Ludwigshafen am Rhein
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ludwigshafen am Rhein | |
|---|---|
| 
|
|
| |
| Country | Germany |
| State | Rhineland-Palatinate |
| District | urban district |
| Population | 167,410 (2004) |
| Area | 77.68 km² |
| Population density | 2,155 /km² |
| Elevation | 96 m |
| Coordinates | 49°28′ N 8°26′ E |
| Postal code | 67001-67071 |
| Area code | 0621, 06237 |
| Mayor | Eva Lohse (CDU) |
| Website | ludwigshafen.de |
Ludwigshafen am Rhein is a city in Rheinland-Pfalz, (Rhineland-Palatinate) Germany, with about 163,000 inhabitants (2006). Ludwigshafen is located at the Rhine opposite Mannheim. Together with Mannheim, Heidelberg and the surrounding region, it forms the Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar (Metropolitan Area Rhine-Neckar). It is known for its chemical industry (BASF). Among the cultural facilities rank the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz and the renowned Wilhelm-Hack-Museum with its magnificent ceramic wall, which was arranged by the Catalan artist Joan Miró. Ludwigshafen is the birthplace of the former German chancellor Helmut Kohl, the philosopher Ernst Bloch and the world-famous German rock-climber Wolfgang Güllich.
Contents |
[edit] History
Early History
The area of modern Ludwigshafen was inhabited in prehistoric times already.
In antiquity, Celtic and Germanic tribes settled here and during the last century B.C., the Romans conquered the region and a Roman auxiliary fort was constructed near the present suburb of Rheingönheim.
In the Middle Ages, some of the later suburbs of Ludwigshafen were founded, for example Oggersheim, Maudach, Oppau and Mundenheim, but most of the area was still swampland.
The “Rheinschanze”
All the region belonged to the territory of the Kurfürst (Elector) von der Pfalz, the Kurpfalz, one of the larger states within the Holy German Empire, and the foundation of the new capital of the Kurpfalz, Mannheim, had decisive influence on the further development of the area on the opposite bank of the Rhine: Parallel to the foundation of Mannheim in 1606, a fortress ("Die Rheinschanze") was built by Kurfürst Friedrich IV on the other side of the River Rhine to protect the City of Mannheim, thus forming the nucleus of the city of Ludwigshafen itself.
But the region had a hard time in the 17th century, it was devastated and depopulated during the Thirty Years War and also in the French king Louis XIV ´s wars of conquest in the later part of the century.
It was only in the 18th century that the settlements around the Rheinschanze began to prosper and they profited from the proximity of the capital Mannheim. Especially Oggersheim gained some importance: There was a small palace serving as secondary residence for the Elector, the famous pilgrimage church Wallfahrtskirche was built and for some weeks in 1782, even the great German writer and playwright Friedrich Schiller lived in Oggersheim (admittedly, he was on flight from his native Württemberg).
War came back to the Ludwigshafen area with the armies of the French Revolution. The palace at Oggersheim was burned down, Mannheim besieged several times and all the area left of the Rhine was annexed by France from 1798 to 1813. The Kurpfalz was split up, the eastern bank of the Rhine with Mannheim and Heidelberg was given to Baden, the western bank (including the Ludwigshafen area) was granted to Bayern (Bavaria) after the Wars of Liberation 1813-1815, in which the French were expelled. So the Rhine had become a frontier and the Rheinschanze was cut off politically from Mannheim and lost its function as the neighbouring city´s military bulwark.
Foundation of Ludwigshafen
Already in 1808, during the French occupation, Carl Hornig from Mannheim had purchased the fortress from the French authorities and turned it into a resting place for French sailors that needed to pass from that area of the Rhine River. Later, the Rheinschanze with its winter-proof harbour basin (created by a flood in 1824) was used a trading post. Hornig died in 1819, but Johann Heinrich Scharpff, the businessman from Speyer, continued Hornig's plans, which were then turned over to his son-in-law, Philipp Markus Lichtenberger, in 1830. Their activities marked the beginning of the civilian use of the Rheinschanze.
The year 1843 was the official birth of Ludwigshafen, when Lichtenberger sold this property to the state of Bavaria (Bayern), and the military title of the fortress was finally removed. The Bavarian king, Ludwig I set forth plans to rename the settlement after himself and to start construction of an urban area as a Bavarian rival to Mannheim on the opposite bank.
During the failed German revolution of 1848, rebels took young Ludwigshafen, but they were bombarded from Mannheim (rumours said the Mannheimers didn´t aim at the revolutionaries, but on the rival harbour´s infrastructure) and Prussian troops quickly expelled the revolutionaries. On December 27, 1852, King Maximilian II granted Ludwigshafen am Rhein political freedom and as soon as November 8, 1859, the settlement gained city status.
Industry and Growth of Population
But this “city” was still a very modest settlement with just 1.500 inhabitants. The real growth began with industrialization, which gained enormous momentum in Ludwigshafen because of its ideal transport facilities: The perfect Rhine harbour has already been mentioned and in 1849 the railway connecting Ludwigshafen with the Saar coalfields was finished.
The year 1865 was an important date in the history of independent Ludwigshafen. After several discussions, BASF decides to move its factories from Mannheim to the Hemshof district, which belonged to Ludwigshafen. From now on, the city´s rapid growth and wealth was linked to the BASF´s success and the company´s expansion to one of the world´s most important chemical companies. With more jobs available, the population of Ludwigshafen started to increase very rapidly, so that in 1899 the city was governing more than 62,000 residents (Compared to 1,500 in 1852).
This rapid poulation explosion looked quite “American” to contemporaries, it determined Ludwigshafen´s character as a “worker´s town” and created problematic shortages of housing and real estates. The solution was the expansion of the municipal area and the incorporation of the two nearest villages, Friesenheim and Mundenheim, in the years 1892 and 1899. In the area between the town centre and those two suburbs new quarters (“North” and “South”) were built after (then) modern urban development plans. Because the ground was marshy and too low to be protected from Rhine floods, all the new houses were built on raised ground, sometimes as high as 5 meters above the original ground. You can see the original ground level in many backyards of Ludwigshafen, which are sometimes two floors below street level.
| Year | Population Total | |
|---|---|---|
| 1840 | ca. 90 | |
| 1848 | ca. 600 | |
| 1852 | ca. 1,400 | |
| 1858 | ca. 2,800 | |
| 1871 | ca. 7,900 | |
| 1885 | ca. 21,000 | |
| 1895 | ca. 40,000 | |
| 1900 | ca. 62,000 | |
| 1914 | ca. 94,000 | |
| 1925 | ca. 102,000 | |
| 1939 | ca. 144,000 | |
| 1945 | ca. 61,000 | |
| 1950 | ca. 124,000 | |
| 1956 | ca. 147,000 | |
| 1970 | ca. 180,000 | |
| 1985 | ca. 161,000 | |
| 1995 | ca. 171,000 | |
| 2000 | ca. 165,000 | |
| 2004 | ca. 166,000 | |
| 2006 | ca. 163,000 |
World War I and Inter-War Years
When World War I broke out in 1914, Ludwigshafen´s industry plants played a key role in Germany´s war economy. Many chemical ingredients of explosives and gunpowder for the forces, as well as much of the gas used on the Western Front, were fabricated in Ludwigshafen. This contributed to the fact that, on May 27, 1915, Ludwigshafen had the dubious honour of being the world´s first civilian settlement behind the lines to be bombed by air. French aircraft attacked the BASF plants, thereby killing twelve people and setting a precedent for the years to come.
When the war was lost for Germany in 1918, the left bank of the Rhine was occupied by French troops, according to the peace terms. The French occupation lasted until 1930, and some of Ludwigshafen´s most elegant houses were erected for the officers of the French garrison.
The economic recovery during the 1920es was thrown back by the worst explosion ever in a German industrial complex when, in 1921, a BASF factory blew up, killing more than 500, injuring a further 2000 and destroying countless buidlings.
Nevertheless, Ludwigshafen reached the population number of 100,000 in 1922, thus gaining “City” status and it prospered until the worldwide economic crisis of 1929 caused unemployment, trouble and the final rise of the Nazis.
Initially, the Nazi party had few followers and votes in working-class-dominated Ludwigshafen. But after 1933, when they had come to power in Germany, the Nazis succeeded in getting their ideas through in Ludwigshafen. The Ludwigshafen synagogue was destroyed in 1938 and its Jewish population deported in 1940.
But the Nazis also interferred with Ludwigshafens development as city. According to their ideology, many small houses with gardens were built, especially in the Gartenstadt. Further, similar to Nazi plans in other Cities (e.g. Hamburg), they aimed at creating a ”Greater Ludwigshafen” by assimilating smaller towns and villages in the vicinity. Thus Oggersheim, Oppau, Edigheim, Rheingönheim and Maudach became suburbs of Ludwigshafen and raised its population number to 135,000.
During World War II, the city was a prime target for strategic bombing because its two giant I.G. Farben plants, covering 1200 acres and employing 40,000 workers, produced much of Germany's ammonia, synthetic rubber, synthetic oil and other vital chemicals. The city's railroad yards were important targets too, and hundreds of small shops and factories produced war materials, such as diesel engines for submarines. Because the junction of Rhine and Neckar at Mannheim was visible by night; blackout was inneffective in Mannheim and Ludwigshafen; Allied bombers had few problems in finding the place by night.
The Luftwaffe ringed the city with 180 high-powered flak guns. Thirteen thousand Allied bombers hit the city in 121 separate raids during the war, of which 56 succeeded in hitting the Farben plant. Those 56 raids dropped 53,000 bombs each containing 250 to 4,000 pounds of high explosives, plus 2.5 million 4-pound magnesium incendiary bombs. (The bombers also dropped millions of warning leaflets ordering civilians to leave town immediately; they also dropped counterfeit ration coupons.) Clouds (or protective smoke) usually covered the target, so "pathfinder" planes identified the general vicinity with flares, and the bombardiers unloaded on the flares. This sort of "area bombing" was not especially accurate: out of 1,700 bombs dropped on January 7, 1944, only 127 hit the Farben plant. On average, 1.4 tons of bombs hit each acre of the Farben complex (but buildings covered only 25% of the ground, so most hit open land.) Bombing accuracy improved with experience; in a January 1945 raid, 1,000 high explosive bombs and 10,000 incendiaries fell within the factory fences, starting 10 large, 30 medium and 200 small fires. Bombs that missed the factory that day ruined 354 residences and dehoused 1,800 people.
The shelter system worked well, for only five people on the ground were killed. By war's end most dwellings were destroyed or damaged; 1,800 people had died, and 3,000 were injured. Local Nazi officials assisted the homeless and tried to incite the residents to hate the Allies. Most residents were fatalistic or passive, and were instead inclined to blame Berlin for their troubles. Thousands fled to villages or farms, but enough stayed behind to keep producing chemicals and to assist troop transports moving by rail to the battle of the Bulge. When draft calls removed German men, I. G. Farben replaced them with German women, with civilian "volunteers" from France or Italy, and with Polish and Russian prisoners. The foreigners worked to avoid death from starvation; the Nazis treated them brutally, and were negligent about their safety during the air raids. Systematic air attacks began in earnest in early 1944, and reduced production by half that year. Repairs took longer and longer, as spare parts were difficult to find. By December, so much damage had been done to vital utilities that output dropped to nearly zero. Followup raids every week ended production permanently. On March 1, 1945, infantry from Alexander Patch's Seventh Army ended Ludwigshaven's agony by seizing the city and liberating the slave laborers.
With more than 50% of its houses destroyed, Ludwigshafen was one of the most thoroughly bombed cities in Germany.
Postwar Rebuilding and Prosperity
As it had been after World War I, Ludwigshafen was occupied by the French. As part of the French occupation zone, it became part of the newly founded Bundesland(state) of Rheinland-Pfalz and thus part of the Federal Republic of Germany. Reconstruction of the devastated city and revival of the economy was supported by the Allies, especially by American aid. In 1948, the “Pasadena Shares Committee” sent packages of blankets, clothing, food, and medicines to help the residents of post-war Ludwigshafen. Many friendships started to form, so that in 1956, Ludwigshafen am Rhein and Pasadena, California became sister cities.
Large parts of the city were literally ruined, but because the BASF soon made enormous profits again, the city administration was wealthy enough to rebuild Ludwigshafen according to the architectural taste of the 1950es and 1960es. The most important projects were the Hochstraßen (highways on stilts), the revolutionary new main station (then the most modern station in Europe), several tower blocks and a whole new suburb, the satellite quarter Pfingstweide north of Edigheim.
The city´s trade tax profits also allowed a lot of social benefits and institutions to be introduced. Many other cities were jealous of Ludwigshafen´s wealth and the poulation number reached its all-time climax in 1970 with more than 180,000 inhabitants, thus surpassing even the capital of Rheinland-Pfalz, Mainz, for a while.
Financial Crisis and Bad Image
In the early 1970es, a plan to reform the composition of the German Bundesländer, which could have created a new state around a united Mannheim-Ludwigshafen as capital with more than half a million inhabitants, failed.
Nevertheless, further ambitious projects were financed in Ludwigshafen, first of all the 15-floor city hall with its linked-up shopping centre (Rathaus Center). The last (up to now) new incorporated suburb was Ruchheim in 1974.
But then a process began that accelerated during the 1980es and 1990es and caused the financial near-collaps of Ludwigshafen. The enormous maintenance costs of the buildings and institutions introduced during the “fat time”, new tax regulations that cut down the trade tax profits from the local industries, and thousands of dismissals in BASF were the main causes for the city´s crisis. Loss of population due to the loss of working places and general economic trends, such as the oil crisises, further worsened Ludwigshafens financial situation at the end of the 20th century.
The negative aspects of industrial success became obvious when examinations revealed the bad state of air and the Rhine due to pollution. There had always been some stench or dirt all over the city, caused by BASF and other plants, and as long as the industry had prospered, people had accepted it. Besides that, the concrete constructions that had been so modern after the war and had a formative influence on today´s townscape, were increasingly considered as obsolete and even as extremely ugly. The main station was rotting as a rarely used concrete monstrum.
So, in the 1980es and 1990es, Ludwigshafen had a really bad press as a near-bancrupt, ugly, dirty, industrial city.
Ludwigshafen Today
In recent years, many efforts have been made to enhance Ludwigshafen´s situation, image and the quality of life of its inhabitants. The city administration has cut down its deficit, pollution has been (not least by BASF) restricted drastically (for example, swimming in the Rhine is possible again), the formerly rotten Hemshof quarter has been restaurated thoroughly, new park areas have been laid out and attractive new housing estates (especially in Oggersheim, Ruchheim, Maudach, Rheingönheim) are under construction.
One of the most annoying faults of Ludwigshafen –at least for many of the city´s inhabitants- is its comparative lack of high-quality shopping possibilities. It has been attempted to repair this deficiency by creating a second large shopping mall on the southern tip of the city centre (the Walzmühle near Berliner Platz) with affiliated railway station (Ludwigshafen-Mitte) -with very mixed results. Hopes are now pinned on the planned construction of another shopping mall on the banks of the Rhine and on several other projects intended to make the city more attractive by “linking it with the river”.
For all its real and alleged shortages, Ludwigshafen has still enormous importance as industrial city. Quality of life is probably much higher than the common image of Ludwigshafen suggests and so the population has stabilized at about 165.000, Ludwigshafen being still second largest city of Rheinland-Pfalz (second to Mainz) and being on position 47 for all Germany.
[edit] City Structure and Suburbs
The city center of Ludwigshafen is comparatively small and dominated by post-war buildings. Its northern and southern boundaries are the Hochstraßen (highways on stilts), the Rhine is in the East and the main station is located in the West of downtown Ludwigshafen, at a walking distance of about 15 minutes from the central pedestrian precinct Bismarckstraße that forms, together with the shopping mile Ludwigsstraße, the main North-South Axis, connecting the so-called “Nort Pole” with the Rathaus Center and the “South Pole” with Berliner Platz and Walzmühle. The main East-West connections are the Bahnhofsstraße and Kaiser-Wilhelm-Straße. The Pfalzbau, Staatsphilharmonie, Wilhelm-Hack-Museum and the half-destroyed Lutherkirche are main features of downtown Ludwigshafen.
The Südliche Innenstadt or “southern city centre” (ca. 29,000 inhabitants) includes the real city center as described above and the Stadtteil Süd or “South” quarter. “South” belongs to the most attractive residential areas, especially the Parkinsel area. Other sub-quarters of “South” are the Musikantenviertel or the Malerviertel. In a few years, there will be another high-quality residential area (“Rheinufer Süd”) on the River Rhine near the Walzmühle on former industrial estates.
The Nördliche Innenstadt (ca. 22,000 inhabitants) includes the Hemshof, “North” and “West” districts. Hemshof and “North” represent the “old town” of Ludwigshafen, they are known for their very high proportion of foreign inhabitants, making them culturally diverse and “colourful”, but also somewhat socially problematic.”West” (also called Valentin-Bauer-Siedlung) is located between main station and main cemetery.
Friesenheim (ca. 18,000 inhabitants) is located north of Hemshof and is one of the two (the other one being Mundenheim) “mother villages” of Ludwigshafen, because they were responsible for the administration of Ludwigshafen prior to its independence. Helmut Kohl was born in Friesenheim. Its western district, the Froschlache, boasts four impressive tower blocks.
Oppau (ca. 10,000 inhabitants) in the North is dominated by the nearby BASF and had once been a town for its own, prior to its incorporation into Ludwigshafen. In its history, it has been afflicted by several catastrophes like the explosion of 1921 or the flood of 1882.
Edigheim (ca. 9,000 inhabitants) had once been a part of Oppau in the South, today ist almost as large as Oppau.
The Pfingstweide (ca. 6,000 inhabitants) is Ludwigshafen´s northernmost district, it is dominated by tower blocks and is located in close vicinity to Frankenthal.
The Gartenstadt (ca. 18,000 inhabitants), west of Mundenheim, is (as the name “garden city” suggests) a very green suburb, dominated by terraced houses and some tower blocks. Its sub-districts are Niederfeld, Hochfeld and Ernst-Reuter-Siedlung.
Mundenheim (ca. 13,000 inhabitants) is a very old suburb, it boasts an own railway station, the Südweststadion stadium and an extensive industrial area near the harbour basins. A sub-district is the Herderviertel in Mundenheim´s North.
Oggersheim (ca. 23,000 inhabitants)is one of the most important suburbs, being much like a town for itself. Helmut Kohl owns a bungalow in southern Oggersheim. The Wallfahrtskirche, a railway station, the important Unfallklinik (“accident hospital”), and several large residential blocks are to be found in Oggersheim. For the last few years, the northern subdistricts of Notwende and Melm have seen a large amount of building activities in their new housing estates.
Rheingönheim (ca 7,000 inhabitants), as the southernmost suburb of Ludwigshafen, is known mainly for its industry (Woellner) and its game eclosure Wildpark.
Maudach (ca. 7,000 inhabitants), in Ludwigshafen´s South-West, is a popular residental area, closely associated with the Maudacher Bruch park.
Ruchheim (ca. 6,000 inhabitants), as the westernmost suburb, has long been a small agricultural village, but now it is growing rapidly due to new housing estates.
[edit] Transport
Although Ludwigshafen itself has no airfield, it is well connected with several airports in the region. There are small airfields near Speyer, Bad Dürkheim and Worms, a medium-sized regional airport in Mannheim and the great Frankfurt International Airport in about an hour distance.
Ludwigshafen is still the most important German harbour left of the Rhine. The local industry depends on shipping their raw materials and products on the river. The harbour of Ludwigshafen consists of several basins in the South of the city near Mundenheim (Luitpoldhafen, Kaiserwörthhafen, Mundenheimer Altrheinhafen), the wharfs along the river parallel to the city centre and the BASF, and, finally, of the Landeshafen basin in the North.
Ludwigshafen has excellent Autobahn (motorway/highway) connections to all directions. Most important are the A 650 in West-East direction, the A 61 in North-South direction. But there are also A 6, A 65 and B 9 to be mentioned.
Ludwigshafen´s railway connections are excellent, too, but most trains go through and stop in nearby Mannheim. So, although Ludwigshafen has a huge main station, its impressive pylon bridge pier serving as the city´s landmark, it is rarely used. The extraordinary architecture of the station complex is caused by the need to connect three joining tracks (to Frankenthal/Worms/Mainz, to Neustadt/Speyer and to Mannheim) and to work in the underground Straßenbahn station and the massive road bridge above the concourse. Other railway stations are at Oggersheim, Mundenheim, Rheingönheim, and, of late, near Berliner Platz. Since 2003, the S-Bahn Rhein-Neckar suburban train system runs successfully in the region.
Ludwigshafen´s public transport system is run by the VBL (Verkehrsbetriebe Ludwigshafen) and the holding companies RNV and VRN. The Straßenbahn (tram/streetcar) network is closely connected with Mannheim, three lines (3,4,6) cross the Rhine bridges between the twin cities and a further two lines (10,12) run through Ludwigshafen only. In addition, there is the RHB (Rhein-Haardt-Bahn) long-distance tram, which runs from Bad Dürkheim to Ludwigshafen and Mannheim. The bus network consists of about ten municipal lines and further regional lines.
A rather strange feature of Ludwigshafen´s public transport system is the existence of five underground stations for the Straßenbahn (Rathaus, Danziger Platz, Hauptbahnhof, Heinrich-Pesch-Haus, Hemshofstraße). They go back to the 1970es, when a common underground network in Mannheim and Ludwigshafen was planned. The rash construction of these first stations in Ludwigshafen became superflous when Mannheim cancelled the project due to its enormous costs.
[edit] Region and Neighbours
The twin cities of Mannheim and Ludwigshafen closely cooperate in many areas; although they are separated by the Baden-Württemberg/Rheinland-Pfalz boundary, this frontier is mainly an administrative one, it is felt less by the two cities´ inhabitants, who feel a certain common identity as “Kurpfälzer”. Of course there is some rivalry between “Lu” and “Ma”, but it is restricted mostly to Mannheimers´ jokes about Ludwigshafens apparent ugliness and Ludwigshafeners´ gloating jokes about the BASF´s fumes beeing blown by the prevailing western winds to Mannheim. Nevertheless, many Ludwigshafeners prefer shopping and going out in Mannheim´s inner city, which is within easy reach. In the reverse case, many Mannheimers work in Ludwigshafen and many University of Mannheim students choose Ludwigshafen as residence because of its cheaper rents.
The surroundings of Ludwigshafen on the left bank of the Rhine are called Rheinpfalz, or Rhine Palatinate (not to confuse with Rhineland-Palatinate, which is the name for the far larger Bundesland/state) and are the easternmost part of the Pfalz (palatinate) region. The administrative district around Ludwigshafen is called Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis. North of Ludwigshafen, there is the industrial town of Frankenthal, famous for its china manufacturing. In the western vicinity of Ludwigshafen, there are several villages producing enourmous amounts of vegetables, thus securing the Rheinpfalz the titel of “Germany´s kitchen garden”. The district south of Ludwigshafen is dominated by the Rhine and the Altrhein arms (lakes marking the earlier course of the river) and the ancient town of Speyer with its magnificient imperial cathedral.
The regions with some more distance to Ludwigshafen include the beautiful Deutsche Weinstraße region with Germany´s largest winegrowing and fruit-growing area and the Pfälzer Wald hill range, Germany´s largest connected woodland area, in the West, the French region Alsace and the German Schwarzwald (Black Forest) hills in the South, the famous town of Heidelberg und the Odenwald hills in the East and the Rhein-Main region with the city of Frankfurt in the North.
[edit] Culture
Ludwigshafen invested a lot of money in cultural affairs, but in recent years, cultural institutions are struggling for sufficient money.
The Pfalzbau as a theatre and concert hall has regional importance, the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz keeps its own synphonic orchestra. In the Hemshof district, there are smaller theatres playing regional dialect plays.
The Wilhelm-Hack-Museum is known for its Miro wall and its medieval and modern art collections.
Several museums in Ludwigshafen concentrate on the city´s history, first of all the Stadtmuseum in the Rathaus Center, but also the Schillerhaus Oggersheim, K.O. Braun-Museum in Oppau or the Frankenthaler Kanal Museum in the North. The Fachhochschule Ludwigshafen (technical college) is specialised on economics and has an affiliated Ostasieninstitut (East Asia Institute). There is also the Evangelische Fachhochschule Ludwigshafen, specialised on social sciences.
[edit] Economy
Although the BASF is, of course, by far the most important industrial company in Ludwigshafen, there are many other firms. Trade and industry in Ludwigshafen have about 90,000 employees in total, with a annual total turnover of nearly 17 billion euros.
The BASF is the world´s leading chemical company, employing 80,000 people at all and about 35,000 (a few years ago, the employee total was about 55,000) of them in the Ludwigshafen plant, which is also the largest chemical plant in the world. The company´s main products are fertilizers, dye, coolants and many other chemical substances. The BASF is known for its extensive benefits programmes for its employees and for sponsoring cultural events in Ludwigshafen, especially in the Feierabendhaus in Friesenheim.
Among the other chemical companys with plants in Ludwigshafen rank BK Giulini, Abbott, Raschig and Benckiser. Other important branches of industry are mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, IT and brewery (Mayerbräu Oggersheim).
[edit] Media
Ludwigshafen is an important media site. The first ever private TV programme in all Germany was broadcasted from Ludwigshafen by SAT1 in 1984.
But there is also one of Germany´s first private radio broadcasters, RPR.
The Rheinpfalz daily newspaper is read all over the Palatinate and has a circulation of about 250.000.
[edit] Sports
Ludwigshafen belongs to the few German cities that never had a professional football club. This is all the more surprising, because Ludwigshafen is a typical “workers´ city” and it boasts a quite large (more than 40,000 places, admittedly not in the best condition) stadium, the Südweststadion, which has seen several international matches and some Bundesliga matches when 1. FC Kaiserslautern or Waldhof Mannheim used it as alternative stadium during the past decades.
Currently, the most successful Ludwigshafen football club is FSV Oggersheim, who are in the Oberliga (3rd Division).
A modern athletics hall has been constructed near the Stadium a few years ago.
The TSG Friesenheim plays in the German 2nd handball division.
[edit] Nature
Despite its image as “grey” industrial city, Ludwigshafen has a surprising variety of park areas. In fact, it has one of the highest portions of green spaces among Germany´s cities.
Apart from the numerous roadside trees, which make some quarters look like a “green sea” with some houses in it if seen from above, there are several municipal parks in Ludwigshafen: First of all the Ebertpark in the North quarter and Friesenheim. It was created for the South German Horticulture Exhibition in 1925 and offers a wide variety of leisure activities, including playgrounds, animal enclosures and the Friedrich-Ebert-Halle multi-purpose hall.
The official Stadtpark, or municipal park, is somewhat remote from the city centre, because it is situated on the Parkinsel, or park island, on the very banks of the Rhine. Although it is sometimes flooded by the river, this park is especially beautiful with its mile-long river promenade.
The Friedenspark is closer to the city centre, being located just north of the main station and west of the city hall. It is the youngest of Ludwigshafen´s parks, having been created on a former industrial area.
Further, there are numerous smaller parks in the suburbs, for example the Stadtpark Oggersheim, Riedsaumpark, Alwin-Mittasch-Platz and Friesenpark in Friesenheim, Stadtpark Oppau, Bürgerpark Pfingstweide or Zedtwitzpark Mundenheim.
But the most important park-like areas in Ludwigshafen are the numerous Altrhein areas on the outskirts. Very humid, former swampland has been turned into recreation areas with several lakes. The Maudacher Bruch in the West between Maudach, Gartenstadt and Oggersheim, is a very extensive, horse-shoe shaped area, including the Michaelsberg (126m), three lakes and many acres of forest. The Kief´scher Weiher in the South is connected with the River Rhine and serves as yacht harbour, being surrounded by camping areas. Other Altrhein areas are the Große Blies and the Willersinn (both with lido and swimming areas), and the forest south of Rheingönheim, were a nice game enclosure (Wildpark Rheingönheim) is located.
Finally, a distinct feature of Ludwigshafen is the large number of Kleingärten or allotment gardens, which are well dispersed all over the city´s area in several orderly grounds. Probably the large number of chemical and industrial workers and their need for recreation contributed to the founding of all those Kleingärten-clubs.
[edit] People Born in Ludwigshafen
Kurt Biedenkopf, former Ministerpräsident of Sachsen (1990-2002)
Ernst Bloch, philosopher
William Dieterle, Hollywood director
Wolfgang Güllich, rockclimber
Manfred Kaltz, football player
Helmut Kohl, former German chancellor (1982-1998)
Ernst Lehmann, Zeppelin captain of the “Hindenburg”
[edit] Sister cities
- Image:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Antwerp, Belgium
- Image:Flag of Germany.svg Dessau , Germany
- Image:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Havering, United Kingdom
- Image:Flag of France.svg Lorient, France
- Image:Flag of the United States.svg Pasadena, USA
- Image:Flag of Azerbaijan.svg Sumgait, Azerbaijan
[edit] Radio Stations
[edit] External links
- Official City Website
- Ludwigshafener Kongress- und Marketing-Gesellschaft mbH (in English)
- Wilhelm-Hack-Museum (in German)
- BASF Website (in German & English)
| Important cities and tourist sites in Germany: Area of Heidelberg / Rhine-Neckar | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||
| Urban and rural districts in the Federal State of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Urban |
Frankenthal | Kaiserslautern | Koblenz | Landau | Ludwigshafen | Mainz | Neustadt (Weinstraße) | |
|
Rural |
Ahrweiler | Altenkirchen | Alzey-Worms | Bad Dürkheim | Bad Kreuznach | Bernkastel-Wittlich | Birkenfeld | Bitburg-Prüm |
de:Ludwigshafen am Rhein et:Ludwigshafen es:Ludwigshafen eo:Ludwigshafen fr:Ludwigshafen id:Ludwigshafen am Rhein it:Ludwigshafen sul Reno nl:Ludwigshafen am Rhein ja:ルートヴィヒスハーフェン no:Ludwigshafen pl:Ludwigshafen ru:Людвигсхафен simple:Ludwigshafen fi:Ludwigshafen sv:Ludwigshafen vo:Ludwigshafen zh:路德维希港
