'Karlsruhe' (; population 285,812 in 2006) is a city in the south west of
Germany, in the
Bundesland Baden-Württemberg, located near the
French-German border.
Geography
The city's altitude is between 100 m (on the western shore of the river
Rhine) and 322 m (near to the TV Tower). Its geographical coordinates are ; the 49th
parallel runs through the city center. Its course is marked by a stone and painted line in the ''Stadtgarten'' (''city park'').
Economy
Germany's largest
oil refinery is located in Karlsruhe, at the western edge of the city, directly on the river
Rhine.
Karlsruhe is known as the ''internet capital'' of Germany because two well-known
internet service providers are located within the city.
The ''Technologieregion Karlsruhe'' is a loose confederation of the region's cities in order to promote high tech industries; today, about 20% of the region's jobs are in Research and Development which gives a good basis for high tech.
Transport
Karlsruhe's rail system, the
Stadtbahn Karlsruhe, is well known in transport circles around the world for pioneering the concept of operating
trams on
train tracks (
tram-trains), to achieve a more effective and attractive
public transport system. This concept makes it possible to reach other towns in the region, like
Ettlingen,
Pforzheim,
Bad Wildbad,
Bretten,
Bruchsal,
Heilbronn,
Baden-Baden and even
Freudenstadt in the
Black Forest right from the city centre.
Karlsruhe is also the home of the most advanced Intelligent Transit Systems in Europe and plays home to INIT GMBH, one of the most prominent ITS companies in the world.
Karlsruhe is well-connected via road and rail, with
Autobahn and
InterCityExpress connections going to
Frankfurt,
Stuttgart/
Munich and
Freiburg/
Basel. Since June 2007 it is attached to the
TGV network, reducing travel time to
Paris to only three hours (compared to 5 hours previously).
Oil port
Two
ports on the
Rhine provide transport capacity on
cargo ships, especially for
petroleum products.
The nearest airport is part of the
Baden Airpark (officially ''Flughafen Karlsruhe/
Baden-Baden'') about 45 km (28 miles) southwest of Karlsruhe, with regular connections to
Berlin,
Dublin,
London,
Rome and
Barcelona.
Frankfurt International Airport can be reach in about an hour and a half by car (one hour by train) whereas
Stuttgart Airport can be reached in about one hour (about an hour and a half by train and S-Bahn).
History
Karlsruhe castle at night
The city takes its name from Margrave
Karl Wilhelm of Baden-Durlach, who founded the city in 1715 after a dispute with the citizens of his previous capital,
Durlach. The founding of the city is closely linked to the construction of the palace. Karlsruhe became the capital of
Baden-Durlach until 1771, thereafter the capital of
Baden until 1945. Built in 1822, the "Ständehaus" was the first parliament building in a German State. In the aftermath of the democratic revolution, a republican government was electetd here.
The city was planned with the tower of the castle (''Schloss'') at the center and 32 streets radiating out from it like
spokes on a
wheel or ribs on a folding
fan, so that a
nickname for Karlsruhe in Germany is the "fan city" (''Fächerstadt''). Almost all of these streets survive today.
The city center was the oldest part of town and lies south of the castle in the quadrant defined by nine of the streets. The central part of the castle runs east-west, and there are two wings of the castle, each at a 45° angle to the center, so that they are pointing southeast and southwest (i.e. parallel with streets at the ends of the quadrant defining the city center).
The
market place is on the street running south from the castle to
Ettlingen. The market place has the
town hall (''Rathaus'') to the west, the main
protestant church (''Evangelische Stadtkirche'') to the east, and the
tomb of Margrave Karl Wilhelm in a
pyramid in the center. The architect
Friedrich Weinbrenner designed many of the most important buildings. That is why Karlsruhe is one of only three large German cities we can still find building ensembles in
Neoclassicism style. Much of the downtown area, including the Schloss, was reduced to rubble by Allied bombing during World War II but was quickly rebuilt after the war.
The area north of the castle was and still is a
park and
forest. East of the castle there originally were
gardens and more forest, some of which remain, but the
University,
Wildparkstadion, and residential areas have since been built there. West of the castle is now mostly residential.
Jewish Community
Jews settled in Karlsruhe since its foundation. 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. Karlsruhe was the seat of the central council of Baden Jewry. The first chief rabbi of the country Rabbi Asher Lowe was from (Durlach) Karlsruhe. A memorable date in the annals of the Jews of Baden, especially memorable to the Jews of Karlsruhe, was the year 1783, when, by a decree issued by Margrave Carl Friedrich (1746-1811), 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 happy 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 government issued regulations concerning the administration of the spiritual affairs of the Jewish community, by which the chief rabbi of Karlsruhe became the spiritual head of the Jews of the country. 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 riots occurring in 1819 and anti-Jewish demonstrations were held in 1843, 1848, and the 1880s. The well-known German-Israeli artist
Leo Kahn studied in Karlsruhe before leaving for France and Israel in the 1920s and '30s. Today, there are about 900 members in the Jewish community, and a Chabad rabbi.
[2]
Karlsruhe and the Holocaust
In 1933, 3,358 Jewish Germans lived in Karlsruhe. The community owned buildings and property, such as several
synagogues, two elderly citizens' homes, a Jewish school, a hospital, welfare institutions and several Jewish cemeteries. During the first years of the Nazi regime, the community continued to function, particularly to prepare Jews for emigration. On
October 22,
1938, all male Polish Jews living in Karlsruhe were deported to Poland. Synagogues were destroyed on
Kristallnacht, November 1938. Most of the men were arrested and sent to
Dachau concentration camp, but were released after they had furnished proof that they intended to emigrate. In October 1940, 895 Jews were expelled during
Operation Wagner-Bürckel and interned by the French
Vichy authorities in
Gurs in southern France. Most of these were then deported from there to
Auschwitz in November 1942. Most of the 429 remaining Jews and other so-called "non-
Aryans" were deported to the east between 1941 and 1944. In 1945 there were only 18 Jews in Karlsruhe. More than 1,000 of them had been killed between 1933-45
[3]. The Baden Central Jewish Council was reorganized in 1948. A new synagogue was built in 1969.
Historical population
''(source unknown, figures unconfirmed)''
Former American school.
Military
Karlsruhe has always hosted
armed forces.
After
World War II until 1995, Karlsruhe was a
United States Army base. It also had a French garrison (135ème Régiment du Train until 1991).
Famous people
Karlsruhe is the birthplace of
Friedrich Weinbrenner, a German architect of Neoclassicism, who was born in 1766. Here he died in 1826. His tomb is situated in the main Protestant church.
It is also the birthplace of
Karl Benz (1844–1929), inventor of the
automobile and founder of Benz & Co., now part of
DaimlerChrysler (formerly
Daimler-Benz), as well as
Karl Drais who invented the precursor of the
bicycle and other transportation devices.
In the late 1880s, professor
Heinrich Rudolf Hertz discovered electromagnetic waves at the
University of Karlsruhe; today, a lecture room named after Hertz lies close by the very spot where the discovery was made.
In 1886,
Joseph Viktor von Scheffel, a German poet and novelist, was born in Karlsruhe.
Obergruppenführer SS
Hans Frank (1900-1946),
Gauleiter and governor general of Nazi occupied Poland
Sebastian Koch was born May 31, 1962 in Karlsruhe. He is a German actor.
Oliver Bierhoff, former German football striker for the National German Football Team and Italian Serie A club Udinese and A.C Milan, was born in Karlsruhe.
Oliver Kahn,
goalkeeper of
Bayern Munich and former goalkeeper of the
German national football team was also born in this city, in 1969.
Regina Halmich, the current female boxing flyweight world champion, is a native of Karlsruhe, too.
Further famous people from Karlsruhe include the philosopher and current president of the
State Academy of Design Peter Sloterdijk and the composer
Wolfgang Rihm.
Johann Gottfried Tulla, born on March 20, 1770 in Karlsruhe and died on March 27, 1828 in Paris. Tulla studied engineering at the Mining Academy in
Freiberg (Saxony) during the 1790s. From 1817 on, Tulla was instrumental in stabilizing and straightening the course of the southern
Rhine River, a project that continued until 1879. Tulla was also a co-founder of the Technical University in Karlsruhe (1825).
Institutions
Karlsruhe is the seat of the German
Federal Constitutional Court ''(Bundesverfassungsgericht)'' and the highest
Court of Appeals in civil and criminal cases, the ''
Bundesgerichtshof''. The court came to Karlsruhe when the provinces of
Baden and
Württemberg were merged.
Stuttgart, capital of Württemberg, became the capital of the new province, and Karlsruhe was given the high court in a compromise.
Karlsruhe is a renowned research and study centre, with one of Germany's finest and worldwide renowned institutions of higher education, namely, the
University of Karlsruhe (Universität Karlsruhe-TH) - the oldest technical university in Germany. Karlsruhe is also the home of the
Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe (Research Center Karlsruhe), at which engineering and scientific research is performed in the areas of health, earth and environmental sciences, and
Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences (Hochschule Karlsruhe-HS), the largest university of technology in the State of Baden-Württemberg, offering both professional and academic education in engineering sciences and business.
In 1999 the
ZKM (''Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie'', Centre for Art and Media) was opened. Within a short time it built up a worldwide reputation as a cultural institution. 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.
Nancy fountain
Twinning
The town is
twinned with:
★ '
Nancy'
France
★ '
Nottingham'
UK
★ '
Krasnodar'
Russia
★ '
Timişoara'
Romania
★ '
Halle'
Germany
★ '
Varna',
Bulgaria
Gottesau Castle (now music college)
Local attractions
Good visibility assumed, the
Durlacher
Turmberg to the east can be seen miles before reaching the city. It sports a look-out tower (hence its name), a former keep dating back to the 13th century, with nearby restaurant and can be reached with the historical
Turmbergbahn funicular railway.
The ''Stadtgarten'' is a recreational area near the ''Hauptbahnhof'' (main railway station) and was rebuilt during the ''Bundesgartenschau'' (''Federal Garden Show'') in 1967. It is also the site of the Karlsruhe Zoo.
The ''Marktplatz'' with the stone pyramid marking the grave of the city's founding father. The pyramid, built in 1825, is the symbol of Karlsruhe.
The city is nicknamed ''Die Fächerstadt'' (''the fan city'') because of its deliberate layout, with straight streets running out fan-like from the castle.
The Karlsruhe ''Schloss'' (palace) is an interesting piece of architecture; the adjacent ''Schlossgarten'', including the ''Botanical Garden'' with its palm, cactus and orchid house, invites a walk in the woods stretching out to the north of it.
The so called ''Kleine Kirche'' (Little Church), built between 1773 and 1776, is the oldest church of Karlsruhe's city centre.
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 this time. The ''Münze'' (mint), erected in 1826/27, was built by Weinbrenner too.
The ''St. Stephan parish church'' is one of the masterpieces of neoclassical church architecture in Southern Germany. Weinbrenner, who built this church between 1808 and 1814, orientated to the Pantheon in Rome.
The neo-gothic ''Grand Ducal burial chapel'', built between 1889 and 1896, is located in the middle of the forest.
The ''main cemetery'' of Karlsruhe is the oldest park-like cemetery in Germany.
Karlsruhe has a lively arts scene that includes the ''Museum of Natural History'', an opera house (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, 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. Further cultural attractions are scattered throughout Karlsruhe's various incorporated suburbs. The ''Scheffel Association'' or ''Literary Society'' for example is a literary organisation and was established in 1924. It is the largest literary organisation in Germany. Today the ''Prinz-Max-Palais'', built between 1881 and 1884 in historism style, houses the organisation including the museum.
In Karlsruhe there is the only art-ceramics manufacture in Germany, called ''Majolika-Manufaktur''. Founded in 1901, it is located in the "Schlossgarten". A blue streak (''Blauer Strahl'') consisting of 1645 ceramic tiles connects the manufacture with the palace. It is the world's largest ceramic artwork.
Another popular attraction is the ZKM (Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie) - Centre for Art and Media.
Its collections are quite unique, since they combine art and modern technologies.
The Centre is located in a converted ammunition manufactory.
Events
Every year in July there is a huge free open air festival lasting three days called ''Das Fest'' ("The Festival") (http://www.dasfest-karlsruhe.de/ (in German)).
The Baden State Theatre has been promoted the ''Händel festival'' since 1978.
Apart from holding local juggling and acrobatics festivals every year Karlsruhe has been the hosting city of the 23rd
European Juggling Convention (EJC) in 2000. Because of the good organization and the huge success the jugglers of Europe voted to return to Karlsruhe for the 31st European juggling convention in 2008 which will take place from
August 2 until
August 10.
African culture comes to Karlsruhe every year in July when the African Summer Festival takes off in the city's Nordstadt. Markets, drumming workshops, exhibitions, a varied children's programme and musical performances take place during the three days, the aim being enjoyment for the whole family.
[1]
Karlsruhe is the host of the yearly Linux Audio Conference
[2].
In the past Karlsruhe has also been the host of
LinuxTag (the biggest Linux event in Europe).
It attracted an immense crowd of visitors from all directions eager to watch the total
solar eclipse at noon on
August 11,
1999 (this place being located within the eclipse path and one of the few within Germany not plagued by bad weather).
The city is also one of the first in the world to have organized an annual
clothing-optional bike ride, locally known as
Nackt Radtour.
Sport
'Football (Soccer)'
Karlsruher SC (KSC),
Bundesliga (first division)
'Basketball'
BG Karlsruhe,
Basketball-Pro-Liga A (second division)
'Baseball' and '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
GFL's 1st Bundesliga, lost to the
Berlin Adler in the 1987
German Bowl (see also:
German Football League)
Internet
Two major
internet service providers, WEB.DE and schlund+partner/1&1, now both owned by
United Internet AG, are located at Karlsruhe.
The
City Wiki of Karlsruhe ('') is the biggest City Wiki in the world.
The library of the
University of Karlsruhe developed the
Karlsruher Virtueller Katalog, the first internet site that allowed researchers worldwide (for free) to search multiple library catalogues worldwide.
References
1. Statistisches Landesamt Baden-Württemberg
2. Chabad Karlsruhe
3. Karlsruhe condolence book
External links
★
Map of Karlsruhe
★
List of English websites
★
Official website (in German)
★
History
★
★
University of Karlsruhe
★
Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences
★
Research Center Karlsruhe, Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe
★
FZI - Research Center for Information Technologies
★
INKA - Events in Karlsruhe (in German)
★
Town square webcam
★
Turmberg webcam
★
War memorials in Karlsruhe at the ''Sites of Memory'' webpage
★
Turmbergbahn (in German)
★
Private diary detailing the solar eclipse (1999) (in German)
★
ZKM - Centre for Art and Media
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