Mannheim is the second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, with a population of over 315,000. Mannheim is situated right in the border triangle formed by Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse.

First mentioned in a document in 766 in the Lorsch Codex, Mannheim was granted town privileges in 1607, when Frederick IV, Elector Palatine started building the fortress of Friedrichsburg and the adjacent city centre with its grid of streets and avenues. Mannheim was mostly levelled during the Thirty Years' War around 1622. After being rebuilt, it was again severely damaged by the French Army in 1689 during the Nine Years' War (aka "The War of Palatinate Succession").

Today the city is the cultural and economic centre of the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region.


The Kunsthalle Mannheim is a museum of modern and contemporary art, established in 1909. As the existing buildings had structural defects, the possibility of constructing a new building was discussed. Following the pledge of a donation of 50 million euros in 2011, planning began for the new building, which was officially opened in 2018.


Max Slevogt (1868–1932)

Hummerstillleben /
Still Life with Lobster / 1925