Important ancient spas such as Baden-Baden and Wiesbaden were affected in this way. In the Baroque era there were important new developments in the guise of aristocratic bathing facilities (the "Fürstenbädern"). Their origins could be found in the castles. The best preserved example in Germany is Brückenau. Prince-bishop Amand of Buseck began extending the town in 1747. On a terraced hill around three kilometres from the town a spa house ("Kurhaus") was built. A lime avenue framed by a pavilion ran from the valley up to the palace-like building, forming a central axis. The prototype for the spa at Brückenau was the "maison de plaisance" of Château de Marly, which was built from 1679 to 1687 by Louis XIV. The most important spa towns of the 18th century are not the relatively small princely baths, but Bath in England and Aachen in Germany. Both towns played a decisive part in the development of spa architecture in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Spa culture in Aachen recovered during the late 17th century from the consequences of the Thirty Years' War. A key influence here was the spa doctor, François Blondel who, through his books on balneology, made Aachen renown throughout Europe as a spa. Blondel's most important achievements were his promotion of drinking the spa waters and his assistance with the design of the new spa facilities. Aachen developed into the leading fashionable spa on the continent and maintained this position until the French occupation period at the end of the 18th century. The most important spa building of the 18th century is the "Neue Redoubt", which was built from 1782 to 1786 by the architect, Jakob Couven. As the centre of society life, the building is a direct forerunner of this type of spa house that became widespread during the 19th century. There was noticeable specialisation in public buildings built from about 1800. This was especially true of buildings erected for social purposes. In the spa towns there was a preponderance of buildings for education, communication and leisure to cater for the great number of guests. Specialised buildings were erected: the spa house ("Kurhaus"), the drinking hall ("Trinkhalle") and thermal baths. In addition there were landscape gardens, hotels and villas as well as theatres, museums, cable cars and funiculars and observation towers.