| Northern Baden-Württemberg | |
 | |
| State | Germany |
|---|---|
| Region | Baden-Württemberg |
Northern Baden-Württemberg is a region of the Baden-Württemberg.
To know
Geographical notes
The northern part of the German state (Bundesland) of the Baden-Württemberg it is largely urbanized, with important and famous cities such as Heidelberg, Heilbronn, Karlsruhe is Mannheim. They are mainly found in the western part of the area, near the border with theHesse and the France. In the east, the region has a freer nature, with some mountains, hills and trails, but also other larger cities like Schwäbisch Hall.
In the eastern part of the region, which historically belonged to Württemberg, is the southeastern end of the historical land of Franconia, which is reflected in today's macro-regional name of Heilbronn-Franken. Gently hilly, following the continuation of the Swabian Mountains, and including a part of the valley of the winding Neckar River, this part offers many beautiful natural landscapes, sprinkled with historic towns such as Heilbronn and Schwäbisch Hall.
Background
The north of Baden-Württemberg unites the northern parts of the historical lands of Baden and Württemberg, north of Stuttgart and of Black Forest. Considerable parts of the region were annexed only by Baden or Württemberg in the early 19th century when Napoleon "cleaned up" the carpet of scattered small states and territories. Even two centuries later, some inhabitants of these regions rigidly insist that they are neither Baden nor Württemberg, but Kurpfälzer (in the northwest, around Mannheim is Heidelberg) or Franken (in the northeast), also speaking very distinct dialects.
The fertile lands along the Rhine and Neckar rivers have been quite densely populated and prosperous since the Middle Ages. The multitude of principalities, counties, baronial and knightly estates, abbeys, but also free imperial cities, which were governed by merchant and craft guilds, creating many castles, palaces, churches and monasteries, as well as ancient cities from the Middle Ages to early modern times.
The Kurpfalz (Electoral Palatinate) was heavily affected by a French punitive expedition during the Nine Years War in 1688. Heidelberg's ruined castle is the most prominent example of that experience. At the beginning of the 18th century, the rulers of Baden and the Palatinate they founded the new capitals from scratch: Karlsruhe and Mannheim. Both are planned cities, designed at the table, with a very regular urban development (square grid in the case of Mannheim, fan shape of Karlsruhe) which is rarely found in European cities.
The north of Baden was an epicenter of the revolution of 1848/49. After the revolution was quelled, many of the insurgents emigrated to the United States, becoming known as the "Quarantottini". Some of them rose to prominence, such as Franz Sigel of Sinsheim, who was a Union general during the American Civil War. With the advent of the industrial revolution, cities like Karlsruhe and Mannheim also became heavily industrialized, and to a large extent they still are today. Several revolutionary inventions have been made in this region, including the bicycle, the elevator and the automobile. On the other hand, Heidelberg has largely preserved its historical character.
Spoken languages
In rural areas it is possible to meet people who speak the Kurpfälzisch, a traditional variant of German very different from the Hochdeutsch. Regardless of the variation in German spoken every day, almost everyone you meet should speak German. The larger cities are the headquarters of many international companies, as well as internationally renowned universities, while tourism is also an important sector for this rich region, so it is not even a problem to find English and French speakers.
Territories and tourist destinations
Northern Baden-Württemberg: full-screen map.Urban centers
Kurpfalz region (north west)
- 1 Bretten
- 2 Heidelberg - A picturesque old town with an impressive castle ruin and a world-class university
- 3 Hockenheim - Famous for the motor racing circuit
- 4 Mannheim - Former residence of Kurpfalz with a square plan; later an industrial power plant, the birthplace of bicycles, lifts and cars.
- 5 Schriesheim - With a quaint old town and castle ruins
- 6 Schwetzingen - Baroque palace and gardens, classical music festival
- 7 Sinsheim - Museum of vintage cars and planes, water park, Bundesliga football stadium
- 8 Weinheim
Franconian region (north east)
North Baden region (southwest)
Northern Württemberg (southeast)
- 15 Heilbronn
- 16 Schwäbisch Hall
How to get
By plane
There is no major airport in northern Baden-Württemberg, so to arrive by plane you must use one of the nearby airports. Frankfurt (FRA IATA) and Stuttgart (STR IATA) both have very busy international airports. From Frankfurt Airport, there are direct train connections to Mannheim (30 min) e Karlsruhe (1:05 h). The train transfer from Stuttgart airport requires at least one change at Stuttgart central station or Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt, for a total of approximately 1 hour and a half to Heilbronn, Heidelberg, Karlsruhe or Schwäbisch Hall. Karlsruhe is also served by the second level airport of Baden a Baden-Baden (FKB IATA), which is mainly used by low cost airlines such as Ryanair.
On the train
Mannheim is one of Germany's busiest high-speed rail hubs with ICE from Frankfurt, Stuttgart (taking only 40 minutes each), Colony (1½ h), Basel (2:15 h), Dortmund (2:50 h), Monk (3 h), Hamburg (4:20 h) e Berlin (5 h) passing at least once an hour, multiple direct connections with Paris (3:10 h) e Zurich (3:15 h) at two hour intervals. At least once a day you can arrive from Interlaken or Chur in Switzerland, Amsterdam in Netherlands, Lyon or Marseille in France, Graz or Salzburg in Austria or Milan in Italy without changing trains. Some of these trains also stop in Karlsruhe or Heidelberg.
The eastern part of the region is not so well connected: apart from the interchange every two hours Karlsruhe - Stuttgart - Nuremberg, which stops at Crailsheim, there are only regional trains, the closest high-speed nodes are Stuttgart or Würzburg.
How to get around
On the train
The most common way to get around the region is by train, as the public transport system is quite good. Different regions and cities have different public transport companies with different tickets and prices. The most important are:
- Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Neckar (Mannheim, Heidelberg e Odenwald),
- Karlsruhe Verkehrsverbund (Karlsruhe, Rastatt, Bruchsal),
- Heilbronner Verkehrsbetriebe (Heilbronn).
There is also a special ticket, valid for all regional trains (referred to as S, RB or RE) in Baden-Württemberg, the "Baden-Württemberg ticket". This is a good choice when traveling through more than one region.
What see
The old town and the castle of Heidelberg are the best known highlights for visitors. It is considered to be the example of a traditional German city. Although tourists come in droves, it is also a lively university town; therefore not having the "open air museum" atmosphere of Rothenburg ob der Tauber.
The historic centers of Heilbronn, Bad Wimpfen is Schwäbisch Hall (free imperial cities during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Age)
The religious art of the Renaissance period in the churches of Creglingen (carved altarpiece by Tilman Riemenschneider) e Stuppach (painting of the Madonna by Matthias Grünewald), both near Bad Mergentheim
Baroque palaces and gardens of Mannheim, Karlsruhe, Schwetzingen is Bruchsal.
Karlsruhe and Mannheim are both planned cities of the Baroque era, recognizable by their regular structure: Mannheim is the "city of squares" (unlike any other German city, addresses in the center of Mannheim are not determined by street names, but from a letter and a number, like squares on a chessboard) while Karlsruhe is known as the "fan city" (the streets run radially from the building, crossing semicircular avenues). However, both cities were heavily bombed during World War II, so much of the Baroque architecture was replaced by buildings from the mid-20th century, while the urban profile remained.
Numerous museums dedicated to industrial and technological heritage, in particular the history of the automobile, eg. the Technik Museum Sinsheim, Technoseum Mannheim, Automuseum Dr. Carl Benz to Ladenburg.
Castles
Numerous medieval castles, particularly along the Neckar River between Heilbronn is Heidelberg:
- 1 Hornberg castle (Burg Hornberg) (Neckarzimmern).
- 2 Steinsberg castle (in the nearby village of Weiler Sinsheim).
- 3 Comburg (near Schwäbisch Hall). A Benedictine monastery that looks like a former castle.
- 4 Schloss Stetten.
- 5 Schloss Weikersheim (near Bad Mergentheim).
Itineraries
- Bertha Benz Memorial Route: Follow in the footsteps of the world's first car trip (Mannheim - Heidelberg - Pforzheim).
