Germany, Mannheim

Mannheim is a city in Germany. With 307,640 inhabitants it is the second largest city in the state of Baden-Württemberg after the capital Stuttgart.

Mannheim is situated at the confluence of the rivers Rhine and Neckar, in the northwestern corner of the state of Baden-Württemberg.

Mannheim is unusual among German cities in that its central area is laid out in a grid pattern (called Quadrate, squares), much like many North American cities. The main route through the squares leads to an enormous 18th century palace.

History

Mannheim is first mentioned in a document from 766, the "Codex Laureshamensis" from the Lorsch Cloister. It is listed as "Mannenheim" (Home of Manno). It remained a village until Frederick IV, Elector Palatine initiated building the fortress Friedrichsburg and the adjacent grid-like city core in 1606.

The city was destroyed subsequently in the Thirty Years' War in 1622 by Tilly's troops, and in the Nine Years War for the Palatinate succession in 1689 by the French.Some important inventions come from Mannheim: Karl Drais built the first wheel(walking-bike) in 1817, in 1886 the first car of Carl Benz was seen on the streets.

Theatre

The "Nationaltheater Mannheim" was founded in 1779 and is the oldest "Stage" in Germany. In 1782 the premier of "Die Räuber" written by Friedrich Schiller was shown.

Sport

Mannheim hosted the 2007 European Show Jumping Championships 14 - 19 August, in the MVV-riding stadium. This is second time the city has hosted it, they previously held the championships 1997.

Transportation

The Mannheim/Ludwigshafen area is surrounded by a ring of motorways connecting it to Frankfurt in the north, Karlsruhe in the south, Saarbrücken in the west and Nürnberg in the east.

Local public transport in Mannheim include eleven tram lines and numerous bus lines operated by Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr (Rhine-Neckar transport). Metre-gauge trams are operated in Mannheim by the MVV Verkehr AG and in Ludwigshafen by the Verkehrsbetriebe Ludwigshafen am Rhein and run through on each other tracks.

Although Frankfurt International Airport is only 65 km north, since 2004 there have been daily passenger flights from Mannheim City Airport (IATA code MHG) to Berlin, Hamburg and Saarbrücken.