EXPERIENCE THE CITY OF CONTRASTS!
Rough, urban, historic, cosmopolitan – in Mannheim modern lifestyle meets baroque palace and industrial port. Visitors of the city are fascinated by the contrasts that meet in Mannheim – the locals call the city “Monnem”, by the way.
A wide variety of cultures meet here, which is one of the reasons why the city is a vibrant metropolis with its own unique charm. What many do not know: Mannheim is also a university city – the university of Mannheim is one of the best business universities in Germany and is located on the grounds of the historic baroque palace. University city, industrial city, city of squares – Mannheim has many faces.
CITY OF ELECTORS AND ARTISTS IN THE 18TH CENTURY
Mannheim was a residential city from 1720–1778 and today inspires visitors with a baroque palace that characterizes the city. Mozart and Schiller once admired the palace complex, which is now one of the largest in the world. Mannheim therefore also has a long tradition as a city of artists. Today, Mannheim – the city with the National Theater known as the Schillerbühne, the Kunsthalle Mannheim, the Reiss-Engelhorn Museums and the Technoseum is a nationally known theater and museum location.
WHY IS MANNHEIM CALLED THE CITY OF SQUARES?
The origin of the grid-shaped road network goes back to Elector Friedrich IV of the Palatinate around 1600. At that time, Mannheim received city privileges and has since been referred to as the City of Squares. The grid has been preserved to this day in the inner city, which is crossed by two main axes: the Kurpfalzstraße (also called “Breite Straße”) and the so-called “Planken”. The streets in the city center do not have names, instead the squares between them are named with a combination of letters and numbers.
THE SIGHTS IN THE CITY OF CONTRASTS
THESE ARE OUR TOP 3 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR AN UNFORGETTABLE MANNHEIM EXPERIENCE:
MANNHEIM’S LANDMARK: THE WATER TOWER
In addition to the baroque palace, there are many other interesting historical buildings in Mannheim, the most famous being the “Water Tower”. Surrounded by a unique park that inspires millions of visitors every year, the water tower is located on the eastern edge of the city center, right on Friedrichsring. As an absolute magnet for visitors, the Water Tower is Mannheim’s landmark.
THE EAST TOWN WITH HISTORIC VILLAS
Oststadt-District begins right next to the Water Tower, in a northerly direction. In this district of Mannheim there are still many historic villas – for example the huge Lanz villa. The old Mannheim is also in the so-called Schwetzinger-Vorstadt-District on the other side of the Augustaanlage allee. These two districts, which are located in front of the city center, show other exciting facets of the metropolis.
LITTLE-ISTANBUL IN DEN H‑SQUARES
Another attraction in the city of contrasts is the H Squares in the city center, jokingly referred to as “Little Istanbul”. The multicultural district almost looks like a city within a city with its Turkish shops, supermarkets, takeaways, restaurants and bars. Life pulsates here and as a visitor you almost feel like you are in a southern bazaar. Just walk down the ‘Breite Straße‘ from the ‘Kapuzinerplanken‘ to the Market Square – this is where Little Istanbul begins.
THE JUNGBUSCH – THE UP-AND-COMING DISTRICT
Here, too, it is evident that absolute opposites coexist as a matter of course in Mannheim: working class meets club scene – industrial port flair meets modern start-ups. The well-known Pop Academy – a pioneer in Germany-wide pop music training – is also located here. Numerous cultural events breathe life into the harbor district and a new side of Mannheim becomes visible.
FURTHER RECOMMENDATIONS FOR YOUR SIGHTSEEING TOUR:
