Baden-Württemberg

With an area of 35,750 km² and 10.5 million inhabitants, Baden-Württemberg lies in south-western Germany to the east of the upper Rhine, and is third largest in both area and population among the country's sixteen Bundesländer (federal states). The capital is Stuttgart.

Geography The state borders on Switzerland to the south, France in the west, and the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and Bavaria.

Its principal cities include Stuttgart, Mannheim, Karlsruhe, Freiburg, Heidelberg, Heilbronn[?], Ulm, Tübingen, Pforzheim[?] and Reutlingen[?].

The Rhine forms the western border as well as large portions of the southern border. East of the Rhine there is the Black Forest (Schwarzwald), the main mountain range of the state. In the south Baden-Württemberg shares in the foothills of the Alps and in Lake Constance (Bodensee). The source of the Danube is located in the state.

Administration Baden-Württemberg is divided into 35 districts, grouped into the four Regierungsbezirke Freiburg, Karlsruhe, Stuttgart, Tübingen.

Map

Furthermore there are nine independent towns, which don't belong to any district:

1. Baden-Baden
2. Freiburg
3. Heidelberg
4. Heilbronn[?]
5. Karlsruhe
6. Mannheim
7. Pforzheim[?]
8. Stuttgart
9. Ulm

History

The state combines the historical states of Baden and Württemberg. After World War II the Allied forces established three states: Württemberg-Baden (US), Württemberg-Hohenzollern (french) and Baden (french) - in 1952 these territories were merged in order to form the state of Baden-Württemberg.

External link

• For the state's official website, see http://www.baden-wuerttemberg.de/