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

Donauversinkung

The Danube Sinkhole (German: Donauversinkung or Donauversickerung) is an incipient underground stream capture in the Upper Danube Nature Park. Between Immendingen and Möhringen and also near Fridingen (Tuttlingen), the water of the Danube sinks into the riverbed in various places. The main sinkhole is next to a field named Brühl between Immendingen and Möhringen.

The term “sinking” is more accurate than “seeping”, because, instead of just distributing into the soil, the Danube’s water flows through underground caverns to the Aachtopf, where it emerges as the river Radolfzeller Aach.

The sinking Danube water disappears into a karst water system of the well-stratified limestone formation (the ox2 layer) of the White Jura and appears again in a horizontal limestone layer (the ki4 layer), approximately twelve kilometers away at Aachtopf. It then flows as Radolfzeller Aach into Lake Constance at Radolfzell. Thus, a part of the Danube water also flows into the Rhine. This geographical situation is a striking feature of the large European Watershed, which separates the catchment areas of the North Sea and the Black Sea.

Selected biography

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

• Nickname: Ländle
• Capital: Stuttgart
• Minister-president: Winfried Kretschmann
• Governing parties: Greens / CDU
• Total area: 35,751 km² (13,804 sq mi)
• Population: 10,879,618 (2015)
• Founded: April 25, 1952
• Website: www.baden-wuerttemberg.de

Selected image

Schloss Lichtenstein

Credit: -donald-
Lichtenstein Castle, the "Fairy tale castle of Württemberg"

Did you know?

• ...that Porsche was founded in 1931, with main offices in the centre of Stuttgart? One of the first assignments the new company received was from the German government to design a car for the people, that is a "Volkswagen".

• ...that Lake Constance is colloquially known as the Swabian Sea (das schwäbische Meer)? The lake itself is an important drinking water source for southwestern Germany, called Bodensee-Wasserversorgung ("Lake Constance Water Supply").

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Baden-Württemberg

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Baden-Württemberg-related lists

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Selected panorama

Heidelberg

Heidelberg is a college town in Baden-Württemberg situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. At the 2015 census, its population was 156,257, with roughly a quarter of its population being students. A former residence of the Electorate of the Palatinate, Heidelberg is a popular tourist destination due to its romantic cityscape, including Heidelberg Castle, the Philosophers' Walk, and the baroque style Old Town.

Topics

Cities: Freiburg – Heidelberg – Heilbronn – Karlsruhe – Mannheim – Pforzheim – Reutlingen – Stuttgart – Ulm Politics of Baden-Württemberg: List of Ministers-President of Baden-Württemberg – Bundesverfassungsgericht – Demokratische Volkspartei – Landtag Economy: Bosch – EnBW – Heidelberger Druckmaschinen – Hugo Boss – Mercedes-Benz – Porsche – SAP History of Baden-Württemberg: List of Ministers-President of Baden-Württemberg – Kingdom of Württemberg – Grand Duchy of Baden – Hohenzollern – Württemberg-Baden Symbols: Coat of arms of Baden-Württemberg – Flag of Baden-Württemberg – Badnerlied Languages and culture: Alemannic dialects – Swabian German – Swabian-Alemannic Fastnacht – Kehrwoche – Bollenhut The Kaiserstuhl hills including the Totenkopf.

Literature and writer: Codex Manesse – Wilhelm Hauff – Johann Peter Hebel – Georg Herwegh – Hermann Hesse – Friedrich Hölderlin – Justinus Kerner – Eduard Mörike – Sebastian Sailer – Friedrich Schiller – Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart – Thaddäus Troll – Christoph Martin Wieland – Ludwig Uhland Badische Landesbibliothek – Bibliotheca Palatina Architecture and buildings: Günter Behnisch – Paul Bonatz – Richard Döcker – Martin Elsaesser – Hugo Häring – Fritz Leonhardt – Jörg Schlaich – Friedrich Weinbrenner Weißenhofsiedlung – Stuttgarter Fernsehturm – Vitra Design Museum Art and design: Friedrich Adler – Willi Baumeister – Johann Joseph Christian – Otto Dix – Hartmut Esslinger – HAP Grieshaber – Karl Hubbuch – Wolfgang Kermer – Anselm Kiefer – Peter Lenk – Oskar Schlemmer – Franz Joseph Spiegler – Hans Thoma Hochschule für Gestaltung Ulm – State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart – Staatsgalerie Stuttgart – Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe – ZKM Music: Die Fantastischen Vier – Die Happy – Joy Fleming – Anne-Sophie Mutter – Xavier Naidoo – Pur – Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart – Wolfgang Rihm – Friedrich Silcher – Söhne Mannheims Landscapes and regions: Allgäu – Baar – Breisgau – Gäu – Hegau – Hohenlohe – Kaiserstuhl – Kraichgau – Kurpfalz – Markgräflerland – Ortenau – Schwäbische Alb – Schwarzwald Blautopf – Source of the Danube – Danube Sinkhole – Black Forest National Park – Triberg Waterfalls Lakes: Lake Constance (Bodensee) – Federsee – Mummelsee – Schluchsee – Titisee Mountains: Achalm – Belchen – Bussen – Feldberg – Hohenstaufen – Hohentwiel – Hornisgrinde – Ipf – Katzenbuckel – Schauinsland – Teck

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