Haus vier Türme

Bad Ems, Germany, Germany

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Haus vier Türme in Bad Ems, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, is a striking early Baroque palace built starting in 1696 by Imperial Field Marshal Johann Karl von Thüngen as a private retreat during his spa visits, featuring four distinctive corner towers with curved hoods and lanterns atop a three-story rectangular block measuring 31 by 15 meters. Damaged during the French Revolutionary Wars, it reopened in 1804, was sold to a spa doctor in 1817, renovated into a luxury hotel hosting notables like composer Carl Maria von Weber and Tsar Alexander II—who treated it as his unofficial summer residence—and later managed by Nassau's domain administration. A thermal bathhouse was added in 1845 on its west side, operating until the 1960s, though a major fire on July 3, 2024, destroyed the attic and towers, leaving its current restoration status uncertain amid its role as a theater and restaurant.