Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen/ BW (UN/LOCODE: DE EGL) is a municipality of almost 17,000 inhabitants located in the federal state of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

in the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...

. It lies about 12 km north of

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

and is the site of the northern campus of the research centre Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (with the former

Forschungsreaktor 2 (FR2) Forschungsreaktor 2 (FR2) (''Research Reactor 2'') was the second nuclear reactor built in and by Germany after restrictions on nuclear research imposed as a result of the Second World War were lifted in 1955. Construction began in 1957 in Eggenste ...

. In the west, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen borders on the

Rhine River ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

and in the east it is connected with the

Bundesstraße 36 ''Bundesstraße'' (German for "federal highway"), abbreviated ''B'', is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways. Germany Germany's ''Bundesstraßen'' network has a total length of about 40,000 km. German ''Bundesstraßen'' ...

. The two villages that make up the incorporated municipality evolved from medieval villages specializing in freshwater fishing and farming. Today, gravel extraction for construction purposes is important to the local economy, as is the cultivation of white asparagus (

Spargel Asparagus, or garden asparagus, folk name sparrow grass, scientific name ''Asparagus officinalis'', is a perennial flowering plant species in the genus ''Asparagus''. Its young shoots are used as a spring vegetable. It was once classified in ...

). Because of its location in the Rhine valley, hot humid summers are the norm for Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen. Numerous public beaches exist on the shores of artificial lakes that have been formed by extensive gravel extraction. Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen has numerous active community associations and sports clubs such as most notably TG Eggenstein 1894 e.V.. Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen is also home to the Sportpark Fassbender, a noted

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

school and training facility.

Economy and Infrastructure

The most important economic factor for Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen is the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), which was formerly founded there in 1956 under the name Kernforschungszentrum Karlsruhe. This is why the municipality is currently the most important destination for commuters for people living in the nearby city of

. In addition, the municipality has had a balanced municipal budget for years and remains one of the region's plenty debt-free communities. Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen as part of Karlsruhe (district) has one of the lowest unemployment rates in all of

with an unemployment rate of approximately around 2.6%. An automobile and pedestrian ferry crossing across the Rhine River runs from Leopoldshafen to Leimersheim. The town is served by routes S1 and S11 of the

Karlsruhe Stadtbahn The Karlsruhe Stadtbahn is a German tram-train system combining tram lines in the city of Karlsruhe with railway lines in the surrounding countryside, serving the entire region of the middle upper Rhine valley and creating connections to neighbou ...

, which is operated by the Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft over the '' Hardtbahn''. Seven stops are served, at ''Eggenstein Süd'', ''Eggenstein Station'', ''Eggenstein Spöcker Weg'', ''Eggenstein Schweriner Strasse'', ''Leopoldshafen Viermorgen'', ''Leopoldshafen Leopoldstrasse'' and ''Leopoldshafen Frankfurter Strasse''.

References

External links

Official website

Local brew pub AndreasbräuFassbender tennis school and fitness centerLeimersheim - Leopoldshafen ferry across Rhine RiverTG Eggenstein 1894 e.V.
Karlsruhe (district) {{Karlsruhedistrict-geo-stub