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Published on October 15, 2007

Aglittering gilded Thai sala stands tall amid the greenery of Bad Homburg's Kurpark. The presence of the elegant Asian structure in a German park puzzles many a visitor, but for local resident Monika Grumann, it was a part of her childhood.

"The Thai sala has always been there," she says, "a totally different kind of architecture from anything you see otherwise, but it's really wonderful. We were told when we were very young that it was a gift from King Chulalongkorn."

The city of Bad Homburg, north of Frankfurt and still with only 56,000 citizens, became famous for its mineral springs in the 1800s. The waters in Kurpark are credited with easing or curing several disorders, including heart and circulatory diseases.

And so it was that royalty came here to bathe - Russia's Tsar Nicholas II, Britain's Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII), Empress Elizabeth of Austria, Queen Sophie of Greece and, yes, Siam's King Rama V.

Chulalongkorn was on his second tour of Europe when he came to "the city of spas" in August and September 1907. Mayor Ursula Jungherr says the inhabitants were so honoured by the King's visit that they named a newly discovered spring after him, and he was here for its official dedication.

The monarch returned the favour by having a classic Siamese pavilion erected in the park. It was built in Bangkok, dismantled and shipped to Germany, to be erected not at the spring itself, as the King had hoped, but in a more prominent and accessible location.

The sala soon became one of the city's most beloved attractions. Teachers taking their classes on strolls in the park always made sure they pointed out the gift from a far-away land.

"Certainly every Bad Homburg resident can tell you where the Thai sala is," says Mayor Jungherr, adding that it's regularly renovated. "There are several examples of architecture in Kurpark representing our royal guests, but the Thai sala is very special because it was given directly to the city and the people of Bad Homburg."

There was, however, always the nagging recollection that Chulalongkorn's wish - that the sala be placed by the spring named for him - wasn't honoured.

This year, though, on the centenary of his visit, the city and Thai authorities made good on his original intention. The government's Fine Arts Department came up with a design for a new red-and-gold pavilion with three verandas, bedecked with mirrors. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs footed the cost, including the expense of flying a team of Thai technicians to Germany to assemble it.

For its part, the city spent ¤430,000 (Bt19.7 million) to prepare a site next to the wellspring. The cost was high, Jungherr explains, because the ground there, softened by the underground waters, had to be stabilised.

Chulalongkorn's original plan could still not be fully realised. He wanted the sala to sit above the spring, but since the healing waters continue to be used, they have to be strictly protected from contamination, and building a structure over the top would compromise safeguards.

At any rate, Germany's city of "Champagne Air and Tradition" now has two Thai salas, something no other country can claim, apart from Thailand itself.

It's a bond with which the local residents are especially pleased, says Jungherr.

"I believe the presence of the two salas is very important, particularly to our young people. They can learn about the relationship between Thailand and Germany, and about Thai tradition and culture, and perhaps become more tolerant of other cultures in the process."

Grumann couldn't agree more, and for her the bond is even stronger: The three-storey house she inherited from her father, she's since discovered, was known as the Villa Fuerstenruhe when King Chulalongkorn stayed there in 1907. "Not even my parents or grandparents knew who'd lived here!" she beams.

"It was really exciting when we found out," says Uwe Grumann, Monika's husband.

Monika inherited the 130-year-old building in 1992 and Uwe set about renovating it. When the ceiling panels were removed, a rainbow of colours was revealed, "and we began to wonder what it had been like in the early days", Uwe says.

The couple delved into city archives and discovered their home's forgotten legacy. They decided to restore it as much as possible to its original condition. Today the front door and staircases are just as they were a century ago and, in one small but cherished nod to the past, the bathroom doorknob is an original, perhaps once grasped by the royal hand.

The house is now rented out as office space, but has been designated a heritage site. Meanwhile the Grumanns continue their pursuit of its history, combing other civic records and collecting pictures of the building as it was.

"The house inspired us to learn more," says Uwe. "We didn't know much about Thailand. It's been really fun, and now our wish is to go and visit Thailand!"

Sopaporn Kurz

The Nation

Bad Homburg, Germany