 2012, finds from the Stone and Bronze Ages can be seen. These demonstrate that there was a very early population of the region of the Upper Rhine. There are also exhibits on the region’s history during the times of the Celts.
The second major exhibition, which is also in the cellar, is devoted to the life and works of the Latvian author Zenta Maurina and was opened on 12th May 2013. Some of her personal effects are included in this exhibition.
The newest department of the town museum is dedicated to the life and works of the priest Father Marquard Herrgott. Herrgott was a Benedictine monk, historian and envoy to the Vienna court as well as finally provost in Bad Krozingen.
