(Berlin 1816–1904 Trieste)
A View of the “Römerbad” Spa (Rimske Toplice) near Celje/Cillio in Slovenia, signed, dated B. Fiedler 1849, p.Triest, oil on canvas, 80 x 120 cm, framed

As the name suggests, the thermal springs of Rimske Toplice were used by the Romans. They built the first pools, sacrificial sites and votive monuments dedicated to the nymphs and Valetudo, the goddess of health. Around 1840, the Triestine merchant Gustav Adolf Uhlich bought the thermal baths and expanded them after his wife Amalia was cured by taking the slightly radioactive waters at the springs. The town experienced a significant boom over the following years, with the opening of the Vienna-Trieste railway line making travel much more convenient. Among the most famous visitors of this period were the British princess, the queen of Prussia and the German empress Victoria, Napoleon’s sister Caroline, the Serbian writer Vuk Karadzić, Emperor Ferdinand I, Archduke Johann, the writer Franz Grillparzer and many others. It was customary for guests to plant exotic trees near the Roman baths, and Canadian hemlocks, Mediterranean cypresses and Californian cedars can be found in the area to this day. During the Second World War, the German army conquered Rimske Toplice and built a military hospital there. After 1945, the Yugoslav People’s Army administered the institution and the spa was only accessible to a closed circle of officers until 1991 and was then left to fall into disrepair. Since then, the facility has been restored and modernised and is now open to all.