Baden-Württemberg

Understand

Among the West-German states, Baden-Württemberg is one of the youngest, having been founded in 1952 through a unification of administrative areas that, until the end of WWI in 1919, had been mostly covered by the kingdom of Württemberg, the grand-duchy of Baden and the Hohenzollern lands that belonged to Prussia. The consequence of this - and that's the important bit a traveller should know - is that there are now two tribes living together in the state: Badener in the west and Schwaben in the east. Both speak different dialects (see below) and share a love-hate relationship towards each other that's nurtured with a lot of humour. For what unites both tribes and the rest of the people living here is a pride for "their" Baden-Württemberg and what they have made of it since its creation, that's surprising for Germans from up north. Since 1999, the state has been advertising itself all over Germany with the slogan "We can do everything - except speak Standard German." (Wir können alles; außer Hochdeutsch), a tongue-in-cheek play on the infamous dialects (see below). And indeed, Baden-Württemberg is one of Germany's economic powerhouses. It consistently boasts one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country, hosts several top-tier universities, and has one of the highest GDP per capita figures in Germany. It consistently ranks among the top regions in Europe for innovation and research spending. And, famously, the percentage of people owning their own home is by far the highest in Germany - which aligns well with the cliché of the Eigenheim obsessed people from Swabia. The Swabiand stereotypical creed is Schaffe, schaffe, Häusle baue - "Work, work, and build a house". The region's success is often attributed to its historical roots: while today the population is almost equally divided between Catholics, Protestants, and the non-religious, the Reformation left a lasting mark. The influential Protestant work ethic emphasizing diligence, self-discipline, and modesty is

Getting there

By plane Stuttgart Airport STR IATA is an international airport that is served by all major carriers. Budget airline Eurowings, a low-cost daughter of Lufthansa, has its hub at Stuttgart Airport, offering connections from many smaller airports in Europe. Frankfurt airport (FRA IATA), the busiest airport in mainland Europe, although not in Baden-Württemberg, is well within reach by train (90 min from FRA to Stuttgart main station via the high-speed ICE connection). For most "traditional" airlines and many German charter airlines, a train ticket from FRA can be booked together with the flight for a reduced price or even for free. See rail air alliances for details. Low-fare airlines offer services to the local airports of Karlsruhe-Baden Baden (FKB IATA) and Friedrichshafen (FDH IATA). "Frankfurt Hahn" (HHN IATA), the big hub for low-fare airlines, should not be confused with FRA. In stark contrast, it has no train station and is in a rather remote location. It is possible to get from Hahn into Baden-Württemberg rather conveniently, but it definitely takes a lot longer and is much more hassle than from FRA. For the southern part of Baden-Württemberg, the airports in Zurich, Switzerland, and the EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse on French territory are convenient, too. Another option is Memmingen (FMM IATA) which is deceptively marketed as being close to Munich, while in actuality it is much closer to southern Baden Württemberg than to Munich.

By train All major cities are well connected through the Deutsche Bahn (DB) rail system. Ulm, Karlsruhe, Mannheim, Heidelberg, Stuttgart and Freiburg even have ICE connections (slick; comfortable; white high speed trains travelling at up to 250km/h). Tickets can be booked via the Deutsche Bahn website. Baden-Württemberg (as well as some other regions in Germany) offers a special regional train ticket (in this case; the Baden-Württemberg-Ticket). It's valid from 9AM-3AM on weekdays and midnight until 3AM on weekends. A second class

Getting around

By train and bus Baden-Württemberg has an excellent rail network, serving even quite remote areas. Especially rural villages are served by buses which generally leave from main train stations in larger towns and cities. Buses are quite frequent near big cities, but especially on weekend in rural areas there are only 2–4 bus connections a day. All connections can be checked at this website. If you're travelling within Baden-Württemberg, you can purchase the Baden-Württemberg-Ticket, which will give you all-day travel in regional trains (categories S; RB; RE and IRE) within Baden-Württemberg and also to some cities closely beyond the state's boundaries, like Basel, Lindau and Würzburg. You can use it for trains of all operators, and most of local buses and city transport. On working days the ticket is valid 09:00-03:00 the following day. On weekends it is valid the entire day. It is sold on most ticket vending machines within the region. These are the variants of Baden-Württemberg-Ticket:

Baden-Württemberg-Ticket (€26.50 for single traveller; + €8 for each additional traveller; up to five total travellers) Baden-Württemberg-Ticket Nacht ("Night"; €23.50 + €8 for each additional traveller) -- for groups of up to five people, valid from 6PM to 6AM the following day (7AM if the following day is weekend or public holiday) There also is a first-class variant, starting at €34.50. For general information about Länder-Tickets see Rail travel in Germany#Länder-Tickets.

Regional offers For the Stuttgart Metropolitan Region ("Metropolregion Stuttgart"), which covers nearly half of Baden-Württemberg's territory and much of what can be practically be reached on a day trip from Stuttgart, the Metropolticket is a slightly cheaper day ticket than the Baden-Württemberg-Ticket: €20 for the first traveller, €5 extra for additional travellers, up to five total travellers. The allowed times of day are the same as for the Baden-Württemberg-Ticket. They also are sold at most ticket ve

See

High culture Stuttgart. The green capital with its world-class opera house the Staatstheater, city castle and famous gallery of modern art. Mannheim. The "Squared City" is almost unique in Germany in being a planned, rectilinear city and has one of the most important theatres (the National Theatre) besides being the first city in the world to have cars powered by an internal combustion engine driving on its streets. Heidelberg. The romantic student city with its famed castle, Germany's oldest University and scenic setting at the opening of the Neckar valley into the Rhine valley is an absolute must. Ulm. In the southeast, where citizens built the world's tallest church.

Nature Black Forest. The world famous Black Forest to the east of the Rhine Valley has been declared national heritage and will gradually return into a wild state over the next century. Swabian Mountains. The Schwäbische Alb in the south is a rough landscape with limestone geology, featuring huge caves,