Baden-Württemberg
The state of Baden-Württemberg is Germany's third largest state in size and population. It is located in south-western Germany, and is bordered by the states of Hessen, Bavaria (Bayern), and Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz), as well as Switzerland and Austria to the south and France to the west.
Germany's Black Forest (Schwarzwald) region is located in the south-western part of the state. This region, along with Lake Constance (Bodensee), located in the southeast, are the state's biggest tourist attractions.
Baden-Württemberg is the center of Germany's automobile industry. The car makers DaimlerChrysler, Porsche, Robert Bosch, and Audi find their home here. Other significant industries include machines, clocks and watches (in the Black Forest region), home electronics, and textiles (Hugo Boss).
Culinary Specialties of Baden-Württemberg
Three regional styles of cooking are found in Baden-Württemberg.
Baden Cooking
Franconian (Fränkische) Cooking
Swabian (Schwäbische) Cooking
Baden Cooking
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| Photo: © Kathrin39 - Fotolia.com |
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| Largest Cities |
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| The five largest cities (in terms of population) of the state of Baden-Württemberg are listed below. |
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Stuttgart |
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Stuttgart is the capital city of Baden-Württemberg. Its population (as of October 2006) is 592,000, making it the largest city in the state as well as Germany's sixth largest city.
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| Stuttgart and its surrounding cities are know for their high-tech companies. Among the well-known companies are DaimlerChrysler, Porsche, Bosch, Hewlett Packard, Kodak, and IBM, who have either their world or German headquarters here. Germany's second largest stock exchange, the Stuttgarter Stock Exchange is also located here. |
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| Stuttgart's surrounding Neckar River valley accounts for Germany's second largest wine industry. Over 60% of the wine production here is red wines. |
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Mannheim |
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With a population of 324,000 (as of December 31, 2005), Mannheim is the second largest city in Baden-Württemberg. Mannheim is located just across the Rhine River from its neigbor city Ludwigshafen. |
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| Mannheim is known for its horse-shoe shaped inner city, with streets layed out in a grid format. The city is also known for birthplace of Carl Benz's first automobile in 1886, as well as the first tractor in 1921. More recently, Mannheim has become very active in Germany's music scene. |
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Karlsruhe |
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Karlsruhe is the third largest city in Baden-Württemberg, with a population of 285,000 (as of December 31, 2005). The city is bordered in the west by the Rhine River, as well as the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinlandpfalz). |
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Freiburg im Breisgau |
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Freiburg, with a population of 215,000 (as of December 31, 2005), is the fourth largest city in Baden-Württemberg. Freiburg is located on the border of the Black Forest (Schwarzwald). |
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| Freiburg is an academic city, with over 30,000 students attending its university, trade schools, and college of psychology. |
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Heidelberg |
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Heidelberg is the fifth largest city in Baden-Württemberg. It has a population of 142,000 (as of December 31, 2005). It is located on the Neckar River in Southern Germany. |
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| Heidelberg is a popular tourist attraction. It is known for its picturesque castle ruin situated on a hill above the river and the historic center of the city, as well as for its historic university. |
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