DISCOVER MANNHEIM TOURISM BROCHURE 2017 MANNHEIM IS VIVID MANNHEIM IS INSPIRING MANNHEIM IS VIBRANT MANNHEIM IS EXCITING MANNHEIM IS SHOPPING MANNHEIM IS RESTFUL MANNHEIM IS FOR EXPLORING TOURIST INFORMATION MANNHEIM Willy-Brandt-Platz 5 68161 Mannheim Tel +49 (0) 621 293 87 00 Fax +49 (0) 621 293 87 01 [email protected] www.tourist-mannheim.de DISCOVER Tourist highlights squared www.facebook.com/mannheim.quadratestadt Published by: Stadtmarketing Mannheim GmbH, E4,6, 68159 Mannheim, Version: December 2016 MANNHEIM IS VIVID Feel the beating heart of this diverse city in southwest Germany. Mannheim means economic power, inspira- tion and a lust for life in the centre of the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region. This major city at the confluence of two rivers is open and outward-looking, and has the best a modern city can offer. A combination of urban flair and natural beauty, history and modernity, a rich creative scene and honest warmth and hospitality are what make this city so special. Mannheim is diverse: the city hosts top sporting events, rousing concerts and stage shows by international megastars. This proud UNESCO City of Music is a centre of culture, a great place to shop, a region of culinary delight and savoir vivre. Mannheim is honest and authentic, warm and practical, traditional, interested and outward-look- ing – and definitely worth a visit. WELCOME Tourist Information Mannheim has all the information you need for an enjoyable and exciting stay in Mannheim. Our team will help you find just the sights and sounds you’re looking for. Friedrichsplatz WELL INFORMED. Take in an overview of the diverse city on the Rhine and Neckar rivers. MANNHEIM IS VIVID Life squared 6 Innovation and pioneers 8 MANNHEIM IS INSPIRING Culture and museums 10 MANNHEIM IS VIBRANT Nature in the City of Squares 28 MANNHEIM IS EXCITING Events, exhibitions and festivals 34 Overview of events 36 MANNHEIM IS SHOPPING Shopping squared 44 MANNHEIM IS RESTFUL Hotels in the City of Squares 46 MANNHEIM IS FOR EXPLORING River excursions and cycle trips 62 Neighbouring towns 63 5 LIFE SQUARED It was through a fateful and eventful history that the following destruction. Something that has always been Mannheim has a rather pleasant way of life. Particularly in I rebuke those who pass by Mannheim when travelling “secret capital of the Electoral Palatinate” developed retained, however, is the unique grid-like road net- the winter, there is no shortage of operas, French and German to Paris without stopping to look around. its current qualities as an urbane, open and tolerant work of the city center. While streets in other cities comedies, concerts or musical academies, masked balls and Johann Friedrich Karl Grimm (doctor and botanist from Eisenach; much more. 2nd half of the 18th century) trade and service center. bear the names of famous people, those in Mannheim Gottlob Friedrich Krebel (Die vornehmsten europäischen Reisen, 1792) are made up of letters and numbers. Since Elector Friedrich IV of the Palatinate elevated The city of Mannheim is incredibly beautiful because of I would love to see you in Mannheim. It is a wonderful heaven Mannheim to city status in 1607 and laid the foundation The Rathaus is on “E5”, while the Stadthaus is on “N1”. its regularity […] and a gentler earth that I would be delighted to visit ... stone for the construction of the Friedrichsburg fortress, Hence, Mannheim is known by many simply as “the Leopold Mozart (father of W. A. Mozart, on his first stay in Mannheim in 1763) Friedrich Schiller (1759 – 1805) in a letter from Jena to Anna Hölzel in 1789 the city has had to be rebuilt a total of four times City of the Squares”. 3 2 4 1 The stock exchange on E4 (circa 1902) 2 Elector Karl Theodor, who built the palace 3 Friedrichsplatz – full view before 1940 4 Paradeplatz before 1905 5 5 Bird‘s eye view of the palace, upper town and Rhine bridge (1929) 6 Internal floor plan of the Electoral Palatinate residence of the City of Mannheim (1799) 1 6 6 7 INNOVATION AND PIONEERS IN MANNHEIM Situated at the confluence of the Rhine and Neckar On 13 January 1782, Friedrich Schiller presented the built the first petrol-powered car and Fritz Huber in- Praise and thank God that I am back in my beloved Mannheim! rivers, Mannheim was first established as a proud first performance of “die Räuber” (The Robbers) at the vented the first tractor to run on crude oil, the Lanz- I assure you that, were you here, you would say the same. fortress city. However, the city earned renown as the newly completed National Theatre. In the 19th century, Bulldog. Even the fuses in your fuse box were developed Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 1791) to his father Leopold Mozart, residence of the electors of the palatinate in the 18th the city emerged as a cradle of democracy and the in Mannheim. This living and breathing city has much 12 November 1778 century. The “Mannheim school” founded by Johann center of the 1848/49 revolution. to offer. A city where tradition meets innovation. Stamitz wrote musical history and Mozart even strove As a flourishing metropolis for trade, industry and Today, the electoral palace is home to one of the best If we live another ten years and do not perish in war, we to become a member of the orchestra. Perhaps this science, Mannheim has attracted pioneers and inventors universities in Germany, while numerous start-up hubs would make Mannheim a second Rome, despite all envy. laid the foundation stone for the city to be named to this day. Karl von Drais built the first two-wheeled and the creative scene bring new ideas and developments Karl Ludwig of the Palatinate (father of Liselotte of the Palatinate) wrote this “UNESCO City of Music” in 2014. vehicle, the precursor to the bicycle, here. Carl Benz to the market. Made in Mannheim for the world. on 2 May 1663 in Mannheim to his wife Louise von Degenfeld 1 National theater (1869) 2 Dr. Carl Benz, engineer and inventor of the motor car (1894) 3 Rhine quay (circa 1895) 4 Heinrich Lanz AG, 12/20 PS Bulldog (1932) 5 5 Design of the Draisine of Baron Karl von Drais (1817) 6 Dr. Fritz Huber, inventor of the Lanz-Bulldog 7 Palace, central block and Ehrenhof (courtyard) with one of the now demo- 1 lished guardhouses (circa 1926) 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 CULTURAL HIGHLIGHTS Experience the old. Discover the new. Pause. Allow impressions to take effect. Observe. Interpret. Discuss. Enjoy the vibrant experience of art and MANNHEIM culture in Mannheim. IS INSPIRING Guided tours We have put together a fasci- nating guided tour all about Mannheim is a city with an amazingly rich cultural the bicycle: “200 Jahre Fahr- scene. On the eastern outskirts of the town is the rad – eine weltbewegende TECHNOSEUM, where visitors can delve into the Erfindung” (“200 years of the fascinating world of technology. The neighbouring Monnem Bike: where it all started. bicycle – an invention that Planetarium transports visitors of all ages to distant changed the world”). galaxies. Continue on into the town centre and you Karl Freiherr von Drais invented the bicycle in Mannheim 200 years More information is available will reach the “Wasserturm” (water tower) and the ago. He rode his invention for the first time on 12 June 1817, along in the “Mannheim erkunden” “Kunsthalle” (art gallery), reopening in december in what was then the best road in the area. The maiden journey of the brochure. a brand new building. Just a stone’s throw away, “Draisine” took him from Mannheim to the summer residence of Archangel Michael greets you from the spire of the elector, “Schwetzinger Relaishaus”. Christuskirche church. The “Nationaltheater Mann- heim” works its magic on the ring road that encircles The forerunner of the modern bicycle had no pedals – the rider had Mannheim city centre. Exploring the “squares”, the to push himself along with his feet and the frame, handlebars and original grid, is also a rewarding cultural experience. wheels of the first model were made of wood. The “velocipede” soon The “Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen” in the heart of the became a success in other countries. In England, for example, it was city are in the same historic district as the “Baro- called the “pedestrian hobby horse”. ckschloss Mannheim”. Look out over the rooftops of the city centre from the large inner courtyard of what The inventor had his original idea in 1816-1817, when failed harvests wheels – 200 years. Baron von Drais and the history of the bicycle”) was once the elector’s residence, and admire the had led to famine and the oat prices had soared. Horses to draw raises the curtain on a rich and colourful birthday party for the dome of one of the city’s most beautiful churches, the a vehicle suddenly became a luxury. This set Drais working on bicycle in the heart of the city. A highlight in Mannheim’s cultural “Jesuitenkirche”. what became the Draisine, which in turn was the basis for today’s calendar, to which all visitors are warmly invited. modern bicycle. With the slogan “Monnem Bike – wo alles begann”, Mannheim will be celebrating the anniversary in 2017 with fasci- nating exhibitions and spectacular events all about the bicycle. A major regional exhibition at the TECHNOSEUM, “2 Räder – 200 www.monnem-bike.de Jahre. Freiherr von Drais und die Geschichte des Fahrrades” (“Two Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen Mannheim 11 1 TECHNOSEUM What could be more exciting than technology? Get involved, experiment and experience. Visitors to the TECHNO- the various stages of the bicycle’s technical development, but also SEUM can try out experiments for themselves and learn about how the bicycle has influenced and continues to influence society.