The closest larger cities are Hanau, Aschaffenburg and Frankfurt to the southwest and Fulda to the northeast.

[3]: 75 Town privileges included the minting of a coin, the Orber Hälbling ("half-Pfennig of Orb").

There were eleven Salinen (one of which has been renovated and preserved), sometimes called "thorn houses" or "salt works", belonging in the decoction facility, in which brine dripped over a total length of 2,050 meters (6,730 ft) of blackthorn twigs in order to raise the salt concentration of the water before boiling.

After mediatisation, by way of the Principality of Aschaffenburg and the Grand Duchy of Frankfurt Orb eventually came to the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1814.

From 1939 to 1945, Bad Orb was the site of a prisoner-of-war camp named Stalag IX-B located on the nearby hill, Wegscheideküppel.

Toward the end of the war the conditions at Stalag IX-B deteriorated precipitously, as a result of poor supply and scarcity of fuel.

Twinned with: Istra, Russia Bad Orb features an old town with numerous half-timbered houses, surrounded by the extensive remains of the medieval town wall including towers and a gate house.

Notable examples of architecture include the buildings in Hauptstraße, the Henkershaus, Alt-Orb, Goldenes Rad and Salzgrafenhaus.

Like in other communities in the area, such as Biebergemünd, Flörsbachtal and Jossgrund, there is currently controversy over plans to build towering wind farms on the wooded peaks surrounding the town of Bad Orb.

Environmentalists and many locals reject these plans due to the destruction of forests and animal habitats, possible health risks to residents, as well as threats to local property values and, in particular, to the tourism/spa business as a result of a declining attractiveness of the region to visitors and patients.