Wikipedia:WikiProject Germany/Portal:Baden-Württemberg

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 Baden-Württemberg 

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Introduction

Baden-Württemberg (/ˌbɑːdən ˈvɜːrtəmbɜːrɡ/ BAH-dən VURT-əm-burg, German: [ˌbaːdn̩ ˈvʏʁtəmbɛʁk] ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state (Land) in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a total area of nearly 35,752 km2 (13,804 sq mi), it is the third-largest German state by both area (behind Bavaria and Lower Saxony) and population (behind North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria). As a federated state, Baden-Württemberg is a partly-sovereign parliamentary republic. The largest city in Baden-Württemberg is the state capital of Stuttgart, followed by Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Other major cities are Freiburg im Breisgau, Heidelberg, Heilbronn, Pforzheim, Reutlingen, Tübingen, and Ulm.

What is now Baden-Württemberg was formerly the historical territories of Baden, Prussian Hohenzollern, and Württemberg. Baden-Württemberg became a state of West Germany in April 1952 through the merger of South Baden, Württemberg-Baden, and Württemberg-Hohenzollern. These three states had been artificially created by the Allies after World War II out of the existing traditional states by their separation over different occupation zones.

Baden-Württemberg is especially known for its strong economy with various industries like car manufacturing, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, the service sector, and more. It has the third-highest gross regional product (GRP) in Germany. Part of the Four Motors for Europe and located in the Blue Banana, some of the largest German companies are headquartered in Baden-Württemberg, including Mercedes-Benz Group, Schwarz Group, Porsche, Bosch and SAP.

The sobriquet Ländle, a diminutive of the word Land in the local Swabian, Alemannic and Franconian dialects, is sometimes used as a synonym for Baden-Württemberg. (Full article...)

Selected article

Großes Landeswappen Baden-Württemberg
Großes Landeswappen Baden-Württemberg

The coat of arms of Baden-Württemberg was determined after the merging of the former German states Baden, Württemberg-Baden and Württemberg-Hohenzollern, that were divided due to different occupying forces after World War II, in 1952. The creation of the state was not without controversies and thus only the state colours black and gold were determined in 1952, but not yet the arms. The latter were only regulated in the Gesetz über das Wappen des Landes Baden-Württemberg (Law on the Coat of Arms of Baden-Württemberg) of 3 May 1954. Its use is moreover regulated by an order dated 2 August 1954. It was designed by Fritz Reinhardt.

The shield shows three black lions with red tongues on a golden background. The arms refer to the coat of arms of the Duke of Swabia whose House of Hohenstaufen had used these arms. The name of Suabia had long been discussed for use with the newly created state but it failed to be adopted due to resistance from parts of Baden.

Selected biography

Monument to Thaddäus Troll in Bad Cannstatt
Monument to Thaddäus Troll in Bad Cannstatt

Hans Bayer, known by the pseudonym Thaddäus Troll, (18 March 1914 – 5 July 1980) was a German journalist and writer and one of the most prominent modern poets in the Swabian German dialect. In his later years he was also an active campaigner for libraries and for support, pension rights and fair publishing contracts for writers. He was born in Bad-Cannstatt, a suburb of Stuttgart and committed suicide there at the age of 66. The literary award, Thaddäus-Troll-Preis, is named in his honour. His family had a soap-making business in the town. After he finished his secondary education at the Johannes-Kepler-Gymnasium, he worked briefly as a volunteer at a newspaper in Cannstatt. He then studied German, art history, comparative literature, theater, and journalism at the universities of Tübingen, Munich, Halle, and Leipzig, receiving his doctorate in 1938 from Leipzig University.

State facts

Selected image

Hohenzollern Castle
Hohenzollern Castle
Credit: A. Kniesel
Hohenzollern Castle is the ancestral seat of the imperial House of Hohenzollern.

Did you know?

  • ...that Spaghettieis was created by Dario Fontanella in the late 1960s in Mannheim? Although it is not well known outside Germany, it can be found at some gelaterias and specialty ice cream parlors, at special events and at some hotels and restaurants around the world.

Subcategories

Selected panorama

panorama of Schiltach
panorama of Schiltach
Credit: Norbert Kaiser

Schiltach is a town in the district of Rottweil, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the eastern Black Forest, on the river Kinzig, 20 km south of Freudenstadt.

Topics

Cities: FreiburgHeidelbergHeilbronnKarlsruheMannheimPforzheimReutlingenStuttgartUlm

Politics of Baden-Württemberg: List of Ministers-President of Baden-WürttembergBundesverfassungsgerichtDemokratische VolksparteiLandtag

Economy: BoschEnBWHeidelberger DruckmaschinenHugo BossMercedes-BenzPorscheSAP

History of Baden-Württemberg: List of Ministers-President of Baden-WürttembergKingdom of WürttembergGrand Duchy of BadenHohenzollernWürttemberg-Baden

Symbols: Coat of arms of Baden-WürttembergFlag of Baden-WürttembergBadnerlied

Languages and culture: Alemannic dialectsSwabian GermanSwabian-Alemannic FastnachtKehrwocheBollenhut

The Kaiserstuhl hills including the Totenkopf.

Badische LandesbibliothekBibliotheca Palatina

WeißenhofsiedlungStuttgarter FernsehturmVitra Design Museum

Hochschule für Gestaltung UlmState Academy of Fine Arts StuttgartStaatsgalerie StuttgartStaatliche Kunsthalle KarlsruheZKM

BlautopfSource of the DanubeDanube SinkholeBlack Forest National ParkTriberg Waterfalls

Related portals

Associated Wikimedia

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