General Information

Mannheim

With a population of approx. 325.000 the university city of Mannheim is the second-largest city in the federal state (Bundesland) of Baden-Württemberg.

The former royal residence (1720-1778) of Mannheim is the economic and cultural center of the European metropolitan region Rhine-Neckar.

The river Rhine separates Mannheim from her twin town, the city of Ludwigshafen (population 168,000) located in the federal state of Rheinland-Pfalz.

First mentioned in the Codex of Lorsch in 766 Mannheim received town privileges in 1607, after elector Friedrich IV von der Pfalz laid the foundation stone for the construction of the fortress Friedrichsburg.

To this day the construction of the road system in a grid-like fashion has been preserved: the road network gave Mannheim, this city connected to the fortress, the name “City of Squares” (Quadratestadt).

The gradual incorporation of today’s neighborhoods since 1896 expanded the city of Mannheim into an important trading center and a major transportation hub between Frankfurt and Stuttgart.

Amongst other things Mannheim offers Germany’s second largest marshalling yard, the city airport and one of the major inland ports in Europe.

Some significant inventions originated in Mannheim: Karl Drais built the first bicycle in 1817, in 1886 Carl Benz put the first automobile on the road and in 1921 this was followed by the Lanz Bulldog.

In 1924 Hugo Stotz received the patent for the invention of the circuit breaker and in 1929 Julius Hatry constructed the first rocket plane in the world.

Heidelberg

In the south west of Germany within Baden-Württemberg next the river Neckar you will find the beautiful Heidelberg. The former Palatinate residence city is known for its picturesque old town with the castle ruins and for its renowned university, the oldest university in the area of today’s Germany. It attracts scientists and visitors from all over the world.

With over 160,000 inhabitants, Heidelberg is the fifth largest city in the state. It is a city circle and at the same time the seat of the surrounding Rhein-Neckar-Kreis. The densely populated Rhine-Neckar area, where Heidelberg is located together with the cities of Mannheim and Ludwigshafen, is known as the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region.