Karlsruhe Technology Region Hightech Meets the Good Life
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Karlsruhe Technology Region HighTech meets the Good Life HighTech meets the Good Life Page 006-011 Infrastructure ICE, airport, motorways, inland waterways, local public transport – the infrastructure of the Karlsruhe TechnologyRegion leaves nothing to be desired. Page 012-017 University Excellent education and research facilities make the Karlsruhe TechnologyRegion an ideas factory rooted in practice. Page 018-019 Innovative Spirit From the invention of the bicycle to degree courses at our universities; from start-up grants for new businesses to cooperation in regional networks. Page 020-025 Research Nanotechnology, microtechnology, robotics and much more besides – the Karlsruhe TechnologyRegion offers the ideal research climate. Page 026-027 KIT Karlsruhe University and the Karlsruhe Research Centre – two strong partners together in the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). Page 028-033 Business A-Class, B-Class, L’Oréal, UHU, 1&1, dm, Siemens, Bosch, EnBW – products from the Karlsruhe Technology Region can be found all over the world. Page 034-039 Law Welcome to the ‘Karlsruhe Republic’, seat of the Federal Constitutional Court, the Federal Court of Justice and the Office of the Attorney General. Page 040-045 Media / Culture Our region as a media location: home to organisations like Germany’s second biggest public broadcaster and the Centre for Art and Media Technology. Page 046-053 Leisure / Tourism Between the Black Forest and the Rhine. Luxury hotels, famous Baden-Württemberg hospitality and starred restaurants. You can really enjoy life here. Page 054-055 Contact Innovation from tradition: that is our strength. Our region is unique. We have the highest number of sunny days in the country, a varied landscape and international culture, plus a virtually unparalleled climate of innovation and a constantly expanding busi- ness sector. HighTech meets the Good Life – that is our motto and the theme underpinning this brochure. What started out as an action group in the ‘competition between the regions’ has – almost 20 years later – become ‘Germany’s ideas fac- tory’. The name says it all: the Karlsruhe TechnologyRegion. Ten towns and cities, three administrative districts and a regional asso- ciation form this business and cooperation area on the Upper Rhine, located at the centre of what the experts call the ‘blue banana’, Europe’s economic spine and the area with the most dynamic company locations in Europe. The course was set for economic prosperity in our region as early as the 19th century. In 1818 one of the first free constitutions of a German State was adopted in the first German parliament in the Archduchy of Baden. The Baden revolution of 1848–49 marked a high point in the German liberation and constitution movement, and Baden-Württemberg was the first region to introduce freedom of trade in Germany. It was not for nothing that Karlsruhe became the new seat of law when the highest courts in Germany – the Federal Constitutional Court and the Federal Court of Justice – took up residence here a hundred years later. Whilst discussions on possible differences between the Bonn and the Berlin Republic went on for some time after German reunification, commentators at the 50th anniversary of the Federal Constitutional Court agreed that its importance for the constitutional development of the country alone would justify the title of the ‘Karlsruhe Republic’. Heinz Fenrich Thus we have always had a sharp eye for innovation in our region. Mayor of Karlsruhe and Chair of the Karlsruhe State-of-the-art technology and a modern economy, research, trans- TechnologyRegion Association port, communication and education networks – all of this condenses down into a superlocation that regularly puts the Karlsruhe Technology- Region right at the top of the league tables. Research facilities, tech- nology transfer, business development, infrastructure – we get things done. Industriousness and joie de vivre – our citizens have both. HighTech and the Good Life – the reason why we, geographically the smallest region in Baden-Wurttemberg, have been achieving growth rates that are way above the average for years. You want success. We make it happen. Welcome to the Karlsruhe TechnologyRegion! Located in the heart of Europe, our region is one of the top locations in Europe when it comes to technology, business and culture. Nestling in a wonderful natural landscape between the Black Forest, the Rhine and Alsace, it is the sunniest region in Germany and an ideal environment to live and work in, with excellent traffic links, a good infrastructure and great shopping. World-famous companies are based here and benefit from the internationally important education and research landscape. In the competition between the most important business locations in Germany, Location Europe and the USA, the Karlsruhe TechnologyRegion consistently comes out on top. Page 004 The Karlsruhe TechnologyRegion Action Group, formed The economic output of the Karlsruhe TechnologyRegion with the aim of optimising cooperation between business, has outstripped the national average for many years. And science, culture and the public sector, is made up of ten the gross domestic product has also been increasing at an towns, three administrative districts and a regional asso- above-average rate for the past few years. This leading ciation: Baden-Baden, Bretten, Bruchsal, Bühl, Ettlingen, position has been consolidated even further since then. Gaggenau, Karlsruhe, Rastatt, Rheinstetten, Stutensee, In recent years we have exported goods with a total value the Germersheim administrative district, the Karlsruhe of just under €18 billion per annum. Our annual average administrative district, the Rastatt administrative district regional export quota has been 44,9%. And 172 in every and the Regional Planning Board Middle Upper Rhine. 1,000 of the working population work in technology-inten- sive industries – more than in virtually any other region Baden Württemberg’s bigger cities and the two administra- in Europe. tive districts established the Karlsruhe TechnologyRegion Company to enable them to address the challenges of the There are 3.5 million square metres of industrial and future together as long ago as 1987. During the years that commercial space available for investors to start building followed, other organisations affiliated themselves with on immediately. Our towns and cities offer well-developed the successful model, most recently the Southern Pala- business locations, ranging from converted space like the tinate administrative district of Germersheim in 2006. Cité in Baden-Baden, the Baden-Airpark in Rheinmünster Business, science, culture and the public sector together and specialised industrial locations like Wörth am Rhein form a strategic unit that combines all the resources for to the Karlsruhe Technology Park and the Technology and shared success in the competition between the regions. Ecology Village (TED) in Bruchsal. The SIS location infor- mation system (www.sisfit.de) and the Gewerbeflächenat- Regional strengths – international competitiveness. In las (Commercial Space Atlas) published by the Chamber an area of 2,600 square kilometres, the Karlsruhe of Industry and Commerce (IHK) provide detailed infor- TechnologyRegion has 1.128.800 inhabitants (434 inhabi- mation about what is available. tants per square kilometre). The managing partners of the Karlsruhe TechnologyRegion: Baden-Baden Bretten Bruchsal Bühl Ettlingen Gaggenau www.baden-baden.de www.bretten.de www.bruchsal.de www.buehl.de www.ettlingen.de www.gaggenau.de The Karlsruhe TechnologyRegion HighTech meets the Good Li f e Germersheim Administrative A5 ICE track District Basel–Frankfurt Rhineland Location Palatinate Rheinhafen Karlsruhe Page 005 Germersheim Adminstrative District Rhine A65 Landeshafen Wörth TGV track München–Paris Rheinhäfen Karlsruhe Alsace A35 A8 At the heart of Europe! Baden- England Poland Württemberg Germany Airport Karlsruhe/ Baden-Baden Austria France Switzerland It doesn’t get ICE/TGV track München–Paris Italy more central Basel–Frankfurt than this: the Karlsruhe A5 TechnologyRegion Rastatt Spain is at the heart Administrative District of Europe. Karlsruhe Germersheim Karlsruhe Rastatt Rastatt Rheinstetten Stutensee www.karlsruhe.de Administrative District Administrative District Administrative District www.rastatt.de www.rheinstetten.de www.stutensee.de www.kreis- www.landkreis- www.landkreis- germersheim.de karlsruhe.de rastatt.de Anyone as friendly as we are . More than 82.7% of people in the Karlsruhe TechnologyRegion believe that ‘our region is a wonderful place to live’. In the national ranking, locals rank their region as the best in the country in terms of quality of life. And with such an excellent quality of life, people like to get together. Source: Perspektive Deutschland, ‘Stern’ 04/05/2005 . also has the best connections worldwide. Infrastructure Page 008 Karlsruhe’s Rhine Ports are among the five biggest inland ports in Germany. Goods from all over the world – mineral oil, building materials, coal and lignite, to mention but a few – are unloaded here. More than 5,000 ships dock at the Rhine Ports every year, and more than 6 million tonnes of goods are handled there. Wörth (177,000 TEU) and Germersheim (226,000 TEU) are major container ports on the Rhine. Wörth Rhine Port: The Wörth and Germersheim ICE and TGV station: The ICE intercity express Rheinmünster: Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden airport Rhine Ports have continued to build on their takes you straight from Karlsruhe