Karlsruhe ( , ,
;
South Franconian
South Franconian (german: Südfränkisch) or South Rhine Franconian (german: Südrheinfränkisch) is an Upper German dialect which is spoken in the northernmost part of Baden-Württemberg in Germany, around Karlsruhe, Mosbach and Heilbronn. Lik ...
: ''Kallsruh'') is the
third-largest city of the German
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
(''Land'') 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 ...
after its capital of
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
and
Mannheim
Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...
, and the
22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. It is also a former capital of
Baden
Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine.
History
The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...
, a historic region named after Hohenbaden Castle in the city of
Baden-Baden
Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...
. Located on the right bank of the
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
near the French border, between the Mannheim/
Ludwigshafen
Ludwigshafen, officially Ludwigshafen am Rhein (; meaning " Ludwig's Port upon Rhine"), is a city in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, on the river Rhine, opposite Mannheim. With Mannheim, Heidelberg, and the surrounding region, it form ...
conurbation to the north and
Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
/
Kehl
Kehl (; gsw, label= Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic, Kaal) is a town in southwestern Germany in the Ortenaukreis, Baden-Württemberg. It is on the river Rhine, directly opposite the French city of Strasbourg, with which it shares some munic ...
to the south, Karlsruhe is Germany's legal center, being home to the
Federal Constitutional Court
The Federal Constitutional Court (german: link=no, Bundesverfassungsgericht ; abbreviated: ) is the supreme constitutional court for the Federal Republic of Germany, established by the constitution or Basic Law () of Germany. Since its inc ...
(''Bundesverfassungsgericht''), the
Federal Court of Justice
The Federal Court of Justice (german: Bundesgerichtshof, BGH) is the highest court in the system of ordinary jurisdiction (''ordentliche Gerichtsbarkeit'') in Germany, founded in 1950. It has its seat in Karlsruhe with two panels being situat ...
(''Bundesgerichtshof'') and the
Public Prosecutor General of the Federal Court of Justice (''Generalbundesanwalt beim Bundesgerichtshof'').
Karlsruhe was the capital of the
Margraviate of Baden-Durlach
The Margraviate of Baden-Durlach was an early modern territory of the Holy Roman Empire, in the upper Rhine valley, which existed from 1535 to 1771. It was formed when the Margraviate of Baden was split between the sons of Margrave Christopher ...
(
Durlach
Durlach is a borough of the German city of Karlsruhe with a population of roughly 30,000.
History
Durlach was bestowed by emperor Frederick II on the margrave Hermann V of Zähringen as an allodial possession.
It was chosen by the margrave Ch ...
: 1565–1718; Karlsruhe: 1718–1771), the
Margraviate of Baden
The Margraviate of Baden (german: Markgrafschaft Baden) was a historical territory of the Holy Roman Empire. Spread along the east side of the Upper Rhine River in southwestern Germany, it was named a margraviate in 1112 and existed until 1535, ...
(1771–1803), the
Electorate of Baden
The Electorate of Baden was a State of the Holy Roman Empire from 1803 to 1806. In 1803, Napoleon bestowed the office of Prince-elector to Charles Frederick, but in 1806, Francis II dissolved the Empire. Baden then achieved sovereignty, and C ...
(1803–1806), the
Grand Duchy of Baden
The Grand Duchy of Baden (german: Großherzogtum Baden) was a state in the southwest German Empire on the east bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918.
It came into existence in the 12th century as the Margraviate of Baden and subs ...
(1806–1918), and the
Republic of Baden
The Republic of Baden (german: Republik Baden) was a German state that existed during the time of the Weimar Republic, formed after the abolition of the Grand Duchy of Baden in 1918. It is now part of the modern German state of Baden-Württemberg ...
(1918–1945). Its most remarkable building is
Karlsruhe Palace
Karlsruhe Palace (german: Karlsruher Schloss) was built in 1715 for Margrave Charles III William of Baden-Durlach after a dispute with the citizens of his previous capital, Durlach. The city of Karlsruhe has since grown around it. The building is ...
, which was built in 1715. There are nine institutions of higher education in the city, most notably the
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT; german: Karlsruher Institut für Technologie) is a public research university in Karlsruhe, Germany. The institute is a national research center of the Helmholtz Association.
KIT was created in 2009 w ...
(''Karlsruher Institut für Technologie'').
Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport
Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport (German: ''Flughafen Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden'') is the international airport of Karlsruhe, the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, and also serves the spa town of Baden-Baden. It is the stat ...
(''Flughafen Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden'') is the second-busiest airport of Baden-Württemberg after
Stuttgart Airport
Stuttgart Airport (German: ''Flughafen Stuttgart'', formerly ''Flughafen Stuttgart-Echterdingen'') is the international airport of Stuttgart, the capital of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is christened in honor of Stuttgart's forme ...
, and the 17th-busiest airport of Germany.
Geography
Karlsruhe lies completely to the east of the
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
, and almost completely on the
Upper Rhine Plain
The Upper Rhine Plain, Rhine Rift Valley or Upper Rhine Graben (German: ''Oberrheinische Tiefebene'', ''Oberrheinisches Tiefland'' or ''Oberrheingraben'', French: ''Vallée du Rhin'') is a major rift, about and on average , between Basel in the s ...
. It contains the
Turmberg
The Turmberg (German: "Tower Hill") is a hill (elevation: 256 m) located in Durlach, a suburb of Karlsruhe in Germany. It is home to a castle ruin.
The Turmberg can be reached by the Turmbergbahn, a funicular
A funicular (, , ) is a type o ...
in the east, and also lies on the borders of the
Kraichgau
The Kraichgau () is a hilly region in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Odenwald and the Neckar to the North, the Black Forest to the South, and the Upper Rhine Plain to the West. To the east, its boundary is c ...
leading to the
Northern Black Forest
The Northern Black Forest (german: Nordschwarzwald) refers to the northern third of the Black Forest in Germany or, less commonly today, to the northern half of this mountain region.
Geography
The Northern Black Forest is bounded in the north b ...
.
The Rhine, one of the world's most important shipping routes, forms the western limits of the city, beyond which lie the towns of
Maximiliansau and
Wörth am Rhein
Wörth am Rhein () is a town in the southernmost part of the district of Germersheim, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is on the left bank of the Rhine approximately 10 km west of the city centre of Karlsruhe and is just north of the Ger ...
in the German state of
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...
. The city centre is about from the river, as measured from the Marktplatz (Market Square). Two tributaries of the Rhine, the
Alb
The alb (from the Latin ''albus'', meaning ''white''), one of the liturgical vestments of the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, Reformed and Congregational churches, is an ample white garment coming down to the ank ...
and the
Pfinz
The Pfinz is a right tributary of the Rhine in Baden-Württemberg. Its origin is located at the northern edge of the Black Forest near the Straubenhardt borough of Pfinzweiler. Near Durlach it enters the Upper Rhine Plain and continues, splittin ...
, flow through the city from the Kraichgau to eventually join the Rhine.
The city lies at an altitude between 100 and 322 m (near the communications tower in the suburb of Grünwettersbach). Its geographical coordinates are ; the
49th parallel runs through the city centre, which puts it at the same latitude as much of the
Canada–United States border
The border between Canada and the United States is the longest international border in the world. The terrestrial boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Can ...
, the cities
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
(Canada),
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
(France),
Regensburg
Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...
(Germany), and
Hulunbuir
Hulunbuir or Hulun Buir ( mn, , ''Kölün buyir'', Mongolian Cyrillic: Хөлөнбуйр, ''Khölönbuir''; zh, s=呼伦贝尔, ''Hūlúnbèi'ěr'') is a region that is governed as a prefecture-level city in northeastern Inner Mongolia, China. ...
(China). Its course is marked by a stone and painted line in the ''Stadtgarten'' (municipal park). The total area of the city is , hence it is the 30th largest city in Germany measured by land area. The longest north–south distance is and in the east–west direction.
Karlsruhe is part of the urban area of Karlsruhe/Pforzheim, to which certain other towns in the
district of Karlsruhe, such as
Bruchsal
Bruchsal (; orig. Bruohselle, Bruaselle, historically known in English as Bruxhall; South Franconian: ''Brusel'') is a city at the western edge of the Kraichgau, approximately 20 km northeast of Karlsruhe in the state of Baden-Württemberg, ...
,
Ettlingen
Ettlingen (; South Franconian: ''Eddlinge'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about south of the city of Karlsruhe and approximately from the border with Lauterbourg, in France's Bas-Rhin department. Ettlingen is the second largest tow ...
,
Stutensee
Stutensee is a town in northern Karlsruhe district in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
It was founded in 1975 by the voluntary connection of the four villages of Blankenloch (with Büchig), Friedrichstal, Spöck and Staffort. In the meantime it h ...
, and
Rheinstetten
Rheinstetten (; South Franconian: ''Rhoischdedde'') is a town in the west of Baden-Württemberg on the border to Rhineland-Palatinate. It is situated to the south-west of Karlsruhe and belongs to the rural district of Karlsruhe. The city has ...
, as well as the city of
Pforzheim
Pforzheim () is a city of over 125,000 inhabitants in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, in the southwest of Germany.
It is known for its jewelry and watch-making industry, and as such has gained the nickname "Goldstadt" ("Golden City") ...
, belong.
The city was planned with the palace tower (''Schloss'') at the center and 32 streets radiating out from it like the
spokes
A spoke is one of some number of rods radiating from the center of a wheel (the hub where the axle connects), connecting the hub with the round traction surface.
The term originally referred to portions of a log that had been riven (split l ...
of a wheel, or the ribs of a
folding fan
A handheld fan, or simply hand fan, is any broad, flat surface that is waved back-and-forth to create an airflow. Generally, purpose-made handheld fans are folding fans, which are shaped like a sector of a circle and made of a thin material (su ...
, so that one
nickname
A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...
for Karlsruhe in German is the "fan city" (''Fächerstadt''). Almost all of these streets survive to this day. Because of this city layout, in
metric geometry
In mathematics, a metric space is a set together with a notion of ''distance'' between its elements, usually called points. The distance is measured by a function called a metric or distance function. Metric spaces are the most general settin ...
,
Karlsruhe metric
In metric geometry, the Karlsruhe metric is a measure of distance that assumes travel is only possible along rays through the origin and circular arcs centered at the origin. The name alludes to the layout of the city of Karlsruhe, which has radia ...
refers to a measure of distance that assumes travel is only possible along radial streets and along circular avenues around the centre.
The city centre is the oldest part of town and lies south of the palace in the quadrant defined by nine of the radial streets. The central part of the palace runs east–west, with two wings, each at a 45° angle, directed southeast and southwest (i.e., parallel with the streets marking the boundaries of the quadrant defining the city center).
The
market square
The market square (or sometimes, the market place) is a Town square, square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world.[Ettlingen
Ettlingen (; South Franconian: ''Eddlinge'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about south of the city of Karlsruhe and approximately from the border with Lauterbourg, in France's Bas-Rhin department. Ettlingen is the second largest tow ...]
. The market square has the
town hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
(''Rathaus'') to the west, the main
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
church (''Evangelische Stadtkirche'') to the east, and the tomb of
Margrave Charles III William in
a pyramid in the buildings, resulting in Karlsruhe being one of only three large cities in Germany where buildings are laid out in the
neoclassical style.
The area north of the palace is a park and forest. Originally the area to the east of the palace consisted of gardens and forests, some of which remain, but the
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT; german: Karlsruher Institut für Technologie) is a public research university in Karlsruhe, Germany. The institute is a national research center of the Helmholtz Association.
KIT was created in 2009 w ...
(founded in 1825),
Wildparkstadion
Wildparkstadion, currently known as BBBank Wildpark for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium located in Karlsruhe, Germany. It is the home of the football club Karlsruher SC.
It is located northeast of the Karlsruhe Palace (''Schloss'' ...
football stadium, and residential areas have been built there. The area west of the palace is now mostly residential.
Climate
Karlsruhe experiences an
oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
''Cfb'') and its winter climate is milder, compared to most other German cities, except for the
Rhine-Ruhr
The Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region (german: Metropolregion Rhein-Ruhr) is the largest metropolitan region in Germany, with over ten million inhabitants. A polycentric conurbation with several major urban concentrations, the region covers ...
area. Summers can be very hot with several days above 35°C in a row and with an average of more than 2000 sunshine hours a year, it is also one of the sunniest cities in Germany, like the
Rhine-Palatinate area.
Precipitation occurs mainly during the winter, while in summer it is concentrated on single evening thunderstorms. In 2008, the weather station in Karlsruhe, which had been in operation since 1876, was closed; it was replaced by a weather station in
Rheinstetten
Rheinstetten (; South Franconian: ''Rhoischdedde'') is a town in the west of Baden-Württemberg on the border to Rhineland-Palatinate. It is situated to the south-west of Karlsruhe and belongs to the rural district of Karlsruhe. The city has ...
, south of Karlsruhe.
Districts
Karlsruhe is divided into 27 districts.
History
According to legend, the name ''Karlsruhe'', which translates as "Charles' repose" or "Charles' peace", was given to the new city after a hunting trip when Margrave
Charles III William of
Baden-Durlach
The Margraviate of Baden-Durlach was an early modern territory of the Holy Roman Empire, in the upper Rhine valley, which existed from 1535 to 1771. It was formed when the Margraviate of Baden was split between the sons of Margrave Christopher ...
woke from a dream in which he dreamt of founding his new city. A variation of this story claims that he built the new palace to find peace from his wife.
Charles William founded the city on June 17, 1715, after a dispute with the citizens of his previous capital,
Durlach
Durlach is a borough of the German city of Karlsruhe with a population of roughly 30,000.
History
Durlach was bestowed by emperor Frederick II on the margrave Hermann V of Zähringen as an allodial possession.
It was chosen by the margrave Ch ...
. The founding of the city is closely linked to the construction of the
palace
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...
. Karlsruhe became the capital of
Baden-Durlach
The Margraviate of Baden-Durlach was an early modern territory of the Holy Roman Empire, in the upper Rhine valley, which existed from 1535 to 1771. It was formed when the Margraviate of Baden was split between the sons of Margrave Christopher ...
, and, in 1771, of the united
Baden
Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine.
History
The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...
until 1945. Built in 1822, the ''Ständehaus'' was the first parliament building in a German state. In the aftermath of the democratic revolution of 1848, a republican government was elected there.
Karlsruhe was visited by
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
during his time as the American envoy to France; when
Pierre Charles L'Enfant
Pierre "Peter" Charles L'Enfant (; August 2, 1754June 14, 1825) was a French-American military engineer who designed the basic plan for Washington, D.C. (capital city of the United States) known today as the L'Enfant Plan (1791).
Early life an ...
was planning the layout of
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, Jefferson passed to him maps of 12 European towns to consult, one of which was a sketch he had made of Karlsruhe during his visit.
In 1860, the first-ever international professional
convention of chemists, the
Karlsruhe Congress
The Karlsruhe Congress was an international meeting of chemists held in Karlsruhe, Germany from 3 to 5 September 1860. It was the first international conference of chemistry worldwide.
The meeting
The Karlsruhe Congress was called so that Euro ...
, was held in the city.
In 1907 the town was site of the Hau Riot where large crowds caused disturbance during the trial of murderer
Carl Hau
Karl or Carl Hau (1881–1926) was an early 20th century German lawyer found guilty of murdering his mother-in-law. His sensational trial in 1907 sparked the Hau Riot, the biggest street riot of its kind in German history.
Life
Hau was born ...
.
On
Kristallnacht
() or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (german: Novemberpogrome, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) paramilitary and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from ...
in 1938, the Adass Jeshurun synagogue was burned to the ground, and the city's Jews were later sent to the
Dachau concentration camp
,
, commandant = List of commandants
, known for =
, location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany
, built by = Germany
, operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS)
, original use = Political prison
, construction ...
,
Gurs concentration camp,
Theresienstadt
Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the Schutzstaffel, SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (German occupation of Czechoslovakia, German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstad ...
, and
Auschwitz
Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...
during
the Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
, with 1,421 of Karlsruhe's Jews being killed.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, it was the location of a
forced labour
Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...
camp for men, and a subcamp of the Auschwitz concentration camp, whose prisoners were mainly
Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Ce ...
and
Russians
, native_name_lang = ru
, image =
, caption =
, population =
, popplace =
118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate)
, region1 =
, pop1 ...
.
Much of the central area, including the palace, was reduced to rubble by
Allied bombing during World War II, but was rebuilt after the war. Located in the American zone of the
postwar Allied occupation, Karlsruhe was home to an
American military
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...
base, established in 1945. After the war, the city was part of
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
until 1990. In 1995, the bases
closed
Closed may refer to:
Mathematics
* Closure (mathematics), a set, along with operations, for which applying those operations on members always results in a member of the set
* Closed set, a set which contains all its limit points
* Closed interval, ...
, and their facilities were turned over to the city of Karlsruhe.
Population
The following list shows the most significant groups of foreigners residing in the city of Karlsruhe by country.
Main sights
The ''Stadtgarten'' is a recreational area near the main railway station (''Hauptbahnhof'') and was rebuilt for the 1967
Federal Garden Show (''Bundesgartenschau''). It is also the site of the
Karlsruhe Zoo
Karlsruhe Zoo is located north of Karlsruhe Central Station in the city of Karlsruhe, Germany. It was opened in 1865 and is one of the oldest zoo
A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in whic ...
.
The ''
Durlach
Durlach is a borough of the German city of Karlsruhe with a population of roughly 30,000.
History
Durlach was bestowed by emperor Frederick II on the margrave Hermann V of Zähringen as an allodial possession.
It was chosen by the margrave Ch ...
er
Turmberg
The Turmberg (German: "Tower Hill") is a hill (elevation: 256 m) located in Durlach, a suburb of Karlsruhe in Germany. It is home to a castle ruin.
The Turmberg can be reached by the Turmbergbahn, a funicular
A funicular (, , ) is a type o ...
'' has a look-out tower (hence its name). It is a former
keep
A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...
dating back to the 13th century.
The city has two botanical gardens: the municipal ''
Botanischer Garten Karlsruhe
The Botanischer Garten Karlsruhe is a municipal botanical garden located in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. This garden should not be confused with the nearby Botanischer Garten der Universität Karlsruhe operated by the University of Kar ...
'', which forms part of the Palace complex, and the ''
Botanischer Garten der Universität Karlsruhe
The Botanischer Garten der Universität Karlsruhe is a botanical garden maintained by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology directorate of Peter Nick. It is located at Am Fasanengarten 2, Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, and is open week ...
'', which is maintained by the university.
The ''Marktplatz'' has a
stone pyramid marking the grave of the city's founder. Built in 1825, it is the emblem of Karlsruhe.
The city is nicknamed the "fan city" (''die Fächerstadt'') because of its design layout, with straight streets radiating fan-like from the Palace.
The
Karlsruhe Palace
Karlsruhe Palace (german: Karlsruher Schloss) was built in 1715 for Margrave Charles III William of Baden-Durlach after a dispute with the citizens of his previous capital, Durlach. The city of Karlsruhe has since grown around it. The building is ...
(''Schloss'') is an interesting piece of architecture; the adjacent ''
Schlossgarten'' includes the Botanical Garden with a palm, cactus and orchid house, and walking paths through the woods to the north.
The so-called ''Kleine Kirche'' (Little Church), built between 1773 and 1776, is the oldest church of Karlsruhe's city centre.
The architect
Friedrich Weinbrenner
Friedrich Weinbrenner (24 November 1766 – 1 March 1826) was a German architect and city planner admired for his mastery of classical style.
Birth and education
Weinbrenner was born in Karlsruhe, and began his career apprenticed to his father, ...
designed many of the city's most important sights. Another sight is the ''Rondellplatz'' with its 'Constitution Building Columns' (1826). It is dedicated to Baden's first constitution in 1818, which was one of the most liberal of its time. The ''Münze'' (mint), erected in 1826/27, was also built by Weinbrenner.
The St. Stephan parish church is one of the masterpieces of neoclassical church architecture in. Weinbrenner, who built this church between 1808 and 1814, orientated it to the
Pantheon, Rome
The Pantheon (, ; la, Pantheum,Although the spelling ''Pantheon'' is standard in English, only ''Pantheum'' is found in classical Latin; see, for example, Pliny, '' Natural History'36.38 "Agrippas Pantheum decoravit Diogenes Atheniensis". Se ...
.
The
neo-Gothic
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
Grand Ducal Burial Chapel, built between 1889 and 1896, is a
mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...
rather than a church, and is located in the middle of the forest.
The main
cemetery
A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...
of Karlsruhe is the oldest park-like cemetery in Germany. The
crematorium
A crematorium or crematory is a venue for the cremation of the dead. Modern crematoria contain at least one cremator (also known as a crematory, retort or cremation chamber), a purpose-built furnace. In some countries a crematorium can also be ...
was the first to be built in the style of a church.
Karlsruhe is also home to a
natural history museum
A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...
(the
State Museum of Natural History Karlsruhe
The State Museum of Natural History Karlsruhe (german: link=no, Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Karlsruhe), abbreviated SMNK, is one of the two state of Baden-Württemberg's natural history museums. Together with the State Museum of Natural ...
), an
opera house
An opera house is a theatre building used for performances of opera. It usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and building sets.
While some venues are constructed specifically for o ...
(the
Baden State Theatre), as well as a number of independent theatres and art galleries. The
State Art Gallery, built in 1846 by
Heinrich Hübsch
Heinrich Hübsch (9 February 1795 – 3 April 1863) was a German architect. After studies in Heidelberg (1813–15) and at Friedrich Weinbrenner's school of architecture in Karlsruhe (1815–17) he traveled extensively in Greece and Italy (1817 ...
, displays paintings and sculptures from six centuries, particularly from France, Germany and Holland. Karlsruhe's newly renovated art museum is one of the most important art museums in
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 ...
. Further cultural attractions are scattered throughout Karlsruhe's various incorporated suburbs. Established in 1924, the Scheffel Association is the largest
literary society
A literary society is a group of people interested in literature. In the modern sense, this refers to a society that wants to promote one genre of writing or a specific author. Modern literary societies typically promote research, publish newsle ...
in Germany. Today the ''Prinz-Max-Palais'', built between 1881 and 1884 in neoclassical style, houses the organisation and includes its museum.
Due to population growth in the late 19th century, Karlsruhe developed several suburban areas (''
Vorstadt
In German, a Vorstadt is an area of a city that is outside the Altstadt (city center) but tightly connected to it and densely populated, thus distinguishing itself from a ''Vorort'' (suburb).
Historically, a ''Vorstadt'' ("suburb" in German) was ...
'') in the ''
Gründerzeit
(; "founders' period") was the economic phase in 19th-century Germany and Austria before the great stock market crash of 1873. In Central Europe, the age of industrialisation had been taking place since the 1840s. That period is not precisely ...
'' and especially
art nouveau
Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...
styles of architecture, with many preserved examples.
Karlsruhe is also home to the ''Majolika-Manufaktur'', the only art-ceramics pottery studio in Germany. Founded in 1901, it is located in the ''Schlossgarten''. A 'blue streak' (''Blauer Strahl'') consisting of 1,645 ceramic tiles, connects the studio with the Palace. It is the world's largest ceramic artwork.
Another tourist attraction is the
Centre for Art and Media (''Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie'', or ZKM), which is located in a converted ammunition factory.
Government
Justice
Karlsruhe is the seat of the German
Federal Constitutional Court
The Federal Constitutional Court (german: link=no, Bundesverfassungsgericht ; abbreviated: ) is the supreme constitutional court for the Federal Republic of Germany, established by the constitution or Basic Law () of Germany. Since its inc ...
''(Bundesverfassungsgericht)'' and the highest
Court of Appeals
A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...
in civil and criminal cases, the ''
Bundesgerichtshof
The Federal Court of Justice (german: Bundesgerichtshof, BGH) is the highest court in the system of ordinary jurisdiction (''ordentliche Gerichtsbarkeit'') in Germany, founded in 1950. It has its seat in Karlsruhe with two panels being situat ...
''. The courts came to Karlsruhe after World War II, when the provinces of
Baden
Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine.
History
The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...
and
Württemberg
Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart.
Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...
were merged.
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
, capital of Württemberg, became the capital of the new province (
Württemberg-Baden
Württemberg-Baden was a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It was created in 1945 by the United States occupation forces, after the previous states of Baden and Württemberg had been split up between the US and French occupation zones. I ...
in 1945 and
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 1952). In compensation for the state authorities relocated to Stuttgart, Karlsruhe applied to become the seat of the high court.
Public health
There are four hospitals: The municipal ''Klinikum Karlsruhe'' provides the maximum level of medical services, the ''St. Vincentius-Kliniken'' and the ''
Diakonissenkrankenhaus'', connected to the Catholic and Protestant churches, respectively, offer central services, and the private ''Paracelsus-Klinik'' basic medical care, according to state hospital demand planning.
Economy
Germany's largest
oil refinery
An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, lique ...
is located in Karlsruhe, at the western edge of the city, directly on the river
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
. The ''Technologieregion Karlsruhe'' is a loose confederation of the region's cities in order to promote
high tech
High technology (high tech), also known as advanced technology (advanced tech) or exotechnology, is technology that is at the cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the most complex or the newest te ...
industries; today, about 20% of the region's jobs are in
research and development
Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...
.
EnBW
EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG, or simply EnBW, is a publicly-traded energy company headquartered in Karlsruhe, Germany. As its name indicates, EnBW is based in the German state of Baden-Württemberg.
History Foundation and development
EnB ...
, one of Germany's biggest
electric utility
An electric utility is a company in the electric power industry (often a public utility) that engages in electricity generation and distribution of electricity for sale generally in a regulated market. The electrical utility industry is a major pr ...
companies, with a revenue of 19.2 billion € in 2012, is headquartered in the city.
Internet activities
Due to the
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT; german: Karlsruher Institut für Technologie) is a public research university in Karlsruhe, Germany. The institute is a national research center of the Helmholtz Association.
KIT was created in 2009 w ...
providing services until the late 1990, Karlsruhe became known as the ''internet capital'' of Germany. The
DENIC
DENIC eG is the manager of the .de domain, the country-code top-level domain for Germany.
It was founded in 1996 and is organised as a non-regulated not-for-profit cooperative. DENIC provides the Domain Name System (DNS) as well as registration ...
, Germany's
network information centre
A domain name registry is a database of all domain names and the associated registrant information in the top level domains of the Domain Name System (DNS) of the Internet that enables third party entities to request administrative control of a do ...
, has since moved to Frankfurt, though, where
DE-CIX
DE-CIX (Deutsche Commercial Internet Exchange) is an operator of carrier- and data-center-neutral Internet Exchanges, with operations in Europe, North America, Africa, the Middle East, India and Southeast Asia. All DE-CIX activities and companies ...
is located.
Two major
internet service provider
An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise private ...
s,
WEB.DE
United Internet AG is a global Internet services company headquartered in Montabaur, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The company is structured in two business areas, ''Access'' and ''Applications,'' and has a total of 16 brands and numerous subsid ...
and
schlund+partner/
1&1, now both owned by
United Internet
United Internet AG is a global Internet services company headquartered in Montabaur, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The company is structured in two business areas, ''Access'' and ''Applications,'' and has a total of 16 brands and numerous subsid ...
AG, are located at Karlsruhe.
The library of the
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT; german: Karlsruher Institut für Technologie) is a public research university in Karlsruhe, Germany. The institute is a national research center of the Helmholtz Association.
KIT was created in 2009 w ...
developed the
Karlsruher Virtueller Katalog
Karlsruher Virtueller Katalog (KVK) is a book search engine administered by the library of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. It was developed by KIT-Library in 1996 and continuously expanded and adapted since. It searches a large number of c ...
, the first internet site that allowed researchers worldwide (for free) to search multiple library catalogues worldwide.
In the year 2000 the regional online "newspaper" ''ka-news.de'' was created. As a daily newspaper, it not only provides the news, but also informs readers about upcoming events in Karlsruhe and surrounding areas.
In addition to established companies, Karlsruhe has a vivid and spreading startup community with well-known startups like STAPPZ. Together, the local
high tech
High technology (high tech), also known as advanced technology (advanced tech) or exotechnology, is technology that is at the cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the most complex or the newest te ...
industry is responsible for over 22.000 jobs.
Politics
Mayor
The current mayor of Karlsruhe is Frank Mentrup of the
Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
For ...
(SPD) since 2013. The most recent mayoral election was held on 6 December 2020, and the results were as follows:
! colspan=2, Candidate
! Party
! Votes
! %
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Frank Mentrup
, align=left,
SPD
The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany.
Saskia Esken has been the ...
/
Green
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...
, 50,064
, 52.6
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Sven Weigt
, align=left,
CDU/
FDP
, 24,158
, 25.4
, -
,
, align=left, Petra Lorenz
, align=left, Free Voters/For Karlsruhe
, 8,303
, 8.7
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Paul Schmidt
, align=left,
Alternative for Germany
Alternative for Germany (german: link=no, Alternative für Deutschland, AfD; ) is a right-wing populist
*
*
*
*
*
*
* political party in Germany. AfD is known for its opposition to the European Union, as well as immigration to Germany. I ...
, 3,914
, 4.1
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Vanessa Schulz
, align=left,
Die PARTEI
(''Party for Labour, Rule of Law, Animal Protection, Promotion of Elites and Grassroots Democratic Initiative''), or Die PARTEI (''The PARTY''), is a German political party. It was founded in 2004 by the editors of the German satirical magazin ...
, 2,660
, 2.8
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Marc Nehlig
, align=left,
Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
, 6,065
, 6.4
, -
, colspan=3 align=left, ''Other''
, 97
, 0.1
, -
! colspan=3, Valid votes
! 95,261
! 99.6
, -
! colspan=3, Invalid votes
! 430
! 0.4
, -
! colspan=3, Total
! 95,961
! 100.0
, -
! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout
! 231,335
! 41.4
, -
, colspan=5, Source
City of Karlsruhe
List of mayors
After the castle was founded in 1715, there was also a settlement in which a mayor was appointed from 1718. From 1812 the mayors received the title of Lord Mayor.
In addition to the Lord Mayor, there are five other mayors.
Mayor for:
* Human Resources, Elections and Statistics, Citizen Service and Security, Culture
* Youth and social affairs, schools, sports, pools
* Finance, economy and work, city marketing, congresses, exhibitions and events, tourism, supply and ports, real estate and market affairs
* Environment and climate protection, health, cemetery office, waste management, forestry, fire and disaster control
* Planning, building, real estate management, people's apartment and zoo
List of Mayors
City council
The Karlsruhe city council governs the city alongside the Mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 26 May 2019, and the results were as follows:
! colspan=2, Party
! Votes
! %
! +/-
! Seats
! +/-
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left,
Alliance 90/The Greens
Alliance 90/The Greens (german: Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, ), often simply referred to as the Greens ( ), is a Green politics, green List of political parties in Germany, political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 as the merger of The Greens ...
(Grüne)
, 1,802,237
, 30.0
, 10.2
, 15
, 6
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left,
Christian Democratic Union (CDU)
, 1,122,013
, 18.7
, 8.0
, 9
, 4
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left,
Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
For ...
(SPD)
, 856,649
, 14.3
, 7.6
, 7
, 3
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left,
Free Democratic Party (FDP)
, 436,671
, 7.3
, 1.2
, 4
, 1
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left,
Alternative for Germany
Alternative for Germany (german: link=no, Alternative für Deutschland, AfD; ) is a right-wing populist
*
*
*
*
*
*
* political party in Germany. AfD is known for its opposition to the European Union, as well as immigration to Germany. I ...
(AfD)
, 427,155
, 7.1
, 1.5
, 3
, ±0
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left,
The Left (Die Linke)
, 420,361
, 7.0
, 1.9
, 3
, 1
, -
,
, align=left, Karlsruher List (KAL)
, 301,826
, 5.0
, 0.8
, 2
, ±0
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left,
Die PARTEI
(''Party for Labour, Rule of Law, Animal Protection, Promotion of Elites and Grassroots Democratic Initiative''), or Die PARTEI (''The PARTY''), is a German political party. It was founded in 2004 by the editors of the German satirical magazin ...
(PARTEI)
, 274,628
, 4.6
, 3.5
, 2
, 1
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Free Voters Baden-Württemberg (FW)
, 193,764
, 3.2
, 0.5
, 2
, 1
, -
,
, align=left, For Karlsruhe (FÜR)
, 163,214
, 2.7
, 0.5
, 1
, 1
, -
! colspan=2, Total
! 137,805
! 100.0
!
! 48
! ±0
, -
! colspan=2, Electorate/voter turnout
! 234,850
! 58.7
! 13.5
!
!
, -
, colspan=7, Source
City of Karlsruhe
Transport
Railway
The
Verkehrsbetriebe Karlsruhe
The Verkehrsbetriebe Karlsruhe (Karlsruhe Transport Company, VBK) is the municipal transport company of the city of Karlsruhe in Germany. It runs the tram and bus network within the city, as well as the Turmbergbahn funicular railway.
The VBK is ...
(VBK) operates the city's urban public transport network, comprising
seven tram routes and a network of bus routes. All city areas can be reached round the clock by tram and a night bus system. The
Turmbergbahn
The Turmbergbahn is a funicular railway in Karlsruhe in Germany. It is the oldest operating funicular in Germany. From Karlsruhe's former center Durlach, the line climbs the Turmberg, which on a clear day provides a lookout point with views of ...
funicular railway
A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite en ...
, to the east of the city centre, is also operated by the VBK. Similar to a
premetro
A premetro is a tramway or light railway which includes segments built to rapid transit standards, generally as part of a process of conversion to a metro-standards railway usually by the construction of tunnels in the central city area.
Histo ...
tramlines operating in the city centre use two tramway tunnels that were completed on 11 December 2021.
The VBK is also a partner, with the
Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft
''Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft'' ('Alb Valley Transport Company', AVG) is a company owned by the city of Karlsruhe that operates rail and bus services in the Karlsruhe area, southwest Germany.
It is a member of the '' Karlsruher Verkehrsverbu ...
and
Deutsche Bahn
The (; abbreviated as DB or DB AG) is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder.
describes itself as the se ...
, in the operation 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 ...
, the rail system that serves a larger area around the city. This system makes it possible to reach other towns in the region, like
Ettlingen
Ettlingen (; South Franconian: ''Eddlinge'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about south of the city of Karlsruhe and approximately from the border with Lauterbourg, in France's Bas-Rhin department. Ettlingen is the second largest tow ...
,
Wörth am Rhein
Wörth am Rhein () is a town in the southernmost part of the district of Germersheim, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is on the left bank of the Rhine approximately 10 km west of the city centre of Karlsruhe and is just north of the Ger ...
,
Pforzheim
Pforzheim () is a city of over 125,000 inhabitants in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, in the southwest of Germany.
It is known for its jewelry and watch-making industry, and as such has gained the nickname "Goldstadt" ("Golden City") ...
,
Bad Wildbad
Bad Wildbad is a town in Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located in the government district (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Karlsruhe and in the district (''Landkreis'') of Calw. Its coordinates are 48° 45' N, 8° 33' E. About 10,1 ...
,
Bretten
Bretten (; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Bredde'') is a town in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on Bertha Benz Memorial Route.
Geography
Bretten lies in the centre of a rectangle that is formed by Heidelber ...
,
Bruchsal
Bruchsal (; orig. Bruohselle, Bruaselle, historically known in English as Bruxhall; South Franconian: ''Brusel'') is a city at the western edge of the Kraichgau, approximately 20 km northeast of Karlsruhe in the state of Baden-Württemberg, ...
,
Heilbronn
Heilbronn () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, surrounded by Heilbronn (district), Heilbronn District. With over 126,000 residents, it is the sixth-largest city in the state.
From the late Mid ...
,
Baden-Baden
Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...
, and even
Freudenstadt
Freudenstadt ( Swabian: ''Fraidestadt'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is capital of the district Freudenstadt. The closest population centres are Offenburg to the west (approx. 36 km away) and Tübingen to the eas ...
in the
Black Forest
The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...
right from the city centre. The Stadtbahn is known for pioneering the concept of operating trams on train tracks, to achieve a more effective and attractive
public transport
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
system.
Karlsruhe is connected via road and rail, with
Autobahn
The (; German plural ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official German term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. ...
and
Intercity Express
The Intercity Express (commonly known as ICE ()) is a system of high-speed trains predominantly running in Germany. It also serves some destinations in Austria, Denmark (ceased in 2017 but planned to resume in 2022), France, Belgium, Switzerla ...
connections going to
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
,
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
/
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
and
Freiburg
Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...
/Basel from Karlsruhe Hauptbahnhof. Since June 2007 it has been connected to the TGV network, reducing travel time to
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
to three hours (previously it had taken five hours).
The Rhine Valley Railway is also an important freight line. Freight trains can bypass Karlsuhe Hauptbahnhof via the Karlsruhe freight bypass railway.
Shipping
Two ports on the
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
provide transport capacity on cargo ships, especially for petroleum products.
Airport
The nearest airport is part of the Baden Airpark (officially ''Flughafen Karlsruhe/
Baden-Baden
Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...
'') about southwest of Karlsruhe, with regular connections to airports in Germany and Europe in general. Frankfurt International Airport can be reached in about an hour and a half by car (one hour by
Intercity Express
The Intercity Express (commonly known as ICE ()) is a system of high-speed trains predominantly running in Germany. It also serves some destinations in Austria, Denmark (ceased in 2017 but planned to resume in 2022), France, Belgium, Switzerla ...
);
Stuttgart Airport
Stuttgart Airport (German: ''Flughafen Stuttgart'', formerly ''Flughafen Stuttgart-Echterdingen'') is the international airport of Stuttgart, the capital of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is christened in honor of Stuttgart's forme ...
can be reached in about one hour (about an hour and a half by train and S-Bahn).
Streets
Karlsruhe is at the Bundesautobahn 5 and the Bundesstraße 10. In the city there is a good bike lane infrastructure.
Two interesting facts in transportation history are that both Karl Drais, the inventor of the bicycle, as well as Karl Benz, the inventor of the automobile were born in Karlsruhe. Benz was born in Mühlburg, which later became a borough of Karlsruhe (in 1886). Benz also studied at the Karlsruhe University. Benz's wife Bertha Benz, Bertha took the world's first long distance-drive with an automobile from
Mannheim
Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...
to Karlsruhe-Grötzingen and
Pforzheim
Pforzheim () is a city of over 125,000 inhabitants in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, in the southwest of Germany.
It is known for its jewelry and watch-making industry, and as such has gained the nickname "Goldstadt" ("Golden City") ...
(see Bertha Benz Memorial Route). Their professional lives led both men to the neighboring city of Mannheim, where they first applied their most famous inventions.
File:Duplex in Karlsruhe III.JPG, The Karlsruhe Hauptbahnhof, the main station in Karlsruhe
File:Karlsruhe tram 2017 3.jpg, alt=A tram in Karlsruhe 2017, A tram in Karlsruhe, 2017
File:Karlsruhe Sophienstr bei Waldstr.jpg, A bike street in Karlsruhe
File:Südtangente Karlsruhe IMGP0787-crop.JPG, The Bundesstraße 10 in Karlsruhe
Jewish community
Jews settled in Karlsruhe soon after its founding.
[Karlsruhe (Carlsruhe)]
(1906). ''The Jewish Encyclopedia''. Ed. Isidore Singer. Vol. 7. p. 448-449. They were attracted by the numerous privileges granted by its founder to settlers, without discrimination as to creed. Official documents attest the presence of several Jewish families at Karlsruhe in 1717.
A year later the city council addressed to the margrave a report in which a question was raised as to the proportion of municipal charges to be borne by the newly arrived Jews, who in that year formed an organized congregation, with Rabbi Nathan Uri Kohen of Metz at its head. A document dated 1726 gives the names of twenty-four Jews who had taken part in an election of municipal officers.
As the city grew, permission to settle there became less easily obtained by Jews, and the community developed more slowly. A 1752 Jewry ordinance stated Jews were forbidden to leave the city on Sundays and Christian holidays, or to go out of their houses during church services, but they were exempted from service by court summonses on Sabbaths. They could sell wine only in inns owned by Jews and graze their cattle, not on the commons, but on the wayside only. Nethaneel Weil, Nethanael Weill was a rabbi in Karlsruhe from 1750 until his death.
In 1783, by a decree issued by Margrave Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Baden, Charles Frederick of Baden, the Jews ceased to be serfs, and consequently could settle wherever they pleased. The same decree freed them from the ''Todfall'' tax, paid to the clergy for each Jewish burial. In commemoration of these changes special prayers were prepared by the acting rabbi Jedidiah Tiah Weill, who, succeeding his father in 1770, held the office until 1805.
In 1808 the new constitution of what at that time, during the Napoleonic era, had become the
Grand Duchy of Baden
The Grand Duchy of Baden (german: Großherzogtum Baden) was a state in the southwest German Empire on the east bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918.
It came into existence in the 12th century as the Margraviate of Baden and subs ...
granted Jews citizenship status; a subsequent edict, in 1809, constitutionally acknowledged Jews as a religious group.
[Simon Dubnow, Dubnow, Simon (1920). ''Die neueste Geschichte des Jüdischen Volkes (1789–1914)''. Translated from the Russian by Alexander Eliasberg]
Vol. 1. Einleitung. Erste Abteilung: Das Zeitalter der ersten Emanzipation (1789–1815)
Berlin: Jüdischer Verlag. p. 288. The latter edict provided for a hierarchical organization of the Jewish communities of Baden, under the umbrella of a central council of Baden Jewry (Oberrat der Israeliten Badens), with its seat in Karlsruhe,
and the appointment of a chief rabbi of Karlsruhe, as the spiritual head of the Jews in all of Baden.
The first chief rabbi of Karlsruhe and Baden was Rabbi Asher Loew, who served from 1809 until his death in 1837.
Complete emancipation was given in 1862, Jews were elected to city council and Baden parliament, and from 1890 were appointed judges. Jews were persecuted in the Hep-Hep riots, 'Hep-Hep' riots that occurred in 1819; and anti-Jewish demonstrations were held in 1843, 1848, and the 1880s. The well-known German-Israeli artist Leo Kahn (painter), Leo Kahn studied in Karlsruhe before leaving for France and Israel in the 1920s and 1930s.
Today, there are about 900 members in the Jewish community, many of whom are recent immigrants from Russia, and an orthodox rabbi.
Karlsruhe has memorialized its Jewish community and notable pre-war synagogues with a memorial park.
File:Juedischer Friedhof Groetzingen.jpg, Grötzingen Jewish Cemetery, Jewish cemetery of Grötzingen
File:Karlsruhe Synagoge 1810.jpg, alt=Karlsruhe Synagogue, built by Friedrich Weinbrenner in 1798 (existed until 1871), The Karlsruhe Synagogue, built by Friedrich Weinbrenner
Friedrich Weinbrenner (24 November 1766 – 1 March 1826) was a German architect and city planner admired for his mastery of classical style.
Birth and education
Weinbrenner was born in Karlsruhe, and began his career apprenticed to his father, ...
in 1798 (existed until 1871)
File:Karlsruhe Shoa.jpg, Holocaust memorial
File:Karlsruhe Synagoge Luftbild.jpg, The new synagogue
File:Chanukka Karlsruhe-2016 Mentrup-Mendelson.jpg, Public menorah on the ''Marktplatz''
Karlsruhe and the Shoah
On 28 October 1938, all Jewish men of Polish extraction were expelled to the Polish border, their families joining them later and most ultimately perishing in the ghettoes and concentration camps. On
Kristallnacht
() or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (german: Novemberpogrome, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) paramilitary and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from ...
(9–10 November 1938), the Adass Jeshurun synagogue was burned to the ground, the main synagogue was damaged, and Jewish men were taken to the Dachau concentration camp after being beaten and tormented. Deportations commenced on 22 October 1940, when 893 Jews were loaded onto trains for the three-day journey to the
Gurs concentration camp in France. Another 387 were deported in from 1942 to 1945 to lzbica in the Lublin district (Poland), Theresienstadt, and Auschwitz. Of the 1,280 Jews deported directly from Karlsruhe, 1,175 perished. Another 138 perished after deportation from other German cities or occupied Europe. In all, 1,421 of Karlsruhe's Jews died during the The Holocaust, Shoah. A new community was formed after the war by surviving former residents, with a new synagogue erected in 1971. It numbered 359 in 1980.
Historical population
Notable people
* Anna Ettlinger (1841–1934), writer and poet
* George Bayer (pioneer), George Bayer, pioneer in the US state of Missouri
* Karl Benz (1844–1929), mechanical engineer and inventor of the first automobile as well as the founder of Karl Benz#Benz .26 Cie. and the Benz Patent Motorwagen, Benz & Co., Daimler-Benz, and Mercedes-Benz (now part of Daimler AG). He was born in the Karlsruhe borough of Mühlburg and educated at Karlsruhe Grammar School, the Lyceum, and Poly-Technical University
* Hermann Billing, Art Nouveau architect, was born and lived in Karlsruhe, where he built his first famous works
* Siegfried Buback (1920–1977), then-Attorney General of Germany who fell victim to terrorists of the Rote Armee Fraktion in April 1977 in Karlsruhe
* Berthold von Deimling (1853–1944), Prussian general
* Karl Drais (1785–1851), inventor of the two-wheeler principle (dandy horse) basic to bicycle and motorcycle, key typewriter, and earliest stenograph, was born and died in Karlsruhe
* Theodor von Dusch (1824–1890), physician remembered for experiments involving cotton-wool filters for bacteria
* Ludwig Eichrodt, writer
* Erik H. Erikson (1902–1994), children's psychoanalyst and theoretical pioneer in the field of study of identity building, spent his childhood and school time (Bismarck-Gymnasium) in Karlsruhe.
* Harry L. Ettlinger, US Army private who assisted the MFAA in the recovery of art looted by the Nazis. He was the last Jewish boy to celebrate his bar mitzvah in Karlsruhe's Kronenstrasse Synagogue, on September 24, 1938.
* Clara Mathilda Faisst (1872–1948), pianist and composer
* Hans Frank (1900–1946), Obergruppenführer SA, Gauleiter and governor-general of Nazi-occupied Poland; hanged at Nuremberg for his war crimes during World War II
* Reinhold Frank (1896–1945), lawyer who worked for the German resistance to Nazism, resistance in Nazi Germany, ran a law practice in Karlsruhe; in his honour the street in Karlsruhe where the lawyer's chambers were founded bears his name
* Gottfried Fuchs (1889–1972), German-Canadian Olympic soccer player
* Karoline von Günderrode, poet, was born in Karlsruhe (1780–1806)
* Johann Peter Hebel, writer and poet, lived in Karlsruhe for most of his life
* Heinrich Rudolf Hertz, discovered electromagnetic waves at the University of Karlsruhe in the late 1880s. A lecture room named after Hertz lies close to the very spot where the discovery was made.
* Julius Hirsch (1892–1945), Olympian soccer player and first Jewish member of the Germany national football team, national team, two-time Germany team champion, awarded the Iron Cross during World War I, murdered in Auschwitz concentration camp
* Friedrich Hund, physicist of the pioneering generation of quantum mechanics (see Hund's rules); was born here
* Hedwig Kettler (1851–1937), founded the first German ''Mädchengymnasium'' (girls' high school), located in Karlsruhe
* Willibald von Langermann und Erlencamp (1892–1942), general
* Bernd Längin (1941–2008), journalist and author
* Gustav Landauer (1870–1919), theorist of anarchism in Germany, was born in Karlsruhe
* Kolja Lessing (born 1961), German violinist, pianist, composer and academic teacher
* Markus Lüpertz worked and lives in Karlsruhe; he created the ''Narrenbrunnen'' (Fool's Fountain) in the city center
* Composer Wolfgang Rihm is a resident of Karlsruhe.
* In 1886, Joseph Viktor von Scheffel, poet and novelist, was born in Karlsruhe.
* Peter Sloterdijk (born 1947), German philosopher.
* Rahel Straus (1880–1963), German-Jewish medical doctor and feminist
* Johann Gottfried Tulla (1770–?), instrumental in stabilizing and straightening the course of the southern
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
; a co-founder of the Karlsruhe University (1825)
* Victoria of Baden (1862–1930), born in Karlsruhe, queen consort of Sweden by her marriage to King Gustaf V of Sweden
*
Friedrich Weinbrenner
Friedrich Weinbrenner (24 November 1766 – 1 March 1826) was a German architect and city planner admired for his mastery of classical style.
Birth and education
Weinbrenner was born in Karlsruhe, and began his career apprenticed to his father, ...
(1766–1826), architect of neoclassicism; his tomb is situated in the main Protestant church in Karlsruhe.
* Thomas Ernst Josef Wiedemann (1950–2001), German-British historian, born in Karlsruhe
* Richard Willstätter, recipient of 1915 Nobel Prize for Chemistry
* Sina Deinert, a member of Now United
* Dennis Aogo (born 1987), football defender
* Christa Bauch, female Bodybuilding, female bodybuilder
* Walther Bensemann, one of the founders of the first southern German soccer club Karlsruher FV and later one of the founders of German Football Association, DFB and the founder of ''Kicker (sports magazine), Kicker'', Germany's leading soccer magazine
* Oliver Bierhoff (born 1968), retired football striker and former national team captain for the Germany national football team, Germany and Italian Serie A clubs Udinese Calcio, Udinese, A.C. Milan and Chievo Verona, Chievo; currently working as the German national team manager
* Andi Deris (born 1964), musician and songwriter, lead singer of the power metal band Helloween
* Karl Elzer, stage and film actor
* Gottfried Fuchs (1889–1972), was born in Karlsruhe and holds the record of ten goals in one single international soccer match for the German national team
* Regina Halmich (born 1976), retired female boxing flyweight world champion
* Vincenzo Italiano (born 1977), Italian footballer currently plays for Calcio Padova
* Nora Krug (born 1977), German-American writer
* Sead Kolašinac (born 1993), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnian footballer who plays as a left back for Arsenal FC
* Oliver Kahn (born 1969), retired Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper of Karlsruher SC, Bayern Munich and Germany national football team, Germany
* Sebastian Koch (born 1962), actor
* Renate Lingor (born 1975), former national football player
* Pietro Lombardi (singer), Pietro Lombardi (born 1992), singer
* Dirk Jens Nonnenmacher (born 1963), CEO and bank chairman
* Mehmet Scholl (born 1970), retired footballer for Karlsruher SC, later Bayern Munich and the German national team
* Susanne Stichler (born 1969), journalist and television presenter
* Muhammed Suiçmez (born 1975), Turkish guitarist and composer for Germany, German technical death metal band Necrophagist
* Eugene Weingand (1934–1986), actor and television host who claimed to be Peter Lorre Jr.
* Moon Ga-young (born 1996), South Korean actress
* Dennis Marschall (born 1996), racing driver
Education
Karlsruhe is a renowned research and study centre, with one of Germany's finest institutions of higher education.
Technology, engineering, and business
The Karlsruhe University (''Universität Karlsruhe-TH''), the oldest technical university in Germany, is home to the ''Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe'' (Karlsruhe Research Center), where engineering and scientific research is performed in the areas of health, earth, and environmental sciences. The Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences (''Hochschule Karlsruhe-HS'') is the largest university of technology in the 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 ...
, offering both professional and academic education in engineering sciences and business. In 2009, the University of Karlsruhe joined the ''Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe'' to form the
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT; german: Karlsruher Institut für Technologie) is a public research university in Karlsruhe, Germany. The institute is a national research center of the Helmholtz Association.
KIT was created in 2009 w ...
(KIT).
The arts
The Academy of Fine Arts, Karlsruhe is one of the smallest universities in Germany, with average 300 students. The Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design (HfG) was founded to the same time as its sister institution, the Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe (''Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie''). The HfG teaching and research focuses on new media and media art. The Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe is a music Music school, conservatory that offers degrees in Musical composition, composition, music performance, education, and radio journalism. Since 1989 it has been located in the Gottesaue Palace.
International education
The Karlshochschule International University (formerly known as ''Merkur Internationale Fachhochschule'') was founded in 2004. As a foundation-owned, state-approved management school, Karlshochschule offers undergraduate education in both German and English, focusing on international and intercultural management, as well as service- and culture-related industries. Furthermore, an international consecutive Master of Arts in leadership studies is offered in English.
European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT)
Karlsruhe hosts one of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology's Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) focusing on sustainable energy. Other co‑centres are based in Grenoble, France (CC Alps Valleys); Eindhoven, the Netherlands, and Leuven, Belgium (CC Benelux); Barcelona, Spain (CC Iberia); Kraków, Poland (CC PolandPlus); and Stockholm, Sweden (CC Sweden).
University of Education
The Karlsruhe University of Education was founded in 1962. It is specialized in educational processes. The university has about 3700 students and 180 full-time researchers and lecturers. It offers a wide range of educational studies, like teaching profession for primary and secondary schools (both optional with a European Teaching Certificate profile), Bachelor programs that specializes in Early Childhood Education and in Health and Leisure Education, Master programs in Educational Science, Intercultural Education, Migration and Multilingualism. Furthermore, the University of Education Karlsruhe offers a Master program for Biodiversity and Environmental Education.
Culture
In 1999 the Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie, ZKM (''Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie'', Centre for Art and Media) was opened. Linking new media theory and practice, the ZKM is located in a former weapons factory. Among the institutes related to the ZKM are the ''Staatliche Hochschule für Gestaltung'' (State University of Design), whose president is philosopher Peter Sloterdijk and the Museum for Contemporary Art.
Twin towns – sister cities
Karlsruhe is Sister city, twinned with:
* Nancy, France, Nancy, France (1955)
* Nottingham, England, United Kingdom (1969)
* Halle (Saale), Halle, Germany (1987)
* Krasnodar, Russia (1997)
* Timișoara, Romania (1997)
* Vinnytsia, Ukraine (2022)
Partnerships
Karlsruhe also cooperates with:
* Oulu, Finland
Legacy
* Ukrainian village Stepove, Mykolaiv Raion, Stepove near the city of Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine was established by German colonists as Karlsruhe.
Events
Every year in July there is a large open-air festival lasting three days called simply ''Das Fest'' ("The Festival").
The Baden State Theatre has sponsored the Händel Festival since 1978.
The city hosted the 23rd and 31st European Juggling Conventions (EJC) in 2000 and 2008.
In July the African Summer Festival is held in the city's Nordstadt. Markets, drumming workshops, exhibitions, a varied children's programme, and musical performances take place during the three days festival.
In the past Karlsruhe has been the host of LinuxTag (the biggest Linux event in Europe) and until 2006 hosted the annual Linux Audio Conference.
Visitors and locals watched the total solar eclipse at noon on August 11, 1999. The city was not only located within the eclipse path but was one of the few within Germany not plagued by bad weather.
Sport
; Football: Karlsruher SC (KSC), German Football Association, DFB (2. Liga)
; Basketball: PS Karlsruhe Lions, Basketball-Pro-Liga A (second division)
Karlsruhe co-hosted the FIBA EuroBasket 1985.
; Tennis: TC Rueppurr (TCR), [Tennis-Bundesliga] (women's first division)
; Lacrosse: KIT SC Karlsruhe Storm, 1. Bundesliga Süd
; Baseball, softball: Karlsruhe Cougars, Regional League South-East (men's baseball), 1st Bundesliga South (women's softball I) and State League South (women's softball II)
; American football: Badener Greifs, currently competing in the Regional League Central but formerly a member of the German Football League's 1st Bundesliga, lost to the Berlin Adler in the 1987 German Bowl (see also: German Football League)
Notes
References
External links
*
Map of Karlsruhe* Karlsruhe:en:Main Page, City wiki of Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe Nuclide Chart
{{Authority control
Karlsruhe,
1715 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire
Capitals of former nations
Cities in Baden-Württemberg
Baden
Holocaust locations in Germany
Karlsruhe (region)
Planned capitals
Populated places established in 1715
Populated places on the Rhine