In the northwestern part of Baden-Württemberg, where river Neckar mixes its waters with river Rhein, you will find Mannheim, the third-biggest city in Baden-Württemberg, and divided by Ludwigshafen by the river.

The strange addresses used in Mannheim often cause some irritation, at least amongst people new to this city inhabited by 300,000 people, and also called „rectangular city“: streets in Mannheim have no names, just numbers.

The reason for this unique feature is that Electoral Prince Friedrich IV, when he founded Mannheim at the beginning of the 17th century, had it planned as a baroque-plan city with absolutely regular streets building blocks of one size. The good news is that Mannheim also can boast of one of the biggest baroque palaces in Europe, which was built along with the city and right next to it too.

Another Electoral Prince, Carl Theodor, supported the arts in Mannheim so enthusiastically that its so-called „Mannheim Ecole“ produced many well-known composers and musicians. This is the foundation of a long musical tradition which extends up to the contemporary „Sons of Mannheim“ and other musicians well-known today. Also the Baden-Württemberg „Pop Academic“ is located in Mannheim.

For further information: www.stadtmarketing-mannheim.de

Photo: shutterstock