Mannheim is located in the far north-west of Baden-Württemberg.
The city is part of the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region. The city
was badly damaged in the Second World War. The reconstruction of the
inner city was based on the architecture of the 1950s. The
grid-shaped street network has been preserved and has given the city
the nickname "Square City". Today Mannheim is known for the parks
that were created on the occasion of the Federal Horticultural Show
in 1975, for the music scene (including the Pop Academy) and for the
multicultural character of many of the city districts.
A
suggestion for a city tour can be found on A weekend in Mannheim.
Mannheim is located at the confluence of the Neckar and the
Rhine and is the third largest city in Baden-Württemberg after
Stuttgart and Karlsruhe. It was first mentioned in documents in 766.
In the 15th century the place became part of the Electoral
Palatinate. Elector Friedrich IV had the Friedrichsburg fortress
built in 1606. At the same time, a grid-like road network was
planned, which is the basis of the square city. In the Palatinate
War of Succession, Mannheim was destroyed as was the residence of
the Electoral Palatinate in neighboring Heidelberg. Elector Karl
Philipp moved this residence to Mannheim and had a palace built,
which, completed in 1760, was one of the most magnificent baroque
palaces in Germany. Poets and artists such as Lessing, Schiller,
Goethe and Mozart were welcome guests in this residence.
After the Electoral Palatinate was dissolved in 1803, Mannheim came
to the Grand Duchy of Baden and the city lost its cultural
importance. With the straightening of the Neckar and later the
Rhine, the expansion of the port and the connection to the rail
network, it gained economic importance. The Badische Anilin- und
Sodafabrik BASF had its first company headquarters here, Freiherr
von Drais worked on his first two-wheeler here, the world's first
automobile from Carl Benz drove here in 1886, and this is where the
Lanz company built the first Lanz Bulldog. Mannheim is home to one
of the largest German marshalling yards and one of the most
important inland ports.
There are 17
administrative districts in Mannheim. Four of them are particularly
relevant to tourism:
City center and Jungbusch - the core of
Mannheim. The city center is divided into squares like a chessboard
by the Mannheim Palace. The Jungbusch is one of the central
nightlife areas and is known for its multicultural atmosphere.
Neckarstadt-Ost and -West (with well-situated) - Located north of
the Neckar. The district has the largest listed old buildings (19th
/ 20th century) in the city. Also multicultural, the district has
become a trendy district in recent years. Cultural offers have been
created and numerous cafes have settled here.
Lindenhof - Green
residential area, located between the Rhine and the main train
station. It is particularly interesting because of the Rhine
promenade and the forest park.
Oststadt and Schwetzingerstadt -
residential areas with a good gastronomic offer and the largest park
in Mannheim, the Luisenpark.
The remaining city districts are
summarized here based on their location:
North (Sandhofen,
Schönau, Waldhof) - The northern districts are characterized by
residential areas as well as industrial areas and large-scale
industry.
East (Feudenheim, Käfertal, Vogelstang, Wallstadt) -
quiet residential areas, lots of nature and high-rise buildings can
be found in the eastern districts (north of the Neckar).
South
(Friedrichsfeld, Neckarau, Neuostheim, Neuhermsheim, Rheinau,
Seckenheim) - these districts are located between the Neckar and the
Rhine and have a rural character. The large Mannheim power station
in Rheinau with its chimneys up to 200 m high is unmistakable.
The National Theater Mannheim was founded in 1779 by Elector Karl
Theodor. Fully under municipal responsibility as early as 1839, it is
now the oldest municipal theater in the world.
In 1782 Friedrich
Schiller's Die Räuber had its premiere here. Today, the four-genre
theater has its own ensembles for music theater (opera, operetta,
musical), drama, ballet and the Schnawwl children's and youth theater.
There are also several smaller stages, including the
Oststadt-Theater, the G7 theater, the Oliv theater, the open-air stage,
the Theater31, the ImPuls theater, the Felina-Areal theater, the
Klapsmühl cabaret stage at the town hall, Schatzkistl and zeitraumexit,
and the Rhine Neckar Theater in Mannheim-Neckarau.
The Kunsthalle Mannheim was founded on the occasion of the 300th
anniversary of the city of Mannheim in 1907. A traditional focus of the
collection is German and French painting from the 19th and 20th
centuries, as well as international sculptures from the 20th century.
There is also an extensive copper engraving cabinet, a graphic
collection, posters, artwork and, more recently, photographs and video
installations. According to its founding motto "Art gallery for
everyone", admission is free on the first Wednesday of every month
between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.
The Technoseum - opened in 1990 as the
state museum for technology and work and renamed Technoseum in 2010 -
offers visual material on the industrialization of the German
south-west. There are also changing exhibitions, for example the Body
Worlds by Gunther von Hagens were shown for the first time in Europe in
Mannheim in 1997.
The Reiss-Engelhorn Museums go back to the
Electoral Academy of Sciences, founded in 1763. Today several museums
and institutions are united under one roof:
World Cultures Museum for
Archeology and World Cultures
Museum armory for art, city and theater
history
Schiller House Museum
Institute for International Art and
Cultural History
Curt Engelhorn Center for Archaeometry (affiliated
institute of the University of Tübingen)
Zephyr (in square C4), a
contemporary photography exhibition space
Museum Bassermannhaus for
music and art
Changing special exhibitions also take place in the
Museum of World Cultures. Topics of past exhibitions were, for example,
the Mayan civilization, Pompeii, early history of Japan and the Germans.
From May 2013 to May 2014, the town hall housed the Panoptikum wax
museum.
The Mannheim Art Association, which shows current and new
art, has existed since 1833 and is one of the oldest and largest art
associations. These and other cultural institutions are connected by the
culture mile. The annual Long Night of Museums (together with Heidelberg
and Ludwigshafen) is the second largest event of this kind in Germany
after Berlin.
The Stadtgalerie Mannheim in S4 was created in May
2011 as an interim solution to bridge the time until the planned
creative industry center in Jungbusch is completed. The rooms rented by
the city and subsidized annually with 100,000 euros offered regional
artists the opportunity to present themselves and their works. The
concept offered both the possibility of a pure exhibition space and the
testing of new exhibition concepts. Up to eight changing exhibitions
were planned each year. The Stadtgalerie in S4 was closed in February
2015, and in July 2015 the gallery Port25 – space for contemporary art
in Mannheim's Jungbusch opened as its successor.
In December
2012, the Mannheim municipal council approved a new building for the art
gallery (“Museum City”) on Friedrichsplatz. The estimated costs amounted
to around 70 million euros, and completion was scheduled for 2017. The
new building was opened on June 1, 2018.
In the district of
Mannheim-Sandhofen there is a documentation center for the branch office
of the Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp.
In November 2021,
a permanent exhibition on the history of the city was opened in the
Marchivum.
In Mannheim, the Mannheim dialect is spoken, a Palatinate dialect.
The Mannheim School - founded around 1750 by Johann Stamitz - was
initially a group of musicians at the Palatinate court. Later, it was
understood to mean an entire school of composition that turned away from
the thorough bass-dominated orchestral writing and the late Baroque
pathos that had shaped the European tradition until then, and developed
a new, more graceful style whose harmony followed the melody. Musical
effects and figures of the Mannheim school are referred to as Mannheim
manners. This includes, for example, the Mannheim rocket, which can also
be found in pieces by Mozart and Beethoven. The Mannheim School thus
made essential preliminary work for the development of Viennese
Classicism.
The Mannheim School and the internationally famous
court music of Elector Karl Theodor prompted Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to
stay in Mannheim for months. Professionally, however, Mozart could not
gain a foothold there.
The Kurpfälzisches Kammerorchester was
founded in 1952. It maintains the tradition of the Mannheim School, but
also the music of the Vienna School and Viennese Classicism.
The
opera singer Anneliese Rothenberger and the classical violinist
Clara-Jumi Kang also come from Mannheim.
The Mannheim Wind
Philharmonic goes back to the Mannheim Symphonic Youth Wind Orchestra,
founded in 1987 by Stefan Fritzen.
The Concert Choir of the City
of Mannheim was founded in 2002 and is one of the major ensembles of the
Mannheim Municipal Music School.
The formerly numerous choral
societies have recently suffered from young talent problems. Many gospel
choirs have developed for this, such as the Celebration Gospel Choir,
the Preacherman's Friends, the Rainbow Gospel & Soul Connection and the
Joyful Voices. The Young Chamber Choir Mannheim has been in existence
since 2005. It is aimed primarily at young people and rehearses every
semester.
In recent years, Mannheim has also made a name for
itself in popular music. The Pop Academy Baden-Württemberg is the first
such institution in Germany. Successful Mannheim musicians include Joy
Fleming, Joana, Mardi Gras.bb, Silke Hauck, Elly Lapp, Raffaella, Xavier
Naidoo and the Mannheim Sons, Claus Eisenmann, Laith Al-Deen, Wallis
Bird, the band Blaues Wunder, Rolf Stahlhofen, the krautrock band Kin
Ping Meh, Johanna Zeul, Danny Fresh, Get Well Soon, Edo Zanki,ulphur,
Peter Seiler and others.
Mannheim is also considered to be the
cradle of drum and bass music in Germany: the Mannheim Milk! Club was
the first club in Germany dedicated solely to this music. Greats of the
British scene came here first. Bassface Sascha, one of the DJs resident
there alongside “Groover Klein”, later founded the first major German
drum and bass labels and also put together the first widespread
samplers, such as Jungle Fever and Hardstep Upfront. The Milk! was voted
Club of the Year by Groove Magazine in 1992, and Milk! presented itself
as Love Pirates! and the Milk! Posse also at the Loveparade in Berlin.
Popular venues are the Alte Feuerwache Mannheim located at the Alter
Meßplatz and the Mannheim Capitol, the congress center in the
Rosengarten, the SAP Arena, the Maimarktclub, the open-air area on the
Maimarkt, the 7er Club for heavy metal/punk rock and the Reggae music
club Rude 7 on Friesenheimer Insel, the Alte Seilerei in Neckarau,
although this rock club now has its original name MS Connexion
(Angelstraße 33), the Nobless Club Three in Lagerstraße 3, the Tiffany
in the square O7,25 and the Baton Rouge at square O7.17 downtown. In the
Orientalische Musikakademie Mannheim (OMM), which is located in the
multicultural district of Jungbusch, lessons are given on Arabic and Far
Eastern instruments, and the OMM also regularly organizes folklore
concerts.
In November 2014, Mannheim received the title "City of
Music" from UNESCO.
The symphonic metal band "Beyond the Black"
was founded in Mannheim in 2014. The melodic death metal band Cypecore
and The Intersphere also come from Mannheim.
With the FORUM, Mannheim has a youth culture center that houses a
total of three play areas for different cultural genres. The
interdisciplinary house in the immediate vicinity of the Neckar is home
to the areas of music, film, theatre, fine arts, literature,
transculture and political education with courses, cultural education
offers, concerts, theater performances, readings and networking offers.
As a mouthpiece for youth culture, the FORUM repeatedly sparks broad
debates in urban society.
Well-known cornerstones of the FORUM
program are the multiple award-winning inclusive theater ensemble
“Augenblick Theater”, the gender-sensitive short film festival “Girls Go
Movie” and the “fresh! Club" for young bands, the young urban design
initiative "JUGA Mannheim" and the young writers program "Der
Schreibpool". The organizer of the youth culture center FORUM is the
Stadtjugendring Mannheim.
Friedrichsplatz is in the east of the city centre. At its center is
Mannheim's landmark, the 60 meter high water tower. It was built in 1889
in neo-baroque style and is crowned by a 3.50 meter tall statue of
Amphitrite. The square around it was designed by Bruno Schmitz until
1903 with fountains, water features, arcades and green spaces in Art
Nouveau style. The trick fountains are illuminated for an hour after
dark in summer. In the pre-Christmas period, a Christmas market takes
place around the water tower and the Triton fountain. The eastern
semicircle of Friedrichsplatz is bordered by arcaded houses with red
sandstone facades. Art and festival halls were built in the north-south
axis of the water tower. The Kunsthalle – built by Hermann Billing in
1907 and having an extension built in 1983 – corresponds with its red
sandstone to the existing buildings on Friedrichsplatz. The rose garden
- whose name is derived from an old name of the winner - was opened in
1903 as a festival hall and at that time housed the largest hall in
Germany with the Nibelungensaal. Today there is a congress and
conference center. In addition to the water tower at Friedrichsplatz,
there are almost 20 other historic water towers in Mannheim.
The
Planken pedestrian zone leads west from Friedrichsplatz to Mannheim's
central square, Paradeplatz. It originally served the electors for troop
parades. In the center of the square is the Grupello Pyramid. It was
created in 1711 by Gabriel Grupello for Elector Johann Wilhelm and set
up in the Düsseldorf palace garden. In 1743 Karl Philipp had them
brought across the Rhine to Mannheim. The pyramid bears the name
"Allegory of the sovereign virtues" and represents the triumph of the
princely virtues. At the end of the 19th century, the parade ground was
designed with green areas, which are divided by paths leading to the
Grupello pyramid in a star shape. The old department store was built on
the south side of the square by 1746, which initially housed shops and
from 1909 the town hall. It was not rebuilt after it was destroyed in
World War II, but the town hall was built by 1991, housing shops, the
town library and the town council. The memorial to the Jewish victims of
National Socialism was erected on the Planken in 2003. The names of the
Jewish victims from Mannheim are written in mirror writing on the glass
cube. The cube was rotated horizontally by 45 degrees to the course of
the planks, so that one side axis points to the center of the parade
ground.
The market square is north of Paradeplatz on the
pedestrianized Breite Straße in the center of the lower town. In its
center is a fountain monument from 1719. It was created by Peter van den
Branden and placed in the Heidelberg Castle Garden. Elector Carl Theodor
then presented it to the city of Mannheim in 1767. The figures of the
monument, which originally symbolized the four elements earth, water,
air and fire, were redesigned in such a way that they now represent an
allegory of Mannheim, trade, the Rhine and the Neckar. On the south side
of the market square is a baroque double building, which is probably the
oldest surviving building in Mannheim: the old town hall and the lower
parish church of St. Sebastian were built by 1713. In the middle, both
are connected to a bell tower, which ends in a multi-tiered helmet. The
various sculptural works on the façade indicate its function. At the old
town hall there are Justitia and atlases at the parish church Pietas and
angel figures. The carillon sounds three times a day.
The Jesuit church was built by 1760 as a court church for the
electors according to plans by Bibiena. The art historian Dehio
described it as the most important baroque church in south-west Germany.
The mighty crossing dome has a height of 75 m. The murals inside were
made by the Munich artist Egid Quirin Asam. The high altar and the six
side altars were designed by Egell and Verschaffelt in late Baroque and
early Classicism.
Christ Church
The Christ Church was
built in 1911 as a representative sacred building of the evangelical
church in the eastern part of the city. Built in the neo-baroque style
with Art Nouveau elements, it stands on Werderplatz and thus forms the
end point of three visual axes. The dome is 65 meters high. The first
aisle is surrounded by larger-than-life statues of the twelve apostles.
The four-manual Steinmeyer organ from 1911 is one of the largest organs
in Germany with 96 registers and around 8000 sounding pipes (including a
generously designed "Fernwerk" in the cupola). In addition, a two-manual
baroque-style organ was built in 1988 by the Danish company Marcussen.
The history of the neo-baroque Concord Church goes back to the year
1685. Originally planned as a double church for the German and Walloon
Reformed communities, it was repeatedly destroyed and changed in use. It
has existed in its current form since 1918, with a Protestant church in
one part of the building and a school in the other. At 92 meters, the
church tower is the highest in Mannheim.
The synagogue was
completed in 1987. The granite-red façade of the cube building is
characterized by high, lead-glass, round-arched windows. A flat dome
spans it. The two main entrances carry replicas of a wrought-iron
skylight grille, which comes from the main synagogue, which was
destroyed in 1938.
The Yavuz Sultan Selim Mosque, built in 1995,
was the largest representative mosque in Germany when it was completed.
The bright plaster facade is emphasized in the middle by the overhang of
the prayer niche and is designed with staggered triangular windows. The
reinforced concrete supports of the minaret began to show cracks after a
short time, so that it was rebuilt in 2005 at a height of 35 meters.
Mannheim Palace was the residence of the Electors Palatinate. Built
between 1720 and 1760, it is the largest closed baroque complex in
Europe after the Palace of Versailles. The facade facing the city center
has a length of 440 meters and is thus the end point of seven parallel
streets. Alessandro Galli da Bibiena, Egell, Rabaliatti, Pigage and
Cosmas Damian Asam, among others, were involved in the design.
Completely destroyed in World War II, the castle was rebuilt in a
simplified form by 1968. By 2006, the roof of the corps de logis had
been restored to its original form, thanks to a generous donation from
Hasso Plattner.
The largest part of the palace is used by the
University of Mannheim. The Castle Museum, which opened in April 2007,
gives an insight into life in the Baroque and Empire periods. Rooms
destroyed in the war have been reconstructed to provide a backdrop for
high quality exhibits. The visitor gets an insight into the life of the
Palatinate Electors (especially Karl Theodor) and the Baden Princess
Stéphanie von Baden, an adopted daughter of the French Emperor Napoléon
I.
The arsenal dates back to 1779. It was built in the classical
style by Peter Anton von Verschaffelt. It has housed the Carl Reiß
collection since 1918 and the Reiß Museum since 1956. The building will
be extensively renovated by 2007.
The classicist Palais
Bretzenheim was also built according to plans by Verschaffelt in 1788,
which Elector Karl Theodor gave to his mistress and her children. In
1899, the building became the headquarters of the Rheinische
Hypothekenbank, and since 2004 it has been used by the District Court of
Mannheim.
At 212.8 meters, the telecommunications tower is the
tallest building in the city. It was built in 1975 according to plans by
Heinle and Schlaich. At a height of 125 meters there is a revolving
restaurant and a viewing platform from which you have a wide panoramic
view of Mannheim and the surrounding area.
Five of the six
highest skyscrapers in Baden-Württemberg are in Mannheim. They were all
built on the outer side of the inner city ring road. The three
residential towers on the north bank of the Neckar and the
Collini-Center apartment building were built back in 1975. Completed in
2001, the Victoria Tower is the tallest office building in the city. All
five skyscrapers are about the same height at 95-102 meters.
There are 18 water towers in Mannheim, more than in any other comparable
city.
The Luisenpark is the largest city park with 41 hectares. It was laid
out in 1903 (Lower Luisenpark) and expanded for the Federal
Horticultural Show in 1975 (Upper Luisenpark). Located near the city
center on the Neckar, the upper part offers numerous attractions such as
a plant show house, Chinese tea garden, butterfly house, gondolettas and
lake stage. The lower part is freely accessible.
The
Herzogenriedpark was also part of the Federal Horticultural Show. At 22
hectares, it is slightly smaller than its "big brother" and is located
north of Neckarstadt. The animal enclosure, the rosarium and the
multi-hall with a tent-like roof construction, which was designed by
Frei Otto, are worth seeing.
The palace garden stretches behind
the palace to the Rhine and, at 38 hectares, is the second largest park
in Mannheim. From 1808, Grand Duchess Stephanie had it laid out as the
English Garden on the remains of the former city fortifications. The
park was significantly reduced by the railway line built in 1863-1867,
the federal roads built from 1959 with their countless ups and downs,
and the light rail line to Ludwigshafen. The green has partially been
pushed back to a few traffic islands. At the western end, in the
so-called Friedrichspark, is the former ice rink.
The forest park
with the associated rice island is one of the largest natural
floodplains on the Rhine. The peninsula belonged to Carl Reiß, who
bequeathed it to the city on condition that it be preserved in its
natural state and made accessible to the city's citizens. Numerous rare
bird species, such as black woodpeckers, gray herons and kites, but also
neozoa such as ring-necked parakeets and Canada geese can be observed on
the rice island.
In 2000, more than 29 percent of the urban area
in Mannheim was designated as a nature or landscape conservation area.
In 2023, Mannheim will host the Federal Horticultural Show. A connection
to the garden shows of 1907 and 1975 is planned for the concept.
Long Night of Museums. Now established in many
cities, the long night of the museums has also blossomed into a major
event in Mannheim (usually in March/April). Numerous museums, galleries,
churches, artists' studios, etc. take part.
May market. The Maimarkt
is a large fair on the Maimarkt grounds and takes place every year from
the end of April to the beginning of May. The exhibitors present all
kinds of goods: from cosmetics and travel to household, nutrition and
DIY.
nightwalk. An evening/night event at the end of October in
Jungbusch, where you can experience the lively district with
exhibitions, performances and live music.
Enjoy jazz. A six-week jazz
festival in October/November. Well-known jazz artists give concerts.
International Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg. The International Film
Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg takes place annually in November. The
festival is not a film festival of blockbuster cinema, but a meeting of
auteur cinema, but also of sophisticated foreign films.
National Theater Mannheim (From 2023 the National Theater is to be
completely renovated.). The National Theater is a renowned theater with
opera, drama and dance. It has been in the hands of the city since 1839,
making it one of the oldest municipal theaters in the world.
Theater
Olive, Am Messplatz 7, 68169 Mannheim. Small off theater in the district
of Lindenhof.
KLAPSMÜHL, D6 3, 68159 Mannheim. Mannheim cabaret stage
directly in the city at the town hall.
Oststadt Theater, N1 1, 68161
Mannheim. Cheerful stage in the town hall.
Theater house in G7. The
tig7 is an independent theatre, also with English Language Theatre.
Offers for children and young people
The websites of the Mannheim
youth centres, youth clubs and adventure playgrounds with their current
programs can be found on the online portal Mannheimer Jugend Online.
passenger shipping
Mannheim lies on two rivers, the Rhine and the
Neckar, and is home to the second largest inland port in Germany. From
the landing stage of the Kurpfalzbrücke, the Kurpfalz passenger shipping
company offers several boat tours (including harbor cruises, Lagoon
cruises, excursions to Speyer, Worms and Heidelberg). These enjoy great
popularity. You should therefore purchase the tickets online in advance
and be at the pier in good time (30 minutes before departure).
Cycle
The Karl Drais Route follows the world's first cycle
tour. It leads from the castle - via a loop through the city center - to
Karlsplatz in Rheinau, where the route ends in front of the Karl Drais
monument. The namesake was the inventor of the draisine, a pioneer of
the modern bicycle.
The Schiller route follows the footsteps of
Friedrich Schiller in the Rhine-Neckar area and leads from Mannheim to
Ludwigshafen-Oggersheim. It also leads back along a similar path. There
are information boards along the route for more information.
The
beaver route follows the Neckar Valley path and connects Mannheim with
Heidelberg. Ideal for families with small children.
To swim
Mannheim has a number of outdoor and indoor pools, the opening times
depend on the season and sometimes on the weather. Current information
can be found on the website of the City of Mannheim.
The
Herschelbad, U3 1, 68161 Mannheim. is Mannheim's oldest indoor pool in
the Art Nouveau ambience located in the city center. The
Herzogenriedbad, August-Kuhn-Straße 25, 68167 Mannheim. is the largest
outdoor pool and the only one that is open all year round in the summer
season, regardless of the weather.
indoor pools
Herschelbad,
U3,1, 68161 Mannheim
Garden indoor pool Neckarau, Marguerrestr. 11,
68199 Mannheim.
Vogelstang indoor swimming pool, Freiberger Ring 8,
68239 Mannheim. Open: May 1 - Sep 1
Indoor swimming pool Waldhof-Ost,
Offenbacher Str. 14, 68305 Mannheim.
Indoor swimming pool Seckenheim,
Freiburger Str. 16, 68239 Mannheim.
outdoor pools
Herzogenriedbad, August-Kuhn-Strasse 25, 68167 Mannheim.
Carl-Benz-Bad, Baldurstr. 23, 68305 Mannheim.
Park swimming pool
Rheinau, Minneburgstrasse 74, 68239 Mannheim.
Sandhofen outdoor pool,
Kalthorststrasse 43, 68307 Mannheim.
Heinz-Hunsinger-Bad and summer
pool, at the Stollenwörthweiher (tram line 7, stop
"Stollenwörthweiher").
Miscellaneous
Mannheim Golf Club,
Rheingoldstraße 215, 68199 Mannheim (at the Rheingoldhalle). Phone: +49
(0)621-851720. 9-hole short course, easy (par 3), floodlights, open
until 9 p.m., public facility.
City walks with the Mannheim Greeters: Under the motto "Come as a
guest, leave as a friend", the Mannheim Greeters offer free city tours.
The guests get to know the city off the beaten track from the
perspective of the locals. The greeters are happy to show the guests
their city in an authentic way, with all its rough edges. Personal
stories and experiences or tips for going out and leisure are also
discussed. In the concrete agreement between guest and greeter, thematic
wishes are taken into account, which thus turn these walks into a
personal and individual encounter with the city. In order to preserve
individuality, the greets are only carried out in small groups of up to
6 people. More information on the homepage.
Official city tour by
bus: the city marketing offers a city tour by bus every Saturday at
10:30 am. Meeting point: Castle, Castle Church entrance. Duration: 2:30
hours. Cost: 24€ per person. Registration is recommended.
Official
city tour on foot: City marketing also offers a guided city tour from
April to October on Saturdays at 2:30 p.m. Meeting point: Castle, Castle
Church entrance. Duration: 2 hours. Cost: 9€ per person.
Free walking
tours: Volunteer locals guide you through the city every Sunday at 11
a.m. on this free tour in either German or English on various topics
(squares, street art and subcultures/gentrification). Meeting point:
Wasserturm or Hauptbahnhof (depending on the topic). Duration: 2 hours.
Two professional clubs from the highest German
league are based in Mannheim. Both play their home games in the 20 SAP
Arena wikipediacommons.
Adler Mannheim. The ice hockey team is
eight times German champion. Mannheim has a long tradition as an ice
hockey city, the club was founded in 1938.
Rhein-Neckar Löwen . The
handball team is a two-time German champion.
Furthermore, the
football club and third division team SV Waldhof enjoys regional
popularity. The home games take place in the 21 Carl Benz Stadium.
SV Waldhof Mannheim
By plane
As a rule, arrival should be via Frankfurt am Main
Airport (IATA: FRA), which can be reached via a direct ICE connection
with a journey time of a good 30 minutes from Mannheim Central Station.
Mannheim City Airport (IATA: MHG) has been offering scheduled
flights again since February 2014. There are currently connections to
Sylt.
Frankfurt-Hahn Airport (IATA: HHN) is connected five times
a day by line 140 of the Hahn express airport bus. Travel time is 1 hour
40 minutes.
By train
Mannheim Hbf is an important hub in the
Deutsche Bahn route network and in European rail traffic.
There
are direct ICE or IC connections to Munich, Berlin, Cologne, Dortmund,
Hamburg, Dresden and Saarbrücken. Frankfurt am Main, Stuttgart and
Karlsruhe can be reached in less than 40 minutes.
Paris can be
reached six times a day with the ICE or TGV in 3 hours (via Karlsruhe)
or 3 hours 10 minutes (via Saarbrücken). There is a daily direct TGV
connection to Marseille. There is a daily direct ECE connection to
Milan.
There is regional traffic to Mainz, Saarbrücken,
Heilbronn, Frankfurt am Main via Darmstadt, Koblenz via Kaiserslautern
and Trier. The S-Bahn Rhein-Neckar offers direct connections to Homburg
via Kaiserslautern, to Germersheim via Speyer, to Karlsruhe, to
Osterburken via Heidelberg and to Mainz.
By bus
Local
transport is provided by the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Neckar.
Mannheim
is connected to numerous German and European long-distance bus lines.
The buses stop at the central bus station in Mannheim near the main
train station.
In the street
In Mannheim, environmental zones
have been set up in accordance with the Fine Dust Ordinance. If you
don't have the appropriate badge, you risk a fine of €100 when entering
an environmental zone. This also applies to foreign road users.
Entry
ban for vehicles of pollutant groups 1+2+3 (Info Federal Environment
Agency)
Via the A6 symbol: AS 24 Sandhofen to symbol: AS 24
Rheinau
Via the A5:
From here, the A656 branches off at the
Heidelberger Kreuz. It ends just before the city center. Its straight
extension is the Augusta facility.
At the Weinheim motorway junction,
the A659 branches off and goes to the Vogelstang district. From here it
is extended as the B38 to the city centre.
The quickest way to get
here is via the A6 and A5 motorways.
The Castle Road begins or
ends in Mannheim, as does the Bertha Benz Memorial Route.
By boat
Excursion boats reach Mannheim
There is a ferry connection from
Altrip to Mannheim. One can orientate oneself on the slender cooling
towers of the large power plant in Mannheim; at its southern end is the
ferry terminal.
Pleasure boats can dock in Mannheim.
By
bicycle
Via the Rhine cycle path from the north (Cologne, Wiesbaden,
Mainz) and south (Basel, Freiburg, Karlsruhe)
Via the Neckar cycle
path from the east (from Stuttgart, Heidelberg, ...)
Also from the
east via the Castle Road Cycle Path
public transport
Public transport in Mannheim is quite well
developed. The supporting pillar is the star-shaped tram network, all
lines intersect in the city center at the Paradeplatz stop. Almost all
lines run every 10 minutes from Monday to Saturday. Most tram lines also
run at night on Fridays and Saturdays. Line 1 runs hourly every day,
including at night.
The tram in Mannheim is sometimes referred to
as Stadtbahn, as there is a regional meter-gauge tram network. Line 5
(formerly part of the Oberrheinische Eisenbahn Gesellschaft) connects to
Heidelberg and the Badische Bergstrasse (Weinheim, Schriesheim, etc.).
The meter-gauge line 4 (former Rhein-Haardt-Bahn) runs to the Palatinate
(via Ludwigshafen with a final stop in Bad Dürkheim on the Weinstraße)
City bus lines supplement the tram network.
There is also an
S-Bahn network with currently five lines that go far into the
surrounding area, e.g. T. also in more distant cities such as
Kaiserslautern or Karlsruhe.
All local trains, trams and buses
can be used with one ticket. A single journey costs €1.80, with a
BahnCard: €1.40, children: €1.30. The day ticket costs €7.00, for a
group of 5 people: €17.80. (as of September 20, 2019)
More
information on regional public transport can be found on the website of
the Rhein-Neckar transport association and at Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr.
By bicycle
The city of Mannheim gives more weight to cycling than
most other cities. That's why there's still a lot under construction
here. Many streets have bike lanes or lanes, and sometimes separate
lanes. In the city center, cycling is permitted in the pedestrian zone
from 7:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. Otherwise there are corridors and plenty of
bike racks.
The VRN offers the bike sharing service VRN-Nextbike
at several locations in the city. One station is at the train station.
Taking bicycles on public transport
The trams and buses within
the Rhein-Neckar transport network carry bicycles free of charge from
Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. and all day on weekends and public
holidays. On workdays between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. an additional single
bicycle ticket must be purchased. It is not guaranteed that you will be
taken along, as the transport of prams and wheelchairs has priority.
Car sharing
The Stadtmobil car-sharing network operated by
Stadtmobil Rhein-Neckar AG has several locations in and around the city
(Rhein-Neckar region).
The most important shopping streets are in Mannheim's city center in
the squares. The pedestrian zone An den Planken stretches from the water
tower to Paradeplatz, which is also Mannheim's prime location. From
Paradeplatz to Neckartor, Breite Straße also extends as a pedestrian
zone – this is also where the market square is located. The side streets
and parallel streets leading off the two thoroughfares as well as
numerous arcades accommodate numerous other shops and department stores.
One of the largest sports department stores in Germany is located on the
Kapuzinerplanken.
Interesting shops
Chocolaterie Stoffel, O7,
25. Tel.: +49 621 21202, e-mail: info@stoffelschokolade.de. In one of
the passages between Planken and Kunststraße there is a real small
chocolate shop with a wide variety of chocolates, hollow figures and
pralines from our own production.
South Country House, Q 4, 22-23.
Tel.: +49 621 24302. A delicatessen full of the most delicious goods
from all over the world, hundreds of types of whiskey or cognac and that
too with advice.
Spaghetti ice cream was invented by Dario Fontanella in Mannheim in
1969. Vanilla ice cream is pressed through a spaetzle press, which
creates the spaghetti-like shape, strawberry sauce comes on top as
tomato sauce and grated white chocolate as grated cheese.
One of the
specialties of Mannheim is the Mannheimer Dreck, a kind of gingerbread
in the form of a thaler or goulash.
More information in the
available district articles.
Downtown
1 Keller's Wine
Restaurant, U2, 2, 68161 Mannheim. Phone: +49 (0)621 23677, email:
info@kellers-weinrestaurant.de. Regional cuisine at a high level in a
traditional ambience. Table reservations are recommended, especially on
weekends. Open: Mon is a day off, Tue – Thu 4 p.m. – midnight, Fri – Sun
11.30 a.m. – midnight.
2 Novus, M4 1, 68161 Mannheim. Phone: +49
(0)621 13873, email: info@novus-mannheim.de. Restaurant/bar with a
pleasant ambience. Although the standard menu is not extensive, the
seasonal and daily menus provide a sufficient selection. Between 11:30
a.m. and 3 p.m. there is a starter and dessert with every meal at no
extra charge. Open: Mon – Thu 10 a.m. – 1 a.m., Fri 10 a.m. – 2 a.m.,
Sat 10 a.m. – 3 a.m., Sun 10 a.m. – 1 a.m.
3 headquarters, N4 15,
68161 Mannheim. Tel.: +49 (0)621 20243. Long-established student pub
with large outdoor seating in one of Mannheim's most popular outdoor
dining areas with good food at very reasonable prices. Open: Sun – Thu
10 a.m. – 12 a.m., Fri + Sat 10 a.m. – 1 a.m.
4 Starks, N4 13, 68161
Mannheim. Tel.: +49 (0)621 1220129, fax: +49 (0)621 1214459, e-mail:
info@starks-restaurant.de. Right next to the headquarters is the
somewhat trendier Starks, also with a large outdoor area. Here, too,
recommendable cuisine. Open: Mon – Wed 9 a.m. – 12 a.m., Thu – Sat 9
a.m. – 1 a.m., Sun + public holidays 10 a.m. – 12 a.m.
5 Fontanella,
O4 5, 68161 Mannheim. Phone: +49 (0)621 18191616, fax: +49 (0)621 13422,
email: info@eisfontanella.de. Here you can get the original spaghetti
ice cream for €7.50. Open: Mon – Sat 10 a.m. – 8 p.m., Sun 1 p.m. – 8
p.m.
Jungbusch
6 Blau, Jungbuschstrasse 14, 68159 Mannheim.
pleasant bar with a temporary cultural program and moderate prices.
7
Galley, Jungbuschstrasse 23, 68159 Mannheim. Vegetarian cuisine. Open:
Tue-Thu 11am-11pm, Fri 11am-1am, Sat 5pm-1am.
Lindenhof
8 Two
Rabbits, Bellenstr. 36, 68163 Mannheim. Phone: +49 (0)621 822602, email:
info@zwei-hasen.de. This suburban pub with a large, mostly Italian menu
is an eternal insider tip. You sit comfortably T. on beer benches, the
prices are cheap, it is usually very crowded. It's worth coming just for
the 'white pizza' specialty, but you should be really hungry for that.
Open: Tue – Sun 6 p.m. – 11 p.m.
9 Rheinterrassen, Rheinpromenade 15,
68163 Mannheim. Phone: +49 (0)621 824161, email:
service@rheinterrassen.info. Everyone in Mannheim knows the
Rheinterrassen, because it is the beer garden par excellence on the
Rhine. At the weekend, thousands are drawn to the surrounding Rhine
meadows. And so it's the location, and not necessarily the service, that
draws visitors in droves here. Open: Restaurant: daily 11.30 a.m. – max.
12.00 a.m., kitchen daily 11.30 a.m. – max. 10.00 p.m.
10 Ristorante
Roma, Rheinaustrasse 4, 68163 Mannheim. Phone: +49 (0)621 823504, email:
info@roma-lindenhof.de. Quiet Italian Ristorante with good, cheap food.
Open: Tue – Sun 11.30 a.m. – 2.30 p.m., 5.30 p.m. – 10.30 p.m.
11
Showing Ice Cream Manufactory, Meerfeldstraße 45. Nationwide known ice
cream parlour. In summer there is often a long queue. There are about 10
mostly unusual and varying types of ice cream for €1.20 per scoop. Open:
Tue-Sun, 12pm-7pm.
12 Café Meerwiesen, Meerwiesenstr. 1. Hip café
with changing lunch specials. Open: Mon-Sun 9am-6pm.
Neckarau
Ristorante Napoli, Friedrichstr. 42, 68199 Mannheim. Phone: +49 (0)621
852364, fax: +49 (0)621 851093, e-mail: restaurant-napoli@web.de. In the
middle of a dreary side street in Neckarau you will find this small
family restaurant with excellent cuisine and very good value for money.
Terrace in the backyard.
13 Estragon, Mühlweg 11. One of the most
beautiful beer gardens in the city is located directly on the Rheindamm.
A playground is also integrated.
Neuostheim
14 Lindbergh,
Seckenheimer Landstraße 170. Tel.: +49 (0)621 412465. The Lindbergh is
located directly at City Airport and has one of the largest beer gardens
in and around Mannheim. Thanks to the event hall, it is also often the
scene of concerts. Open: Mon – Sat 9 a.m. – 1 a.m., Sun 9 a.m. – 11 p.m.
East town
15 Bootshaus, Hans-Reschke-Ufer 3, 68165 Mannheim.
Phone: +49 (0)621 3247767, Email: info@bootshaus.net. Trendy café, bar
and restaurant on the banks of the Neckar with a large outdoor terrace.
The Sunday brunch is well-known throughout the city.
Rheinau
Olympia, Wachenburgstr. 40, 68219 Mannheim. Tel: +49 (0)621 895177,
Email: olympia8951@gmail.com. Greek restaurant on the edge of the harbor
in Rheinau furnished in Greek baroque style, with a large charcoal grill
serving as an eye-catcher.
Schwetzingen suburb
16 Kaffee Kult,
Seckenheimer Str. 34, 68165 Mannheim. Tel.: +49 (0)621 4406771, e-mail:
info@ Kaffee-roesterei-kult.de. Café and bistro in a former vegetable
shop, pleasant atmosphere and just as pleasant, uncomplicated clientele.
Open: Mon – Fri 7:30 a.m. – 11:00 p.m., Sat 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m., Sun +
public holidays 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Venues
SAP Arena, An der Arena 1. Largest event hall in the region
with concerts, events, ice hockey and handball.
Capitol,
Waldhofstrasse 2, 68169 Mannheim. Event hall on the outskirts of the
city center with concerts, events and a small ensemble with mainly
musical productions.
Movie theater
Cineplex, P4, 13. One of
Mannheim's two multiplex cinemas, more for program cinemas with
aspirations.
Cinemaxx, N7, 17. The other multiplex cinema, more for
action blockbusters.
Cinema Square, K1, 2. Communal Cinema. The
non-commercial program cinema has existed since 1971, since 2019 at the
current venue with 110 seats.
Atlantis, K2, 32. Art cinema in the
city center. Edit info
28 Odeon, G7, 10. One-hall arthouse.
Clubs and discos
Soho Club, I7, 16.
MS Connexion, Angelstrasse 33,
68199 Mannheim. Mostly gay nightclub. Feature: LGBT.
The room, Q5
14-22, 68161 Mannheim.
Villa Three, Lagerstr. 3.
Campus Club
Mannheim, Willy-Brandt-Platz 17. Monthly student-oriented party, mostly
in the Zapatto.
Zapatto & Friends, Willy-Brandt-Platz 17. The
location in the main station is home to numerous party series.
More information in the available district articles.
Cheap
Youth hostel in Mannheim. Located directly on the Rhine. Completely
renovated in 2014.
Middle
InterCityHotel Mannheim (corner L13
(opposite the main train station)), Schlossgartenstraße 1, 68161
Mannheim. Phone: +49 (0)621 401 81 10, email:
mannheim@intercityhotel.de. Feature: ★★★★.
Hotel am Bismarck,
Bismarckplatz 9-11. Tel.: +49 (0)621 4004 196 0. The 3-star hotel is
located at the Bismarck monument between the main train station and the
Rosengarten (CMM Congress Center).
Dorint Congress Hotel Mannheim,
Friedrichsring 6, 68161 Mannheim. Tel.: +49 621 1251-0, fax: +49 621
1251-100, e-mail: info.mannheim@dorint.com . The hotel offers 287 rooms
& suites. Price: from €76.5 per room/night.
Upscale
Maritim
Hotel, Friedrichsplatz 2, 68165 Mannheim. Tel.: +49 621 1588-0, fax: +49
621 1588-800, e-mail: info.man@maritim.de. Hotel with 173 rooms,
swimming pool, sauna and steam bath. Check-in: 3:00 p.m. Check out:
12:00 p.m.
Universities
1 University of Mannheim. The university was founded
in 1907 as a commercial college and has been a university since 1967.
The main building of the university is the Mannheim Palace, the former
residence of the Electors near the Rhine from 1740 to 1777.
2
Mannheim Medical Faculty, Theodor-Kutzer-Ufer 1-3, 68167 Mannheim.
Another university facility at the University Hospital Mannheim is the
Mannheim Medical Faculty, which, however, belongs to the
Ruprecht-Karls-University in neighboring Heidelberg.
3 Mannheim
University of Music and Performing Arts, N7 18, 68161 Mannheim. The
state university is the successor to the Academie de Danse founded in
1762 and a private music school founded in 1776 at the court of Carl
Theodor.
Technical colleges
4 Mannheim University of Applied
Sciences, Paul-Wittsack-Strasse 10, 68163 Mannheim. The University of
Applied Sciences was founded in 1898 as an engineering school and has
operated as a technical college since 1971. The college for social
affairs, which was founded in 1917 as a higher technical college for
women and has also been a technical college since 1971, was integrated
into the Mannheim technical college in 2006. The Mannheim University of
Applied Sciences now operates as Mannheim University of Applied
Sciences.
As a special college or university, there are two (out
of 10) departments of the Federal University for Public Administration
in Mannheim, which was founded in 1978 - the areas of 'employment
administration' and 'Bundeswehr administration'.
Other
universities
5 Mannheim Cooperative State University, Coblitzallee
1-9, 68163 Mannheim. Mannheim is the seat of the Mannheim Cooperative
State University, which was founded in 1974.
6 Pop Academy
Baden-Württemberg, Hafenstrasse 33, 68159 Mannheim. The youngest
university child in Mannheim is the Popakademie Baden-Württemberg, which
was founded in 2003 and offers courses in 'music business' and 'pop
music design'.
Administration and Business Academy Rhein-Neckar,
Heinrich-Lanz-Strasse 19-21, 68165 Mannheim. Mannheim is also the seat
of the Administration and Business Academy Rhein-Neckar.
7 Federal
Academy for Defense Administration, Seckenheimer Landstrasse 12, 68163
Mannheim. Mannheim is the seat of the Federal Academy for Defense
Administration.
Mannheim Police Headquarters, L6 1, 68161 Mannheim. Phone: +49 (0)621
1740.
Mannheim city center police station, H4 1, 68159 Mannheim.
Phone: +49 (0)621 12580.
Mannheim-Neckarau Police Station,
Rheingoldplatz 4, 68199 Mannheim. Phone: +49 (0)621 833970.
Hospitals
1 Mannheim University Hospital, Theodor-Kutzer-Ufer 1-3,
68167 Mannheim.
2 Theresienkrankenhaus and St. Hedwigskliniken,
Bassermannstraße 1, 68165 Mannheim.
3 Diakonie Hospital Mannheim,
Speyerer Str. 91-93, 68163 Mannheim.
Pharmacies
4 Kurpfalz
pharmacy, G3 6, 68159 Mannheim. Tel.: +49 (0)621 22298, fax: +49 (0)621
26654, e-mail: info@kurpfalzapotheke.de. Open: Mon, Tue + Thu 8 a.m. – 7
p.m., Wed + Fri 8 a.m. – 6.30 p.m., Sat 8 a.m. – 2 p.m.
5
Löwen-Apotheke, P2 10, 68161 Mannheim. Phone: +49 (0)621 126390, fax:
+49 (0)621 1263920, e-mail: info@loewen-apotheke.de. Open: Mon, Tue, Thu
+ Sat 8:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m., Wed + Fri 8:30 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
6 Europe
Pharmacy, O7 9, 68161 Mannheim. Tel.: +49 (0)621 21122, fax: +49 (0)621
106559, e-mail: info@europa-apotheke-mannheim.de. Open: Mon - Fri 8.30
a.m. - 7 p.m., Sat 9 a.m. - 7 p.m.
7 Odenwald Pharmacy, Lange
Rötterstrasse 26, 68167 Mannheim. Phone: +49 (0)621 333434, fax: +49
(0)621 33939807, email: info@odenwald-apotheke-mannheim.de. Open: Mon,
Tue, Thu + Fri 8:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. + 2:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m., Wed + Sat
8:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
8 Cosmos Pharmacy, 14 M7, 68161 Mannheim.
Phone: +49 (0)621 25017, fax: +49 (0)621 28028, e-mail: cosmos@coapo.de.
Open: Mon - Fri 8.30 a.m. - 7 p.m., Sat 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
9 Universum
Pharmacy, O7 2, 68161 Mannheim. Tel.: +49 (0)621 14400, fax: +49 (0)621
10921, e-mail: universe@coapo.de. Open: Mon - Fri 9 a.m. - 7 p.m., Sat
9.30 a.m. - 6 p.m.
10 Heldmann's Pharmacy Q6 Q7, Q7 3, 68161
Mannheim. Tel.: +49 (0)621 33658560, fax: +49 (0)621 33658565, e-mail:
info@apotheke-mannheim.de. Open: Mon - Fri 8.30 a.m. - 8 p.m., Sat 8.30
a.m. - 8 p.m.
Emergency service
Statutory health insurance
emergency service, Cheliusstr.6, 68167 Mannheim. Arrange home visits by
calling 19292.
Health insurance emergency service. Phone: 81060.
Tourist Information
Mannheim Tourist Information (in front of the
station), Willy-Brandt-Platz 3, 68161 Mannheim. Tel.: +49 (0)621 101012,
fax: +49 (0)621 24141. City tours: in summer on Fridays and Saturdays,
10:30 a.m., €13 in advance, public city tours in summer every 1st
Saturday of the month from 2:30 p.m., €8 per person. Further details in
the available → district travel guides.
Newspapers, magazines
Mannheimer Morgen - online offer of the most important daily newspaper
in Mannheim
local transport
RNV customer center (advice and
sale of tickets, the MannheimCard, etc.), N1 (town hall). Phone:
+49(0)621 465 4444.
Language
The Mannheim dialect
(“Mannemerisch”) – like Kurpfälzisch in general – is not easy to
understand for all Germans, since terms are still often used today that
are not necessarily in the dictionary, even though the Duden publishing
house is based here. The Mannemer are often knitz (rascally), use
expressions like alla bye (until next time) or sellesmol (then). If you
ask, you usually get an understandable explanation.
Miscellaneous
Hauptpost, O2, 1. The Hauptpost is located in the squares at
Paradeplatz. Open: Mon - Fri 9.30 a.m. - 6.30 p.m., Sat 9.30 a.m. - 1.00
p.m.
Generally
Bergstraße - pretty towns with castles await visitors
here
Bertha Benz Memorial Route - in the footsteps of the world's
first long-distance journey in an automobile
Castle Road - Castles
full of castles from Mannheim to Prague
German Wine Route
By
bicycle
Mannheim is located in the mild Upper Rhine Plain, which is
ideal for cycling. Here is a small selection for day tours by bike. The
approximate distances given in kilometers refer to the Kurpfalz Bridge
as the starting point:
Ludwigshafen - Mannheim's neighboring town
on the other bank of the Rhine, 6 km
Heidelberg - Mannheim's historic
neighboring town, 20km
Ladenburg - Old Roman town 12km from Mannheim
to Lorsch in southern Hesse (approx. 22km one way).
to the Hessian
mountain road with Bensheim and Heppenheim (approx. 30km one way).
along the Neckar via Ladenburg to Heidelberg (approx. 20km one way).
to the Badische Bergstraße to Schriesheim (approx. 15 km one way).
to
the Badische Bergstraße to Weinheim (approx. 20km one way).
via
Ludwigshafen to Freinsheim and Bad Dürkheim on the Weinstraße (approx.
30km one way).
along the Rhine via Lampertheim to the Nibelungen city
of Worms with its famous cathedral (approx. 22km one way).
along the
Rhine to the much-visited cathedral city of Speyer (approx. 20km one
way).
neighboring communities
in Baden-Wurttemberg:
Heddesheim (transport connections with tram line 5)
Ilvesheim (bus
connection from the Kaefertal district)
Edingen (transport
connections with tram line 5)
Heidelberg (transport connections with
tram line 5 and by train),
Plankstadt (bus connection from
Schwetzingen)
Schwetzingen (direct train connection)
Brühl (Baden)
(bus connection)
in Hessen:
Lampertheim (direct train
connection)
Viernheim (transport connections with tram line 5)
in Rhineland-Palatinate
Bobenheim-Roxheim (direct train
connection)
Frankenthal (direct train connection)
Ludwigshafen am
Rhein (walking distance via the Rhine bridges, also connected by train
and tram)
Altrip (ferry from the Neckarau district).
A brick kiln, which was excavated in 1929 in the
Seckenheim district and operated from 74 AD until the early second
century, documents a settlement in Roman times.
The village of
Mannenheim (= home of Manno) was first mentioned in the Lorsch Codex in
766.
Through numerous donations within a short period of
time[16], the Lorsch monastery received 160½ days of acres, which
corresponds to the hay earnings of a medium-sized royal court.
In
1284 Mannheim fell to the Count Palatine near the Rhine from the House
of Wittelsbach. The Eichelsheim customs castle, built in 1349 on today's
Lindenhof, gained regional importance and demanded a fee from the Rhine
boatmen. In 1415 the deposed anti-pope John XXIII was in it. held
captive by order of Emperor Sigismund. With the victory in the Battle of
Seckenheim in 1462 over the army of his allied opponents, the Count of
Württemberg, the Margrave of Baden and the Bishop of Metz, Elector
Friedrich von der Pfalz "the Victorious" established the Palatinate
supremacy in the middle Upper Rhine. In 1566, Mannheim, with around 700
inhabitants, was one of the largest villages in the Oberamt Heidelberg.
emergence of the city
Mannheim received city privileges on
January 24, 1607 after Elector Friedrich IV of the Palatinate laid the
foundation stone for the construction of the Friedrichsburg Fortress on
March 17, 1606. The planning at that time of a grid-shaped road network
for the town of Mannheim, which is connected to the fortress, has been
preserved. During the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), in which Mannheim
fought on the side of the Protestant Union, it was first destroyed by
troops in 1622. War and epidemics caused serious population losses in
Mannheim, which had around 1,200 inhabitants in 1618. When Elector Karl
Ludwig von der Pfalz returned to the Electoral Palatinate in 1649, he
found a country largely depopulated and economically ruined by the
destruction of the war. The new regent campaigned decisively for the
reconstruction of Mannheim, which was chosen as the center of industry
and trade in the Electoral Palatinate because of its favorable location
at the mouth of the Neckar and the Rhine. In the Palatinate War of
Succession, Mannheim was conquered by French troops in 1688 and
completely destroyed in March 1689, and the population was expelled.
After this destruction, Elector Johann Wilhelm was largely responsible
for the renewed reconstruction. Even before the conclusion of the peace
treaty, the elector wrote a proclamation in 1697 in which he ordered the
city to be rebuilt and asked the refugees to return. After the beginning
of the reconstruction work, the population increased again quite
quickly.
Residence city of the Electoral Palatinate
In 1720
Elector Carl Philipp moved his court from Heidelberg to Mannheim and
began building the Mannheim Palace (completed in 1760 together with the
Jesuit Church). Mannheim became the residence of the Electoral
Palatinate, and a glorious period of splendor lasting only 58 years
began for the city, which now has 25,000 inhabitants.
The
Palatinate court promoted art and music, science and trade. Goethe,
Schiller and Lessing stayed in Mannheim, as did Mozart.
In 1778
Elector Carl Theodor moved his residence to Munich in order to be able
to accept his Bavarian inheritance. Economic and cultural bloodletting
began in Mannheim.
In 1795 the city was occupied by French troops and then recaptured by
Austrian troops. In 1803, Mannheim finally lost its political position:
In the course of the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss, the city fell to
Baden, in which it - geographically pushed to the north-western edge -
only had the status of a border town.
In the "year without a
summer" of 1816, which was caused by the eruption of the Tambora volcano
and resulted in famine and horse deaths, Karl Drais invented the
two-wheeler and thus mechanized private transport. In 1828 the Rhine
port was opened and in 1840 the first Mannheim–Basel railway line in
Baden. Characterized by the economic rise of the bourgeoisie, Mannheim's
heyday gradually began. In the March Revolution of 1848, the city was a
center of political and revolutionary movement. In 1865 Friedrich
Engelhorn founded the Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik (BASF), which was
later relocated to Ludwigshafen. The paint factory became the largest
chemical company in the world. In 1880 Werner von Siemens presented the
world's first electric elevator in Mannheim. In 1886, Carl Benz patented
his number 1 motor car.
In 1909, Karl Lanz and Johann Schütte
founded the Schütte-Lanz company, which built a total of 22 airships.
The company was the main competitor of the Zeppelin works. From 1918
Mannheim took over the sponsorship for the reconstruction of Memel
(Klaipeda). After the First World War, Heinrich Lanz AG introduced the
Bulldog, the most successful heavy fuel oil tractor. The prechamber
diesel engine invented by Prosper L'Orange at the Mannheim Motor Works
was further developed by Benz & Cie in 1923 to become the world's first
compact vehicle diesel engine. In 1922 the large Mannheim power plant
was put into operation. Around 1930, the city had 385,000 inhabitants
together with its sister city Ludwigshafen, which had developed from the
old Rheinschanze in Mannheim.
During the Third Reich almost 2000 Mannheim residents with a Jewish
background were deported. There were around 140 places in the city where
forced laborers were housed, many also in the vicinity of the large
companies that employed forced laborers and prisoners of war during the
Nazi era. In the district of Sandhofen there was a subcamp of the
Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp and the Hinzert concentration
camp.
Mannheim was almost completely destroyed in the air raids
on Mannheim during World War II. A comprehensive bunker construction
program from 1940 to 1945 saved the lives of numerous Mannheim
residents. At the end of March 1945, the city was finally occupied by US
troops. The war, which continued elsewhere in Germany, finally ended on
May 8 with the unconditional surrender of the Wehrmacht.
Soon
after their entry into Mannheim, the US troops faced the problem that
there were at least 20,000 Displaced Persons (DPs) in the city, most of
whom were forced laborers from Eastern Europe. On March 30, 1945, the US
military government set up a DP camp for the DPs from Mannheim and North
Baden in the Kaiser Wilhelm barracks – later known as Turley Barracks –
in order to be able to take care of them. However, this accommodation
seems to have been insufficient, because a photo in the USHMM documents
the eviction of German Mannheimers from their homes to make more room
for DPs.
UNRRA was responsible for looking after the DPs and the
camps, and the primary goal was to get the people back to their home
countries as quickly as possible. In some cases, up to 2,000 people per
day were sent back to their homes, so that in 1948 there were only 960
homeless people in the barracks. However, these repatriations often met
with resistance, especially from Eastern European DPS, because they
feared reprisals in the Soviet sphere of rule. For example, Der Spiegel
reported that in a Mannheim camp, 600 DPs from the Ukraine who had
rioted in early September 1945 resisted being transported back to the
Soviet Union. However, without success: After a four-day postponement of
their departure, they still had to start their return journey.
The DP camp directory of the Arolsen Archives contains several entries
relating to Mannheim, including one for a worker center in Käfertal.
This could be a reference to the Franklin area, where several hundred
DPs were supposed to be housed in the flak barracks and Gallwitz
barracks alongside American soldiers. Another entry in the Arolsen
Archives is for a DP Technical School / Training School. In connection
with the DP camp in Hanau, Alice Noll mentions that "the Hanau camp,
alongside Wiesbaden and Mannheim, had a prominent position within the
western Allied zone". This prominent position was linked to the project
to set up vocational and training centers in the camps, which were
intended to prepare for vocational reintegration. However, Noll only
reported on the implementation of these plans for Hanau.
Some
Mannheim DPs and 47 returnees from the last transport to Theresienstadt
founded a Jewish community in Mannheim in October 1945. Their community
center and synagogue were then located in the former Jewish orphanage at
R 7, 24.
The reconstruction of the city began only with
difficulty. The palace and water tower were rebuilt, and the national
theater was built in a new location. In the old place there is a
Schiller monument and the bar Zum Zwischen-Akt. The housing shortage led
to the development of numerous new residential areas.
In 1964,
the municipal hospital on the Neckar became a faculty of Heidelberg
University for clinical medicine in Mannheim. In 1967 Mannheim became a
university town.
In 1975, the Federal Horticultural Show was a
highlight in Luisen and Herzogenried Park. A number of structural
measures were implemented: the telecommunications tower and a second
Rhine bridge were built, the Planken became a pedestrian zone, the new
rose garden was inaugurated, and the Aerobus floated through Mannheim. A
number of major projects were also implemented in the 1980s and 1990s: a
planetarium, extension of the art gallery, new Reiß Museum, town hall,
new Maimarkt site, synagogue, mosque, state museum for technology and
work (Technoseum), Carl Benz Stadium and the Fahrlach Tunnel were opened
.
In May/June 1992 there were days of unrest over the housing of
refugees in the (now demolished) gendarmerie barracks in the Schönau
district (see list of anti-refugee attacks in Germany 1990 to
2013#1992).
Economically, the decline in industrial jobs has
shaped Mannheim in the recent past. The city tried to shape this
structural change by designating commercial areas and settling service
companies. A prime example is the construction of the Victoria high-rise
in 2001, one of the tallest buildings in the city, on the railway site.
In view of the 400th anniversary of the city in 2007, some urban
planning activities were implemented from 2000: SAP Arena with
connection to the new Stadtbahnring Ost, renovation of the pedestrian
zone on Breite Straße, the armory and the palace, complete redesign of
the old measuring square and the new Schafweide Stadtbahn line. The
concept of the city jubilee aimed at a diverse spectrum of events
without a dominant central event.
During the refugee crisis in
Europe in 2015, Mannheim took in 12,000 refugees, mostly in the former
US Army barracks.
Mannheim is located in the northern Upper Rhine area at the
confluence of the Neckar and the Rhine. The districts are distributed on
the right bank of the Rhine on both sides of the Neckar.
The city
is located in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region, a metropolitan area
with 2.35 million inhabitants, which includes parts of southern Hesse
and the Rhineland-Palatinate Vorderpfalz in Baden-Württemberg, the two
urban districts of Mannheim and Heidelberg and the western and southern
communities of the Rhine-Neckar circle includes.
Within the
Rhine-Neckar region, Mannheim forms a regional center alongside
Heidelberg, of which a total of 14 have been designated for all of
Baden-Württemberg according to the 2002 state development plan. The
Oberzentrum Mannheim assumes the function of a central area for the
municipalities of Edingen-Neckarhausen, Heddesheim, Ilvesheim and
Ladenburg. There are also links with municipalities in Hesse and
Rhineland-Palatinate and the central areas there.
The nearest
larger cities are Frankfurt am Main, about 70 kilometers to the north,
Karlsruhe, about 50 kilometers to the south-west and Stuttgart, about 95
kilometers to the south-east.
Due to its location directly on the
Baden-Württemberg state border with Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse,
Mannheim is the only major city in Germany, apart from the city-state of
Hamburg, that directly borders two countries.
The horseshoe-shaped inner city of Mannheim between the Rhine and
Neckar is laid out as a grid, the "Mannheimer Quadrate". Bismarckstrasse
runs in front of the palace and connects the ends of the Ringstrasse
sections. In between there are streets laid out at right angles. The
planning of this network goes back to Elector Friedrich IV of the
Palatinate around 1600.
The city center is criss-crossed by two
broader main axes. The Kurpfalzstraße, also known as "Breite Straße",
runs in a northeast-southwest direction from the castle to the
Neckartor. At Paradeplatz it meets the main shopping street, the
“Planken”, which runs in an east-west direction. The streets in the city
center usually do not have names, instead the squares in between are
named using a combination of letters and numbers.
The arrangement
was originally due to the technical aspects of the fortress: if
necessary, it made it possible for enemy formations that had penetrated
the fortress to be bombarded with cannons across the city. The Mannheim
squares and especially the so-called Breite Straße also emphasize the
"new" palace - albeit a later one. Therefore, the urban dominance of the
residence created by the street arrangement is interpreted as a
reflection of the absolutist form of government.
The principles
of an ideal city were implemented in various residence cities of the
absolutist baroque era, such as Erlangen, Glückstadt and Karlsruhe. But
even in more recent times attempts have been made to connect ideals and
architecture (planned city, planned capital).
Due to its location in the Upper Rhine Valley, protected by the
Palatinate Forest and the Odenwald, Mannheim has a very mild climate by
Central European standards. Between 1971 and 2000, measurements at the
DWD air conditioning station in Mannheim-Vogelstang showed an average
temperature of 10.5 °C. The warmest month is July with an average of
19.9 °C, the coldest January with 1.8 °C. Temperatures above 30 °C are
not uncommon in midsummer. The peak value was measured on August 7, 2015
at 39.8 °C (measurement by the DWD weather station, a private weather
station in Mannheim-Seckenheim came to 40.1 °C on August 8, 2003).
What is striking is the low amount of precipitation in Mannheim for
western Germany. An average of only 668 mm of precipitation falls over
the course of a year. The peak month is again July. Favored by the Rhine
and Neckar, fog banks can occur, especially in autumn. The two rivers
and meadow landscapes on the Rhine also ensure above-average humidity,
which can lead to oppressive, bioclimatically stressful mugginess,
especially in midsummer.
In 1896, the population of the city of Mannheim passed the 100,000
mark, making it a major city. In 1905 the city had over 160,000
inhabitants, and by 1961 this number had doubled. In 1970, the
population reached its all-time high of around 333,000. Due to migration
losses to the surrounding area and a negative birth and death balance,
the number of inhabitants decreased to around 295,000 by 1986.
Currently, the increased influx into metropolitan areas also applies to
Mannheim. As early as 1988, the city had more than 300,000 inhabitants
again, and this number continued to increase in the years to come. As a
result of the 2011 census, the population had fallen again to under
300,000, but had increased again in the following years.
For
December 31, 2015, the municipal statistics office of the city of
Mannheim states 337,919 inhabitants, of which 317,744 have their main
residence. In 2020, according to data from the State Statistical Office,
Mannheim became the second largest city in Baden-Württemberg for the
first time since the 2011 census.
The proportion of foreigners,
based on the main residence, is 25.2% (79,963 people). Taking
naturalized persons and late resettlers into account, 138,428
inhabitants (43.6%) have a migration background. The largest immigrant
groups come from:
Türkiye (27,980)
Poland (18,120)
Italy
(10,493)
Romania (7,417)
Bulgaria (5,325)
Russia (4,453)
Croatia (4,417)
Greece (3,915)
Kazakhstan (3,623).
In the
individual city districts, the proportion of residents with a migration
background is:
City center/Jungbusch 61.9%
Neckarstadt-West 69.1%
Neckarstadt-East 50.2%
Schwetzingerstadt/Oststadt 38.2%
Lindenhof
31.6%
Sandhofen 31.6%
Schoenau 45.8%
Waldhof 38.1%
Neuostheim/Neuhermsheim 35.7%
Seckenheim 37.2%
Friedrichsfeld
29.6%
Käfertal 45.7%
Vogelstang 47.2%
Wallstadt 21.2%
Feudenheim 20.4%
Neckarau 35.0%
Rheinau 47.1%
According to the 2011 census in the European Union, 29.8% of the
city's population were Catholic, 26.5% were Protestant and 43.7%
belonged to another or no public religious society (adjusted register).
Since then, the number of Protestants and Catholics has declined, and
those who do not belong to any legal-corporate religious community make
up an absolute majority of the population. The current distribution of
the city's population by religious affiliation (as of December 31, 2021)
is Catholic 24.4%, Evangelical 19.2% and other/none 56.4% (53.5% in
2019).
Exact figures for other religious communities (besides the
two official churches) were last collected in the census of 2011: At
that time 0.7% of the population were evangelical free churches, 2.6%
were orthodox. According to a calculation from the census figures for
people with a migration background, the proportion of Muslims in the
2011 population was 10.8%.
With a mandate dated April 4, 1556, Elector Ottheinrich introduced
the Reformation of the Lutheran confession in the Electoral Palatinate,
after his predecessor Frederick II had already made serious efforts in
this direction ten years earlier (first Lutheran communion celebration
in Heidelberg's Heiliggeistkirche on April 18, 1546). . Under
Ottheinrich's successor Friedrich III. from 1561 the Electoral
Palatinate switched to the Calvinist reformed confession (Heidelberg
Catechism 1563). The time when Mannheim was founded thus fell into the
phase of the Electoral Palatinate Reformed movement, which gave the city
a Reformed-Protestant character for a long time.
In 1821, the
union between Lutheran and Reformed congregations was carried out in the
Grand Duchy of Baden. In 2005, the first youth church of the Protestant
state church of Baden was opened in the Waldhof district. With the
incorporation of the previously independent Evangelical parish of
Friedrichsfeld in 2008, all Protestant parishes, unless they belong to a
free church, belong to the church district of Mannheim within the North
Baden church district of the Evangelical Church in Baden. The church
district of North Baden has its seat in Schwetzingen.
The first churches can be traced back to the 8th century in the suburbs of Scharhof, Wallstadt and Feudenheim. A parish in Mannheim itself was first mentioned in the 14th century. It belonged to the diocese of Worms and was dedicated to St. Dedicated to Sebastian. The oldest Catholic church is the parish church of St. Sebastian on the market square, which was completed in 1723. In 1729 Elector Karl Philipp donated 100,000 guilders for the construction of the Jesuit Church, which was to serve as the court church. Since 2005, together with the Church of Our Lady, it has belonged to a joint parish of St. Sebastian. The remaining 28 Roman Catholic parishes are grouped into ten pastoral units and belong to the Mannheim city deanery of the Archdiocese of Freiburg.
There are also several Orthodox parishes, including the Russian
Orthodox Church of St. Alexander Nevskij and the Greek Orthodox Church
of the Exaltation of the Cross.
There are also numerous
evangelical free churches. These include e.g. B. the Free Evangelical
Church (FEG), the Church of the Lord's House (HdH-Mannheim) in
Mannheim-Rheinau, the Free Church of the Seventh-Day Adventists (STA)
and the Evangelical Free Church (Baptists). Your Church of Hope has been
in the Neckarstadt district since 1961.
The congregation of the
Old Catholic Church has been at home in the Castle Church and in the
only blue church in Mannheim, the Church of the Redeemer in Garden City,
since 1873.
In addition, there are other Christian faith
communities in Mannheim today, including the New Apostolic Church,
Jehovah's Witnesses and a free religious community that came into being
during the Baden Revolution in the mid-19th century.
The first synagogue was in Mannheim in 1660. Especially after the
city was destroyed in the 17th century, the electors specifically
promoted the settlement of Jews with tax breaks and the privilege of
freedom of trade in order to help trade and crafts to flourish. In 1719,
10.6% of the population was Jewish. By 1895 the Jewish community had
grown to 4,768 members. However, the remaining population growth was
even more rapid, so that after 1900 the Jewish share was only three
percent. In 1933, 6,402 Jews lived in Mannheim, forming the largest
community in Baden.
As a result of the reprisals after the
National Socialists seized power, many Jews found themselves in need
early on. As early as 1933, the then Lord Mayor Carl Renninger (NSDAP)
forbade the awarding of contracts to Jewish companies. Jewish lecturers
at the local commercial college were put on leave, the Mannheim National
Theater dismissed Jewish actors, and Jewish doctors were revoked their
health insurance license. Many families emigrated abroad, especially to
the USA. After the three synagogues in Mannheim were devastated in 1939,
around 2,000, and thus almost all of the remaining Jews, were deported
to Gurs in 1940. Most were deported from there to the German
concentration camps in occupied Poland and murdered.
After the
Second World War only a few emigrants returned to Mannheim. The Jewish
community was reestablished after Nazi persecution in October 1945 with
only 120 members, including displaced persons living in Mannheim.
The new synagogue of the Jewish community was opened in 1987. In
2012 the community had about 500 members.
With the second wave of guest workers in the mid-1960s, many immigrants from Turkey came to Mannheim, and with them a significant number of Muslims for the first time. By 2004, their number had risen to 20,827 and thus seven percent of Mannheim's population, with the majority of them being immigrants from Muslim countries and their descendants. In 1995 the Yavuz Sultan Selim Mosque was built, which was the largest mosque in Germany at the time and offers 2,500 places for prayer. In 2005 the already dilapidated minaret was rebuilt slimmer and higher. In 2010 the Ehsan Mosque of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community was built in Mannheim-Casterfeld. There are also other mosques in the inner city/Jungbusch (three), Neckarstadt-West (two) and Neckarstadt-Ost, Waldhof, Neckarau, Rheinau and Hochstätt districts (one each).
The Giordano Bruno Foundation, which represents evolutionary humanism, is associated with the Secular Humanists · gbs Rhein-Neckar e. V. represented.
The municipal council has 48 seats and is elected in direct elections for five-year terms. In addition, the mayor is the voting chairman of the municipal council. According to the Baden-Württemberg local electoral law, the voters have the option of cumulating and splitting votes.
At the head of the city administration is the mayor, who is also the
chairman of the municipal council. He is elected by direct vote for a
term of eight years. Acting mayor is Peter Kurz (SPD), who was elected
in the mayoral election in 2007 with 50.53% with a turnout of 36.64% in
the first ballot. On June 14, 2015 he received 46.8% of the votes in the
first ballot of the mayor election and on July 5, 2015 he was re-elected
for a second term in the second ballot with 52% of the votes against
Peter Rosenberger (CDU). He did not stand for the mayoral election in
2023.
The first ballot of the 2023 mayoral election took place on
June 18, with Christian Specht (CDU) receiving the most votes with
45.64% ahead of Thorsten Riehle (SPD) (30%), but missing the required
absolute majority. In addition to the CDU, the Mannheim List and the FDP
Mannheim supported him. In the second ballot on July 9, Specht -
previously the city's first mayor - was elected mayor with 49.9% ahead
of Thorsten Riehle (SPD) (48.7%) with a turnout of around 30%. Specht
will be the first CDU mayor in Mannheim since 1948 when he takes office
on August 4, 2023.
The mayor is assisted by a first mayor (also
deputy mayor) and four other mayors. They are elected by the municipal
council for a term of eight years and therefore reflect the respective
majority situation at the time of the election in terms of party
politics. Each mayor leads a department in the city administration.
The number of employees in the city administration in 2023 is almost
8000 people.
The city leaders since 1928 were:
1928-1933:
Hermann Heimerich (SPD)
1933-1945: Carl Renninger (NSDAP)
1945-1948: Josef Braun (CDP; later CDU)
1948-1949: Fritz Cahn-Garnier
(SPD)
1949-1955: Hermann Heimerich (SPD)
1956-1972: Hans Reschke
(independent)
1972-1980: Ludwig Ratzel (SPD)
1980-1983: Wilhelm
Varnholt (SPD)
1983-2007: Gerhard Widder (SPD)
2007-2023: Peter
Kurz (SPD) (still in office)
since 2023: Christian Specht (CDU)
(designated)
In the federal elections on September 26, 2021, Isabel Cademartori
(SPD) won the direct mandate in constituency 275 with 26.4% of the first
votes, ahead of Melis Sekmen (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen), who achieved
22.5%. Like Gökay Akbulut (DIE LINKE) and Konrad Stockmeier (FDP),
Sekmen entered the Bundestag via their party's state lists.
The
SPD in Mannheim was also ahead of the Greens (21.1%) in second votes
with 25.3%. The CDU, still the strongest party in the constituency in
2017, achieved 18.2% of the second votes.
The city of Mannheim has an official seal, a coat of arms and a flag.
The city also uses a logo.
Blazon: "Split of gold and black, in
front a standing red double hook (Wolfsangel), behind a red armored,
tongued and crowned double-tailed golden lion."
Coat of arms: The
coat of arms was established by the city council in 1896 and confirmed
by the Grand Duke of Baden. The Wolfsangel has been documented on a
district boundary stone since the 17th century. It's probably a stain.
The lion is the Palatinate lion, the heraldic animal of the Electors
Palatinate, whose residence was Mannheim from 1720. Both coats of arms
have appeared in the city's seals since the 18th century. The city
usually uses the coat of arms in a simplified form in the New
Objectivity style.
The city colors of blue, white and red have only
been in use since the 19th century and indicate a sealing cord from
1613. The city colors are not derived from the coat of arms colors,
which is completely unusual.
At the beginning of 2003, the city
administration adopted a new logo for outdoor advertising: Mannheim
squared. It shows a red square with the number two inside in white in
the semi-bold sans-serif font FF Kievit and is intended to symbolize the
squaring of the streets in the city centre. But the superscript 2 should
also stand for the city's potential, "culture to the power of two",
"science to the power of two" and "Mannheim is life to the power of
two".
The most popular sport in Mannheim is ice hockey. The Adler Mannheim
(formerly Mannheimer ERC) were German ice hockey champions in 1980,
1997-1999, 2001, 2007, 2015 and 2019. They have played their home games
in the SAP Arena since 2005.
The Rhein-Neckar Löwen are a
Bundesliga handball club whose home games are also played in the SAP
Arena. The greatest successes of the lions were the German Championship
in 2016 and 2017, victory in the EHF Europa Cup in 2013, reaching the
semi-finals in the Champions League in 2009 and victory in the DHB Cup
in 2018.
The two football clubs VfR Mannheim (German football
champions 1949) and SV Waldhof Mannheim (Bundesliga team 1983-1990) are
still known nationwide, even if their greatest successes date back a
long time. The latter managed to return to professional football after
16 years in 2019 with promotion to the 3rd football league.
The
men's team of TSV Mannheim Hockey plays in the 1st national hockey
league, the women's team in the 2nd national league. The Mannheimer HC
teams also play in the 1st Bundesliga.
In 2005, MTG Mannheim
founded a football department, the Mannheim Bandits. It has been playing
in the German Football League since 2012. The Mannheim Redskins had
previously played in the first division. Her greatest success was the
German vice championship in 1981.
Since 1958, the German
Basketball Association has held the Albert Schweitzer Tournament for
youth national teams every other spring in Mannheim at its European
Youth Basketball Tournament in memory of Albert Schweitzer. This
international friendship meeting, in the spirit of the doctor and Nobel
Peace Prize winner, is one of the most important and best-attended
basketball tournaments for youth teams worldwide, in which numerous
later NBA professionals have also taken part.
The TK Grün-Weiss
Mannheim plays successfully in the tennis national league. The club was
German team champion in 1922, 1993, 1996, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2019 and
2021.
Since it was founded, the athletics club MTG Mannheim has
produced outstanding athletes time and time again. The sprinters are
particularly successful nationally at the moment. At the 2016 German
Championships in Kassel, Ricarda Lobe won the bronze medal in the 100
meter hurdles and the gold medal in the 4 x 100 meter relay of the MTG
Mannheim with Ricarda Lobe, Alexandra Burghardt, Nadine Gonska and
Yasmin Kwadwo. In 2015 in Nuremberg, too, the MTG relay team won the
gold medal at the German Championships with the women's 4 x 100 meter
relay consisting of Verena Sailer, Ricarda Lobe, Alexandra Burghardt and
Yasmin Kwadwo. The former successful MTG sprinters, Verena Sailer, who
became European champion in the 100 meter sprint in 2016, and Carolin
Nytra have retired.
Supported by the large American colony of the
US Army in Mannheim, baseball has enjoyed great success in the past. The
Mannheim clubs Knights, VfR, Amigos and Tornados won the German baseball
championship nineteen times between 1954 and 1997. The Mannheim Tornados
play in the Baseball Bundesliga. In 1956, Claus T. Helmig from Mannheim
was the first German baseball player with a professional contract in the
USA.
In the 1950s and 1960s, the cycling club RRC Endspurt
Mannheim was successful worldwide and nationally until the 1990s.
Particularly noteworthy are Willi and Rudi Altig under coach Karl
Ziegler.
The Mannheim Gliding Club is a cross-country club and
operates its activities at the Mannheim airfield. He flies in the first
federal gliding league and has provided German and international
champions several times.
In the past, the Mannheim rowing club
Amicitia of 1876 has produced a number of athletes who have been
successful at world championships and the Olympic Games. The rowing club
Mannheimer Rudergesellschaft Baden (MRG Baden for short), founded in
1875, also produced well-known rowers such as Filip Adamski.
The
Mannheim-Sandhofen water sports club was founded in 1925. He presented
world champions and Olympic champions in canoe racing. The Mannheim
Canoe Club won several German championships in the 1960s.
The
region's inline sports club, Rhein-Neckar-Skater, founded in 2008, is
based in Mannheim.
The Boule Club Sandhofen Mannheim was champion
of the first German Pétanque Bundesliga (D.P.B.) in 2007. Today the club
plays in the third division and together with SV Käfertal, Badenia
Feudenheim and TV Waldhof in the regional league.
Mannheim has
repeatedly been the venue for top-class sporting events such as the 2010
Ice Hockey World Championships (together with Cologne), the 2007 Men's
Handball World Championships, the 2007 European Show Jumping
Championships, the first German Individual Vaulting Championships in
1986 and the 2000 World Vaulting Championships.
With 4037 members
(as of December 31, 2021), the Mannheim section of the German Alpine
Club is one of the largest sections in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan
region. It operates two alpine refuges in the Rätikon, the Mannheimer
Hütte and the Oberzalimhütte.
In 2021, the city applied to host a four-day program for an international delegation to the Special Olympics World Summer Games 2023 in Berlin. In 2022 she was selected to host Special Olympics Moldova. This made it part of the largest municipal inclusion project in the history of the Federal Republic with more than 200 host towns.
January: New Year's reception of the city of Mannheim in the rose
garden
February: Carnival parade (alternating annually with
Ludwigshafen) (Sundays)
February: Reading.Hearing, Literature
Festival Mannheim. The patron of the literature festival, which has been
taking place since 2007, was Roger Willemsen until his death. Venue: Old
Fire Station
March: Spotlight Festival, international advertising
film festival
March/April: Time Warp music festival in the
Maimarkthallen
April: Albert Schweitzer tournament, European youth
basketball tournament for youth national teams (every other year)
April: Upper Rhine early regatta, annual rowing competition in
Mannheim's Mühlauhafen
April/May: Maimas
April/May: May market
with May market riding tournament
May: City festival on the planks
May: Mannheim Marathon
June: International Schiller Days Mannheim
(every two years in odd years)
July: Sports & games at the water
tower
July: Lanz Park Festival Lindenhof
August: Christopher
Street Day
Palatinate Festival in the Herzogenried Park
September/November: Biennale for Contemporary Photography (2-yearly)
September: Wonders of the Prairie Festival International Festival of
Theater | Performance | dance | Art since 2004
September/October:
Autumn Mass
October: Blumepeterfest (on the first Saturday)
October: Kerwe in Feudenheim
October: Veterama vintage car market on
the Maimarkt site
October: Night walk in the Jungbusch
October/November: Mannheim Oktoberfest
October/November:
International Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg
October/November:
Enjoy Jazz
November/December: Two Christmas markets - under the water
tower and on the Kapuzinerplanken
In Mannheim, as with the origin of the residents (about 170
nationalities from all over the world), a wide range of gastronomy is
represented. Typical culinary specialties from Mannheim are the Mannemer
Dreck, a type of gingerbread-like pastry, and the alcoholic drink
Mannheimer Hafenwasser. The typical Mannheim beer is the "Eichbaum",
which is produced and sold in different variations by the Mannheim
private brewery Eichbaum. Market leaders in the Rhine-Neckar region, the
Eichbaum, Ureich, Gerstel and Karamalz brands are also sold nationwide.
Spaghetti ice cream is an ice cream that owes its name to its
special appearance: it looks like spaghetti noodles with tomato sauce.
It is said to have been invented in 1969 by the Mannheim ice cream
manufacturer Dario Fontanella.
With the Restaurant Amador, named after its operator Juan Amador, there was a three-star restaurant in Mannheim for the first time from November 2011 to May 2015. From 2016 to 2020, Tristan Brandt, head chef at the Opus V restaurant in the Engelhorn GmbH & Co. KGaA fashion house, held two Michelin stars.
In the 2016 Atlas of the Future, the independent city of Mannheim was
ranked 52nd out of 402 rural districts and urban districts in Germany,
making it one of the places with "great prospects for the future". In
the 2019 edition, it was ranked 35 out of 401.
In 2017, of the
185,371 employees subject to social security contributions, 27.9% worked
in manufacturing, 22.7% in trade, hospitality and transport and 49.2% in
other service sectors. In 2018, Mannheim, within the city limits,
generated a gross domestic product (GDP) of €20.921 billion, ranking
17th in the ranking of German cities by economic output. The share in
the economic output of Baden-Württemberg was 4.1%. GDP per capita was
€64,483 in 2016 (Baden-Württemberg: €43,632, Germany €38,180) and is
thus well above the regional and national average. In the same year, the
city's economic output recorded nominal growth of 3.8%. In 2016 there
were around 243,000 employed people in the city. The unemployment rate
in January 2020 was 6.2% and thus above the average of 3.5% in
Baden-Württemberg.
Although Mannheim has been characterized by a
profound structural change since the 1970s at the latest, which is
characterized by a reduction in industrial jobs and the growth of the
service sector, the metal and chemical industry is still very present.
The strongest is the electrical and mechanical engineering industry.
The largest companies include:
Daimler (engines)
EvoBus (buses)
ABB (electrical and automation technology)
General Electric (power
plants)
John Deere (agricultural machinery)
Caterpillar Energy
Solutions (formerly MWM, engine works Mannheim)
Pepperl+Fuchs
(factory and process automation)
WIMA (electronic components)
The chemical industry is represented by:
Lanxess (specialty
chemicals)
Roche (Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics)
Essity
(cellulose and paper products such as Zewa)
Fuchs Petrolub
(lubricants)
Unilever (Dove Soaps)
Reckitt Benckiser (household
cleaner)
Phoenix (pharmaceutical trade)
German Hutchinson (Rubber
Products)
Minera fuels – Mineraloelwerk Rempel GmbH (mineral oil
trade)
The Mannheim financial center is no longer the leader it
was in 1900, but it is still very important, especially with its
insurance companies. Mannheimer Versicherungen and the Inter
Versicherungsgruppe have their headquarters here. One of the four LBBW
headquarters is in Mannheim, Neue Rechtsschutz Versicherung maintains a
central claims office, SV Sparkassenversicherung Holding has an
important branch, and the Ergo Group also has a location here.
The food industry is represented by Südzucker, Birkel Pasta, Eichbaum
private brewery, Pfalzmühle Mannheim (a PMG Premium Mühlen Group
company) and Bunge Germany (oil and grain seed processing).
Bilfinger SE and Diringer & Scheidel belong to the construction
industry, while Bauhaus and Engelhorn are represented in the trade
sector.
The publishing house Edition-Panorama, made famous by the
series New-York Vertical by the Mannheim photographer Horst Hamann and
the Huber Verlag, publisher e.g. Tattoo Magazine and Bikers News, is
based in Mannheim. In addition, the Bibliographic Institute & F. A.
Brockhaus (Brockhaus, Duden, Langenscheidt, Meyer) used to have their
headquarters in Mannheim. Baden-Württemberg's largest advertising
agency, Schaller & Partner, is also based in Waldhof (Mannheim).
MVV Energie is the largest municipal energy supplier in Germany. The
Berrang Group is a major international company specializing in
mechanical fastening technology.
Large trade fairs are held
regularly on the Mannheim Maimarkt grounds. The most important is the
400-year-old Maimarkt, which is Germany's largest regional consumer
exhibition with 1,400 exhibitors and 350,000 visitors. But also Europe's
largest classic car market, the Veterama, takes place every year on the
Maimarkt grounds.
The Mannheim/Ludwigshafen agglomeration is surrounded by a ring road with a total of seven interchanges. In the north and east, the Federal Motorway 6 (Saarbrücken-Nuremberg) encloses the city area, the ring road completes the A61 on the left bank of the Rhine in the west and south of Ludwigshafen. In the north-east of Mannheim, the A67 branches off to Darmstadt and Frankfurt, in the east the A656 to Heidelberg and the A659 to Weinheim. Further east, the A5 (Frankfurt–Basel) runs parallel. The federal highways 36, 37, 38, 38a and 44 lead through the city.
Mannheim is the second largest railway junction in south-west
Germany. In 2010, 238 long-distance trains stopped at the main station
every day, providing direct connections to Hamburg, Berlin and Cologne,
among others. There has been a fast and efficient ICE connection to the
Stuttgart region via the Mannheim-Stuttgart high-speed route since 1991.
With the new Frankfurt–Mannheim line, a comparable connection to the
neighboring Rhine-Main region is being planned, after trains coming from
Frankfurt have been able to stop since the western introduction of the
Riedbahn (WER) in 1985 without having to turn around at the main
station. Since 2007, the European high-speed connection between Paris
and Frankfurt (LGV Est européenne) has passed through Mannheim.
The marshalling yard is the second largest in Europe after Maschen. In
2005, 30 international, 60 national and 440 regional freight trains were
handled every day.
The Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn has been in operation
since 2003, covering almost the entire Rhine-Neckar area and running
lines to the Palatinate, the Odenwald and southern Hesse. Seven of the
ten S-Bahn lines run via Mannheim Central Station. Together with
regional trains, they provide direct connections to Karlsruhe
Hauptbahnhof, Mainz and Kaiserslautern, among others.
Since 1878,
public transport in Mannheim has been supplied by trams. Ten light rail
and numerous bus lines of the RNV are in operation today. All public
transport can be used at the same price within the Rhein-Neckar
transport association (VRN). The Mannheim-Ludwigshafen subway network,
which began in the 1970s, was not implemented for cost reasons, with the
exception of small sections. The only tunnel station in Mannheim is the
Dalbergstraße stop. The subway plans have now been discontinued.
Favored by the confluence of the Rhine and Neckar, the Mannheim port with an area of 1,131 hectares is one of the most important and largest inland ports in Europe today. Almost 500 companies with 20,000 jobs are located in the port area. In 2019, 7.8 million tons of goods were handled on the water side. The main types of handling here were solid mineral fuels (2.2 million t) and food and fodder (1.6 million t).
Mannheim has an airfield in the district of Neuostheim/Neuhermsheim, the airfield Mannheim. There is currently a scheduled connection to Berlin-Tegel Airport and Hamburg Airport on weekdays, operated by Rhein-Neckar Air. Until December 2012, scheduled services were operated by Cirrus Airlines. Frankfurt Main International Airport is 65 kilometers to the north and can be reached by ICE in 30 minutes.
MVV Energie is responsible for obtaining, treating and distributing
the drinking water. The drinking water for Mannheim is obtained
exclusively from groundwater. There are three waterworks: Käfertal
Welt-Icon, Rheinau Welt-Icon and Schwetzinger Hardt Welt-Icon. With a
total hardness of 3.15–3.47 mmol/l (17.6–19.4 °dH), the water falls into
the “hard” hardness range.
The gross consumption price is 2.25
euros per cubic metre.
The discharge and cleaning of the waste water is the responsibility
of the city of Mannheim. The sewer network is 890 kilometers long and
99.9% of the population is connected. Mixed sewerage predominates. There
are 39 pumping stations and 32 lifting stations in the network.
The Mannheim Welt-Icon sewage treatment plant was put into operation in
1973 and today has a size of 725,000 population equivalents. On average,
87,000 m³ of waste water are treated daily. The water has a residence
time of 24 hours and is then discharged clean into the Rhine. The
resulting sewage sludge is decomposed, then dried and used thermally and
materially in the cement industry. The sewage gas produced during
digestion (9 million m³/a) is used to generate electricity. Further
electrical energy is obtained from photovoltaic systems and the
operation of a Zuppinger water wheel at the outlet of the sewage
treatment plant.
The landfill on Friesenheimer Insel has been in operation since 1963 and as of 2021 still has an expansion reserve of 2.7 hectares. So-called inert materials such as building rubble, track ballast, excavated soil and road debris are stored, as well as used foundry sand and mineral waste. The highest point of the landfill is 156 meters above sea level, making it the highest point in Mannheim.
In addition to the only local daily newspaper Mannheimer Morgen, the
Ludwigshafener Rheinpfalz, the Heidelberger Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung and the
Bild Rhein-Neckar all have a local section for Mannheim. In addition,
there is the weekly Mannheim weekly with the official gazette. The
Municipal Info Mannheim appears every 14 days. Free district newspapers
are distributed in almost all parts of the city.
Rhein-Neckar
Fernsehen is the regional television station for the Rhine-Neckar
triangle. There is also a studio of Südwestrundfunk (SWR) in Mannheim.
Among other things, the regional program Kurpfalz-Radio from SWR4 is
broadcast from here. The private radio stations bigFM, Radio Regenbogen
and sunshine live are also based in Mannheim. Since 2000 the Bermuda
radio - the Free Radio Rhein Neckar can be received. In 2001, the campus
radio began broadcasting radioactively. From 1993 to 2009, the local
program AFN Heidelberg was produced in Seckenheim by the American Forces
Network of the US armed forces. From 2009 to 2012, the studios were
located in the AFN European headquarters, which had moved from Frankfurt
am Main to Sandhofen in 2004.
From 1986 to 2012, the city
magazine meier appeared monthly as a print edition. From 2006 to 2007
the Sportwoche Mannheim was published weekly. Both journals are now
published online.
The media group Dr. Haas, which owns Mannheimer
Morgen in full and shares in Radio Regenbogen and big FM.
There was a municipal police force in Mannheim until 1971. The
Baden-Württemberg State Police has been responsible for Mannheim since
1971. The Mannheim Police Headquarters is headed by Police President
Siegfried Kollmar. The police headquarters are responsible for the inner
city, Oststadt, Neckarstadt, Neckarau, Käfertal, Sandhofen and
Ladenburg, Wiesloch, Schwetzingen, Eberbach, Hockenheim,
Heidelberg-South, Heidelberg-Centre, Heidelberg-North, Weinheim,
Sinsheim and Neckargemünd police stations, each with their associated
police stations. Criminal police departments and traffic police
departments as well as a squadron of service dog handlers are also
assigned to the police headquarters. There has been a police music corps
at the Mannheim police headquarters since 1965.
In addition to
the state police of Baden-Württemberg, a KOD (Communal Security Service)
has also been operating since 1998 as a kind of resurgent city police.
There is a French and an Italian honorary consulate in the city.
Mannheim is the seat of the offices of the Rhine-Neckar Region
Association and the Heidelberg-Mannheim Neighborhood Association. The
Chamber of Crafts and the IHK Rhein-Neckar are also located here, whose
chamber districts include the urban districts of Mannheim and Heidelberg
as well as the Rhein-Neckar district and the Neckar-Odenwald district.
There is also an employment agency and two tax offices. With over 800
places, the Mannheim correctional facility is the largest in
Baden-Württemberg. Due to the number of inhabitants, Mannheim has a fire
brigade made up of volunteers and full-time employees.
Two major
statutory accident insurance institutions have their headquarters in
Mannheim: the food and hospitality trade association and the trade and
goods logistics trade association. Mannheim is also the seat of a church
district of the Evangelical Church in Baden and a deanery of the
Archdiocese of Freiburg.
In Mannheim, the administrative court of Baden-Württemberg is the
court of appeal for all administrative courts in the state. The regional
labor court based in Stuttgart has chambers in Mannheim.
The city
also has a district and a regional court with patent law chambers, both
of which belong to the higher regional court district of Karlsruhe, as
well as a labor court and a social court.
There are four large hospitals in Mannheim: the Mannheim University Hospital, the Mannheim Deaconess Hospital, the Theresien Hospital and St. Hedwig Clinic and the Central Institute for Mental Health. They are spread over several locations in the city.
Until 1918, Mannheim was a garrison for parts of the 110th Grenadier
Regiment (XIV (Baden) Army Corps) of the Prussian Army. From 1936, as a
result of the rearmament driven by the Nazi regime, several new barracks
were built for the Mannheim Wehrmacht garrison. These continued to be
used on a large scale by the US Army during the Cold War after 1945. At
times there were several thousand US soldiers in Mannheim, including
e.g. B. Parts of the 8th US Infantry Division. The Bundeswehr presence
was limited to a few smaller units of the Territorial Army.
A
number of important NATO and US Army facilities were located in Mannheim
for a long time. However, when the United States Army Europe and Africa
moved to its new headquarters in Wiesbaden in September 2013, the number
of US soldiers and employees fell drastically. By the end of 2015, with
the exception of Coleman Barracks, all American military installations
in Mannheim had been closed.
School reformer Joseph Anton Sickinger developed the Mannheim school system at the beginning of the 20th century. He made important contributions to education.
Mannheim University, founded in 1907 as a commercial college, has
been a university since 1967. Your economics and social sciences
regularly occupy top positions in university rankings in Germany. Around
12,000 students are enrolled here.
Medical faculty Mannheim,
affiliated with the Ruprecht-Karls-University Heidelberg, with 1400
students.
Federal University for Public Administration, founded in
1978. The Federal Armed Forces Administration department is located in
Mannheim. Around 350 students have enrolled.
University of the
Federal Employment Agency, which emerged from the Federal University of
Applied Sciences in 2006, offers bachelor's degrees for 900 study
places.
Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, originally founded
in 1898 as an engineering school, since 1971 a technical college. Due to
the merger in 1995 with the University of Applied Sciences for Design
and in 2006 with the University of Applied Sciences for Social Work,
4,500 students are enrolled at it today.
Mannheim University of Music
and Performing Arts, successor to the Academie de Danse founded in 1762
and a private music school founded in 1776 at the court of Carl Theodor,
has around 630 students.
Free University for Anthroposophical
Education Mannheim, trains teachers according to the anthroposophical
principles of Waldorf education.
Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State
University Mannheim, founded as a vocational academy as part of a pilot
project in 1974, is now one of the three largest locations of the
Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University with 5,300 students.
The state-approved SRH Fernhochschule has had a study center in Mannheim
since September 2017.
Popakademie Baden-Württemberg, founded in 2003,
is the only institution in Germany that offers courses in music
business, pop music design, world music, popular music and music and
creative industries.
Academy for Business Administration and World
Trade Languages (ABW), founded in 1956, Private Business School in E1
Federal Academy for Defense Administration and Technology, founded in
1961, is today the highest central educational institution of the
Federal Defense Administration and is responsible for career training in
the field of defense technology.
Federal Armed Forces Administration
School I (Technology), offers basic and advanced training for civil
servants in the technical service.
Theater Academy Mannheim is a
state-approved vocational school for acting and directing and was
founded in 1994. Since 2006, the drama school has been under new
management.
University of Economics for Management, opened in 2011,
is a state-recognized university.
FOM University of Economics and
Management is the largest private university in Germany. It maintains a
location in the Neckarau district.
Mannheim evening academy and adult education center, founded in 1899, is one of the oldest adult education centers in Germany. With over 150,000 hours of instruction per year, it is the most powerful adult education center in Baden-Württemberg.
Institute for German-Turkish Integration Studies: Islamic
Studies-Islamic Nutrition, Islamic Pastoral Care-Rhein-Neckar Metropol
Institute for German, European and International Medical Law, Health Law
and Bioethics (IMGB), founded in 1998 by the Universities of Heidelberg
and Mannheim, is one of the most renowned centers for research in the
fields of medical and health law and bioethics in Germany.
Leibniz
Institute for the German Language, founded in 1964, is dedicated to
language research.
Institute for SME Research, has been empirically
and interdisciplinary researching the development of SMEs since 1989.
Research community for electrical systems and power management, promotes
the performance, safety and efficiency of the supply of electrical
energy.
Fraunhofer project group for automation in medicine and
biotechnology, deals with automation solutions in medicine and
biotechnology
Research group elections, researches voter behavior and
observes social trends and moods.
International Institute for
Vocational Training Mannheim, reports to the Baden-Württemberg Ministry
for Education, Youth and Sport
State seminar for didactics and
teacher training, responsible for elementary and secondary schools
Mannheim Center for European Social Research, has been researching
societal, social and political developments in Europe since it was
founded in 1989.
Center for European Economic Research, has been
working in the field of applied empirical economic research since 1991.
GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences is the largest German
infrastructure facility for the social sciences.
Goethe-Institut, the
Goethe-Institut Mannheim is based in the Almenhof district.
Marchivum
(Mannheim City Archive), founded in 1907, researches the history of
Mannheim
Many important inventions come from Mannheim:
In 1817 Karl von
Drais built the first two-wheeler here,
In 1880, Werner von Siemens
presented the first electric elevator,
In 1886, Carl Benz's first
automobile rolled onto the streets,
In 1921 the Lanz Bulldog
followed,
In 1924 Hugo Stotz invented the automatic circuit breaker,
In 1929, Julius Hatry from Mannheim constructed the world's first rocket
plane,
1971 First use of converters in locomotives by Werner Teich.
In Mannheim, under the direction of Johann Jakob Hemmer, standards for
the worldwide collection of weather data were first set in the 18th
century. This includes the times of day for measurement, known as
Mannheim hours.
The revised Rhine Shipping Act of October 17,
1868 was signed in Mannheim, in which all German states and France spoke
out in favor of duty-free shipping on the Rhine. This treaty is also
known today as the Mannheim Act.