Spielbank Wiesbaden

The casino

Spielbank Wiesbaden traces its licence to 31 January 1771 and introduced roulette in 1782, which makes it one of the oldest gaming houses in Europe.

The classic games fill the former wine hall of Friedrich von Thiersch’s 1907 Kurhaus, a neoclassical room of cherry-wood panelling and crystal chandeliers. It holds seven American roulette tables, five blackjack tables and eight poker tables. Around two hundred slot machines line the 129-metre Kurhaus colonnade, said to be the longest columned hall in Europe.

Entry is free. No jacket is required, though sportswear and shorts stay outside.

Fyodor Dostoevsky won here in 1863 and gambled away his money in 1865, years that fed into his novella The Gambler.

The hotel

The Schwarzer Bock on Kranzplatz is first recorded in 1486, which makes it the oldest hotel in Wiesbaden and one of the oldest in Germany. Radisson has run it since 1995.

Its in-house thermal bath is fed by the hot springs that gave Wiesbaden its name, and the spa, sauna area and treatment rooms are open daily. The late-16th-century Ingelheimer Zimmer has panelling from Ingelheim Castle. The Kurhaus is a few minutes’ walk through the old town.

The city’s grand hotel opposite the Kurhaus, the Nassauer Hof, closed on 31 December 2025 for a complete renovation and is expected back in 2028. Until then the Schwarzer Bock is the historic choice.

Eating and drinking

Inside the casino, the Joker’S restaurant serves playing guests in the classic gaming area from 6 p.m., and the K1 Bar keeps the slot hall company.

The streets around the Kurhaus are dense with wine bars and restaurants from the Rheingau. The one-starred Ente, for 45 years the kitchen of the Nassauer Hof, now cooks at Kloster Eberbach in Eltville, half an hour away by car.

The setting

Wiesbaden is a city of boulevards and neoclassical façades, and a stay here is urbane rather than hushed. The Kurhaus faces the Bowling Green with its two fountains and backs onto the Kurpark with its concert shell and pond. The Hessian State Theatre stands beside it.

Kaiser Wilhelm II called Thiersch’s building the most beautiful Kurhaus in the world.