A variety of landscapes such as that of the Black Forest, Lake Constance and the Swabian Mountains, and cities like Heidelberg, Baden-Baden and Stuttgart make Baden-Württemberg an internationally favoured travel destination. With more than 38 million hotel bookings, that federal state was Germany’s second most important tourist destination after Bavaria. As an economic factor, tourism equates with mechanical engineering and the car industry. Tourism provides about 200,000 jobs. In addition to culture and nature, visitors to the South-West of Germany are attracted by culinary highlights like the regional specialities Zwiebelrostbraten and Spätzle, Maultaschen or Schupfnudeln. Of all the German federal states, Baden-Württemberg is the proud possessor of the most gourmet stars.
The former royal seat is on the northern foothills of the Black Forest close to the Rhine. A particular feature are the roads leading in fan-form to the castle. Karlsruhe is now the seat of the Federal Constitutional Court and the Federal Supreme Court.
The picturesque city on the river Neckar is Germany’s recordholder. With 20,000 students to about 85,000 inhabitants, Tübingen has the highest student density of all German university towns. Tübingen was also the home of numerous scholars and poets: Kepler, Hegel, Hölderlin, Schelling, Mörike, Hauff and Hesse.
This small town gained international fame through the „Donaueschinger Musiktage für zeitgenössische Tonkunst.“ Last year alone about 10,000 visitors came here to attend 20 premieres by artists from 15 nations in the town where the Danube rises.
Germany’s southernmost large city is nicknamed „Solar City.“ Not just because of the 1800 sunhours per year, which give Freiburg an almost Mediterranean flair. The university town bordering on the Black Forest is quasi the centre of German solar energy; nowhere else are solar energy research and its practical application so widely pursued.
The Romans already appreciated the healing powers of the thermal springs in Baden-Baden. The advantageous location close to the French border, the mild climate, the elegant ambience and the eleven warm springs make the former summer residence of the Grand Duke of Baden an internationally-loved spa and health resort today. Large wooded areas adjacent to the high Black Forest mountain road are conducive to long walks. But Baden-Baden is not just famous for its springs. The casino founded in 1838, the annual horse races in Iffezheim and the new concert hall attract a lot of visitors.
With its delightful landscape, the harmonious ensemble of castle and old city centre directly on the river Neckar, and its location in the midst of green hills, Heidelberg qualifies as the most beautiful city in Germany. For millions of tourists the name is closely associated with the term romanticism. This has to do not just with the appearance of Heidelberg, but above all with its literary significance: in the mid-19th century the town on the Neckar was the hub of high and late romanticism, attracting many poets, including Clemens Brentano, Achim von Arnim and Joseph von Eichendorff. Today, with the oldest university in Germany, Heidelberg is one of the state’s most important research centres.
Close to the Swiss border lies Constance, the largest city on the lake of the same name. The wonderful location on Germany’s largest inland waterway is one of the particular attractions of this picturesque city. Its urban profile is marked by medieval buildings in the old centre and the long lakeside promenade.
