Baden-Württemberg is a state of the Federal Republic of Germany in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine. It is third largest in both area and population among the country's sixteen states, with an area of 35,742 km² and 10.7 million inhabitants (both almost exactly like Belgium). The state capital is Stuttgart.
History
This state combines the historical states of Baden, Hohenzollern and Württemberg.
After World War II Allied forces established three states: Württemberg-Baden (occupied by the USA), Württemberg-Hohenzollern (France) and South Baden (France). In 1949 these three states became parts of the Federal Republic of Germany. Article 118 of the new German constitution however allowed for those states to merge. After a plebiscite held on 9 December 1951 these states merged on 25 April 1952 into Baden-Württemberg.
In 1956 the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany ruled that the plebiscite was unlawful because it had disadvantaged Baden's population. The plebiscite was then held again within the area of former Baden in 1970 resulting in a majority of more than 81% for the new state.
Geography
The state borders on Switzerland to the south, on France to the west, and on the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate (northwest), Hesse (north) and Bavaria (east).
Its principal cities include Stuttgart, Mannheim, Karlsruhe, Freiburg, Heidelberg, Heilbronn, Ludwigsburg, Ulm, Tübingen, Pforzheim and Reutlingen.
The Rhine (Rhein) forms the western border as well as large portions of the southern border. The Black Forest (Schwarzwald), the main mountain range of the state, rises east of the Rhine valley. Baden-Württemberg shares both Lake Constance (Bodensee) and the foothills of the Alps with Switzerland.
The Danube (Donau) river has its source in Baden-Württemberg near the town of Donaueschingen, in a place called Furtwangen in the Black Forest.
Economy
Although it has a few multinationals, Baden-Württemberg's economy is basically dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises. Many enterprises are considered innovative. Although poor in workable natural resources (formerly lead, zinc, iron, silver, copper and salts) and still rural in many areas, the region is heavily industrialized.
In 2003, there were almost 8 800 manufacturing enterprises with more than 20 employees, but only 384 with more than 500. The latter category accounts for 43% of the 1.2 million persons employed in industry. Medium-sized businesses and a tradition of branching out into different industrial sectors have ensured specialization over a wide range.
A fifth of the "old" Federal Republic's industrial gross value added is generated by Baden-Württemberg. Turnover for manufacturing in 2003 exceeded 240 000 million, 43% of which came from exports. The region depends to some extent on global economic developments, though the great adaptability of the region's economy has generally helped it through crises.
Half of the employees in the manufacturing industry are in mechanical and electrical engineering and automobile construction. This is also where the largest enterprises are to be found. The importance of the precision mechanics industry also extends beyond the region's borders, as does that of the optical, clock making, toy, metallurgy and electronics industries. The textile industry, which formerly dominated much of the region, has now all but disappeared from Baden-Württemberg. Research and development (R&D) is funded jointly by the State and industry. In 2001, more than a fifth of the 100 000 or so persons working in R&D in the Federal Republic were located in Baden-Württemberg, most of them in the Stuttgart area.
Education
Baden-Württemberg is home to some of the oldest, most renowned and prestigious universities in Germany, such as the universities of Freiburg, Heidelberg and Tübingen. Other university towns are Karlsruhe, Konstanz, Mannheim and Ulm. Furthermore, two universities are located in the state capital Stuttgart, the University of Hohenheim and the University of Stuttgart. Ludwigsburg is home to the renowned national film school Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg.
Language
In many areas of Baden-Wurttemberg, residents speak the distinctive dialects of Swabian (Schwäbisch) and 'Badisch', which both are known for being almost unintelligible to northern Germans, especially in its stronger forms in the countryside.
Politics
Baden-Württemberg's voters are, similar to neighboring Bavaria, predominantly conservative. Except for the first election, all minister-presidents were members of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU).
Administration
Baden-Württemberg is divided into 35 districts (Landkreise) and 9 independent cities (Stadtkreise), both grouped into the four Administrative Districts (Regierungsbezirke) of Freiburg, Karlsruhe, Stuttgart, and Tübingen.
Map
Furthermore there are nine independent cities, which do not belong to any district:
# Baden-Baden
# Freiburg
# Heidelberg
# Heilbronn
# Karlsruhe
# Mannheim
# Pforzheim
# Stuttgart
# Ulm
List of minister-presidents of Baden-Württemberg
# 1952 - 1953: Reinhold Maier (FDP/DVP)
# 1953 - 1958: Gebhard Müller (CDU)
# 1958 - 1966: Kurt Georg Kiesinger (CDU)
# 1966 - 1978: Hans Karl Filbinger (CDU)
# 1978 - 1991: Lothar Späth (CDU)
# 1991 - 2005: Erwin Teufel (CDU)
# since 2005: Günther Oettinger (CDU)
2006 state election results
Gallery
Image:Altes Rathaus seitlich.jpg|Old Town Hall in Esslingen
Image:SchlossHeidelberg2.jpg|Castle Heidelberg
Image:Burg Hohenzollern ak.jpg|Castle Hohenzollern
Image:Tübingen Rathhaus 1.JPG|Old Town Hall in Tübingen
Image:Altes Schloss Stuttgart.jpg|Old Castle in Stuttgart
Image:Stuttgart NeuesSchloss.JPG|New Castle in Stuttgart
Image:Karlsruhe schloss gottesau.jpg|Castle in Karlsruhe
Image:Schloss in Ludwigsburg.jpg|Castle in Ludwigsburg
Image:Lichtenstein.jpg|Lichtenstein Castle
Image:Castle Sigmaringen2.jpg|Castle Sigmaringen
Image:DE BW Ulm-Muensterturm.jpg|Ulm Cathedral
Image:Schloss Langenburg 260604.jpg|Castle Langenburg
Image:Dom zu St. Blasien.jpg|Sankt Blasien Cathedral
Image:Weikersheim.jpg|Castle Weikersheim
See also
External links
