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

The Venus of Hohle Fels (also known as the Venus of Schelklingen; in German variously Venus vom Hohlen Fels, vom Hohle Fels; Venus von Schelklingen) is an Upper Paleolithic figurine of a woman hewn from the ivory of a mammoth tusk that was located near Schelklingen, Germany. It is dated to between 35,000 and 40,000 years ago, belonging to the early Aurignacian, at the very beginning of the Upper Paleolithic, which is associated with the earliest presence of Cro-Magnon in Europe. This female figure is the oldest undisputed example of a depiction of a human being yet discovered. In terms of figurative art only the lion-headed, zoomorphic Löwenmensch figurine is older. The Venus figurine is housed at the Museum in Blaubeuren (Urgeschichtliches Museum Blaubeuren).

The Swabian Alb region of Germany has a number of caves that have yielded many mammoth-ivory artifacts of the Upper Paleolithic period. Approximately twenty-five items have been discovered to date. These include the Löwenmensch figurine of Hohlenstein-Stadel dated to 40,000 years ago and an ivory flute found at Geißenklösterle, dated to 42,000 years ago. This mountainous region is located in Baden-Württemberg and is bounded by the Danube in the southeast, the upper Neckar in the northwest, and in the southwest it rises to the higher mountains of the Black Forest.

Selected biography

Hildegard Knef
Hildegard Knef

Hildegard Knef (28 December 1925 – 1 February 2002) was a German actress, singer, and writer. She was billed in some English language films as Hildegard Neff or Hildegarde Neff. Hildegard Knef was born in Ulm. Her parents were Hans Theodor and Friede Augustine Knef. Her father, who was a decorated First World War veteran, died of syphilis when she was only six months. Then her mother moved to Berlin and worked in a factory. Knef began studying acting at the age of 14, in 1940. She left school at 15 to become an apprentice animator with Universum Film AG. After she had a successful screen test, she went to the State Film School at Babelsberg, Berlin, where she studied acting, ballet and elocution. Josef Goebbels, who was Hitler's propaganda minister, wrote to her and asked to meet her, but Knef's friends wanted her to stay away from him.

State facts

Selected image

Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte
Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte
Credit: Mikelo
Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest cake)

Did you know?

  • ...that the 18th-century Schloss Bruchsal is noted for its fine Roccoco decoration and in particular its grand Baroque entrance staircase, which is regarded as one of the finest examples of its genre.

Subcategories

Selected panorama

Neues Schloss (Stuttgart)
Neues Schloss (Stuttgart)
Credit: Julian Herzog

The New Palace (German: Neues Schloss) is an 18th century Baroque palace and is one of the last large city palaces built in Southern Germany. The palace is located in the center of Stuttgart on the Schlossplatz in front of the Jubiläumssäule column and Königsbau. Public tours of the building are only permitted by special arrangement, as the building contains some government offices.

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

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

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