The term historicism for 19th century art was first used in 1938 by Hermann Beenken to describe the revival of historical styles in Neo-Romanesque, Neo-Gothic, Neo-Renaissance and Neo-Baroque. The development of historicism can be divided into the following six stylistic phases: Classicism (around 1789-1835) was followed by so-called Romanticism (around 1835-66) and Wilhelminian Historicism (around 1866-88) as well as Late Historicism (around 1888-1910) and, around the same time as the latter, Art Nouveau (around 1895-1910) and Neoclassicism (around 1910-25).

The individual phases of historicism can be traced particularly well in Wiesbaden, as the city was shaped and preserved by historicism like almost no other. Although the urban layout in the historic pentagon is older and probably dates back to the Roman civilian settlement, the buildings date largely from the 19th century. The city expansion areas developed between 1834 and 1914 are decisive, in which, in addition to sophisticated rental apartments, extensive villa areas were built for the upper classes of Nassau and Prussian society. The Rosella-Palais in Mainz-Kastel, an elongated neoclassical residential building erected around 1800, is an early example of the new architectural style.

Christian Zais, Carl Florian Goetz and Friedrich Ludwig Schrumpf were important architects of classicism in Wiesbaden. The Erbprinzenpalais, built by Zais in 1813-20, is a clear, crystalline cube that largely dispenses with ornamentation, with columns as the only decoration. Only the so-called Schenck'sche Haus in Friedrichstraße is attributed to Zais and has been preserved. Like Zais, Goetz was also significantly involved in the development of the Historic Pentagon and its buildings, for which he designed model houses in various versions, such as Friedrichstraße 5 and Luisenstraße 3 to 11. Schrumpf created a neoclassical building in 1829 with the first Catholic parish church on Luisenplatz. To make it recognizable as a church, he placed two low towers at the corners of the cube-shaped building. The building, which had already collapsed in 1831, resembled the Platte hunting lodge previously built by Schrumpf (1823-26).

Around 1835, the austere classicism transitioned into so-called romantic historicism. Philipp Hoffmann was commissioned to build the new church of St. Boniface in 1844. Like most architects of romantic historicism, he used round arches instead of pointed arches, which is why this phase of historicism is also known as the round arch style. It was not until the rich, five-part tower group of the Marktkirche (1852-62) that Carl Boos consciously adopted the Gothic style. In secular buildings, the ministerial building in Luisenstraße marked the beginning of romantic historicism. The early Italian Renaissance now served as a model. The end of the Duchy of Nassau in 1866 was decisive for the duration of romantic historicism in Wiesbaden.

Gründerzeit historicism, the name of which goes back to the founding of the German Empire in 1871, coincided with the reign of Wilhelm I. The former Kaiser Wilhelm Hospital on Schlossplatz, a late work by Hoffmann (1868-71), is the first example of the increasingly elaborate buildings with picturesquely designed façades, turning away from the strict symmetry that had prevailed until then. For the first time, the façade on Schlossplatz is no longer composed symmetrically; instead, the tall tower on the corner of Mühlgasse with its very different porches is answered by only a narrow, weak risalit with a round-arched entrance towards the former Kavalierhaus.

After 1866, larger building projects were increasingly entrusted to external architects. In 1883, the contract to build the new town hall was awarded to Georg von Hauberrisser, who specialized in the construction of town halls. In Wiesbaden, he chose the German Renaissance style, and until the destruction during the war, the five façades of the irregular polygon had a picturesque effect, especially the asymmetrical southern front facing the Dern site, caused by the varying thickness of the corner towers. In addition to the German Renaissance, the Italian High Renaissance was often chosen as a model in Wilhelminian historicism, such as the Villa Clementine (1878-82) with its very different façades facing Wilhelmstrasse and Warme Damm and the departure from the regular cube shape that had been customary until then.

Late historicism began with the accession of Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1888 and dominated architecture in Wiesbaden until the beginning of the First World War. Not only in Germany, but throughout Europe, historicism rose to the highest level of perfection in a society of old nobility and nouveau riche industrialists who loved splendor. Baroque, which had previously been despised, became acceptable again. It came to Wiesbaden with the construction of the Royal Court Theater. Other typical examples are the former Hotel Rose am Kochbrunnen, the Hotel Nassauer Hof on Kaiser-Friedrich-Platz, the magnificent residential and commercial building at Wilhelmstraße 12/Luisenstraße 1 and the new main railway station.

The new Kurhaus by Friedrich von Thiersch is an example of stylistic pluralism after the turn of the century. Like Art Nouveau and Neoclassicism, it marks the end of Historicism and the transition to 20th century architecture. While the so-called White House by architect Josef Beitscher at Bingertstraße 10 and the house at Emser Straße 39 are committed to Art Nouveau, neoclassicism in Wiesbaden is represented by the Henkell & Co. sparkling wine producer, the State Library and the Wiesbaden Museum. If one compares the Erbprinzenpalais, completed in 1820, with the residential and commercial building at Wilhelmstraße 12/Luisenstraße 1 from around 1900, the significant change in the development of historicism becomes clear. The fact that historicism took historical styles as its model in the order in which they developed, from Greek antiquity to the Baroque, was not done with the aim of retracing Western art history, but in an effort to move from the asceticism of classicism to increasing plasticity, monumentality and decorative joy as prosperity increased.