With 307,640 inhabitants it is the second largest city in the state of Baden-Württemberg, situated at the confluence of the Rhine and Neckar rivers. The Rhine separates Mannheim from the adjunct Rhineland-Palatinate city of Ludwigshafen.
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Mannheim is unique among
German cities in that its downtown area is laid out in a grid pattern, much like many
North American cities. The main route through the squares leads to an enormous
18th century castle that houses the
University of Mannheim.
Mannheim is first mentioned in a document from 766 AD, the
"Codex Laureshamensis" from the
Lorsch Cloister. It is listed as
"Mannenheim" (Home of Manno). It remained a village until
Frederick IV; Elector Palatine initiated building the
fortress Friedrichsburg and the adjacent grid-like city core.
Rebuilt, in 1720, Mannheim replaced
Heidelberg as the capital of the
Palatinate. It was then that
Karl III Philip, Elector Palatine started construction of the
Mannheim Castle completed in 1760.
In the 18th century
Mannheim was home to the so-called
Mannheim School of classical composers. It was reputed for having one of the best court orchestras in Europe.
Carl Benz invented and drove the
world's first car in Mannheim in 1885. Earlier still in 1817,
Karl Drais invented and rode the first two-wheeled contraption called
Laufmaschine or velocipede - the very start of horseless personal transport.
During the Second World War,
Mannheim (as a key industrial center) was heavily damaged by U.S. and British bombing. The city was occupied by the U.S. Army on March 29, 1945. There has been a large American military presence in the
Mannheim area ever since.
