Baden-Württemberg

Baden-Württemberg is a federal state (Bundesland) in Germany. Its world famous Black Forest and the celebrated, romantic city of Heidelberg are top tourist destinations within Germany and Central Europe, but there is much more to see.

Baden-Württemberg is part of the southern German-speaking world where dialect and tradition remain strong. It shares many traditions with its neighbours in Alsace, France to the west and in Switzerland and Vorarlberg, (Austria) to the south. It's also much more rural and bucolic than central and northern Germany; this makes it a popular destination for visiting natural spas with supposed curative properties or going on long hikes in its many old-growth forests.

Alternative spellings of the Land's name are Baden-Wuerttemberg and Baden-Wurttemberg.

Regions

Bodensee Region Lake Constance, on the border with both Switzerland and Austria, is Germany's largest lake, a source of drinking water for millions and a haven for hikers, cyclists and sailors. Around its banks, you can discover Stone Age settlements, the "Flower Island" Mainau. Further inland, the region boasts many cities with history reaching deep into the Middle Ages, like Ravensburg, famous worldwide for jigsaw puzzles.

Black Forest The world famous Schwarzwald was declared the first national park in Baden-Württemberg in 2014. The region around it is the heart of historic Baden, with Kurorts such as Baden-Baden, as well as rich history reaching back to the early medieval times, exemplified by the university city of Freiburg.

Swabian Mountains The Schwäbische Alb in the south is a rough landscape with limestone geology, featuring huge caves, deep blue lakes (e.g. the Blautopf) and long walking trails.

Stuttgart Region The dense yet very green metropolitan area around the Land's capital on the river Neckar can surprise with the beauty of its vineyard-adorned landscape and wealth of cultural attractions.

Northern Baden-Württemberg The northern part of the Land is quite densely urban, especially in its west, with important and famed cities like Mannheim, Karlsruhe, Heilbronn and Heidelberg.

Cities

• 1 Stuttgart - the green capital with its world-class opera house the Staatstheater, city castle and famous gallery of modern art
• 2 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 for most tourists
• 3 Freiburg - the "Jewel of the Black Forest" is a laid-back, beautiful university city which enjoys one of the sunniest and warmest climates among German cities
• 4 Konstanz - on the border with Switzerland at Lake Constance
• 5 Baden-Baden - spa town built on thermal springs at the edge of the Black Forest
• 6 Karlsruhe - a fan-shaped city towards the beautiful Karlsruhe palace
• 7 Ulm - the Lutheran city with the world's tallest church
• 8 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)
• 9 Reutlingen - the "gate to the Swabian Mountains". One of the biggest cities, powerful in trading, manufacturing and education amidst of a beautiful landscape.
• 10 Tübingen - beautiful university town with crooked half-timbered houses in a charming historical city centre

Other destinations

• Bergstraße – a route with vineyards and several attractive towns between Darmstadt and Heidelberg
• Upper Swabia (Oberschwaben) also known as the Westallgäu area of Allgäu

Understand

Rainbow over the Hohenzollern Castle in the Swabian Mountains

The unique, Manhattan-like street grid is the distinguishing feature of Mannheim

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 doing quite well in terms of economics compared to other places in Germany. It boasts the lowest unemployment rate among all states, some of the best universities in Germany, a GDP per capita that rivals Switzerland and is the only German state that still has a higher birth than death rate. The European Statistics Office (Eurostat) has called Baden-Württemberg the "high-tech central of Europe". 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 little house".

The main reason for all those superlatives lies deeply in the history of the land: Although nowadays there are about as many Catholics as Protestants and believers of other denominations living in Baden-Württemberg (and a third group of comparable size without religious faith), during the reformation South-West Germany was strongly influenced by the schools of Martin Luther, John Calvin and Huldrych Zwingli, which left behind a society with moral values circling around hard work, self-control and the general motto "God helps those who help themselves".

Hence the country that was once dirt poor, having to struggle with hard winters and frequent famines, today is plastered with high technology companies. The most important sectors are mechanical engineering (most famously Robert Bosch), Chemistry, Biotechnology and, above all, motor vehicles. The state is also where the car was invented, at least according to the locals. And while there may be other claimants, this state has the Bertha Benz Memorial Route and a pharmacy on the route where she stopped to get gas can legitimately be called "the first gas station". Daimler and Porsche were founded and still have their headquarters around Stuttgart; Audi, Volkswagen and others have large plants in the state. If you count the small and medium-sized suppliers, every other employee in Baden-Württemberg is working for the car industry, directly or indirectly. As Max Weber, a philosopher at Heidelberg University said, around here, it's "Capitalism as it was meant to be".

With that said, Baden-Württemberg has become one of Europe's most politically "Green" regions, as Green politicians perform exceptionally well there. In fact, Stuttgart was one of the first German cities to have a Green mayor.

• Official tourism site. 

Talk

While every region in Germany has its own Germanic "dialect" in addition to Standard German (Hochdeutsch) Baden-Württemberg (together with parts of Bavaria and Saxony), is among those regions where the "dialect" is actually the native language of the near-majority of the population (except in the north).

The traditional "dialect" in most of the state is Alemannic (Alemannisch) which is by far the main language in German-speaking Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Vorarlberg in Austria, as well as being spoken natively by many in western Bavaria and as a minority language in Alsace in eastern France. As it is divided into numerous local dialects and has its own written language, it is very disputed as to whether it is a dialect or in fact a separate language. More and more people understandably state the latter. Ultimately, the old Yiddish adage applies - a language is a dialect with an army and a navy.

The exact proportion between native speakers of Standard German and Alemannic is unclear; however in general more Alemannic speakers are found in rural areas than in say, Stuttgart, where Standard German nowadays seems to be the more common mother tongue.

Kurpfälzisch is the traditional language in the north of the state (i.e. the region surrounding Mannheim and Heidelberg) but standard German is what dominates in most places. That said, it is still spoken by many people in the rural areas.

As good as all Alemannic-speakers are fluent in Standard German and many also in English, even in rural areas, but also tend to be surprisingly proud of their "dialect" and learning a few words or phrases in it might in fact not be the most foolish thing to do. Although native Standard German-speakers are a majority in many cities, you still will encounter plenty of native Alemannic-speakers as well, some of whom might in fact be uneasy about speaking Standard German (mostly rural elders).

All in all though, language is not a major barrier, and even a monolingual English-speaker should have no difficulty truly enjoying this sunny part of Germany.

As the state borders France, it may be possible to come across people who speak basic French, especially along the border.

Get in

Stuttgart, the Land's capital, has the largest airport within Baden-Württemberg

By plane

1 Stuttgart Airport (STR ^IATA), ☏ +49 711 948-0. Stuttgart has an international airport which is served by all major carriers. Budget airline Eurowings, a low-cost daughter of Lufthansa, has its hub at Stuttgart Airport, offering connections to and 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).

Travellers beware: "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 ticket for one person was priced at €24 (with each extra additional passenger just €6). First class tickets cost €32 with each extra additional passenger €14. These prices are valid if you buy the ticket at a machine or in the Internet. An additional charge of €2 is added if you buy the ticket at a service centre. The ticket can be used on all regional trains within Baden-Württemberg except InterCity (IC), InterCityExpress (ICE), EuroCity (EC) and some special trains as well as on almost all public buses and for all vehicles of the transport associations within Baden-Württemberg. The same ticket also entitles for travel to selected cities outside the state such as Basel and Kreuzlingen in Switzerland, Würzburg and Lindau in the neighboring state of Bavaria.

By bus

The long-distance bus market is exploding in Germany, since a new law was passed in 2013. There are dozens of daily services from most major cities, which are often significantly cheaper than trains. Most buses offer amenities like Wi-Fi and power outlets and some can even transport bicycles.

Get around

Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart

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 vending machines within the region.

Not to be confused with the Stuttgart Metropolitan Region, the Stuttgart Region ("Region Stuttgart") covers a smaller area of roughly 40 km (25 mi) around the centre of Stuttgart and offers tickets at still lower prices valid within their region. See Stuttgart Region#Get around.

There are about 20 distinct local transport authorities ("Verkehrsverbünde", Map) all over the state, offering tickets valid for both their respective regional trains and buses.

By car

Of course you can always use your car. If you are travelling in the Black Forest or the Swabian Alb during winter, bring snow chains as some smaller roads may not see snow ploughs frequently enough. When travelling on the Autobahn, the same precautions as everywhere on German high speed roads apply: If you're not willing (and prepared) to drive consistently at or above the official reference speed of 130 km/h (81 mph), stay on the right. Move to the right if that lane is vacant for a stretch long enough to safely use it, use your common sense, don't drive faster than you can think.

See

Stuttgart's museums and cultural institutions are world-famous

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 is the location of Germany's oldest university

• 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. 

  

  See the world's tallest church steeple in the medieval old town of Ulm

• 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, deep blue lakes (e.g. the Blautopf) and long walking trails. 
• Lake Constance. The Lake Constance (Bodensee) at the border to Switzerland and Austria is Germany's largest lake, source of drinking water for millions and a haven for hikers, cyclists and sailors. Around its banks, you can discover Stone Age settlements, the "Flower Island" Mainau and the medieval peninsula of Lindau where the living Nobel Laureates of the world meet once a year. 

Castles

• Hohenzollern Castle. Like much of Germany, Baden-Württemberg is sprinkled with beautiful castles. From the ancient home of the Hohenzollerns (the house Kaiser Wilhelm II was a member of) to the homes of the Württemberg Dukes and Kings. 

Ancient history

• Stilt house museum (Pfahlbau Museum Unteruhldingen). Open air museum with reconstruction of stone age and bronze age stilt settlement in Uhldingen-Mühlhofen. 
• Celtic museum (Keltenmuseum), Hochdorf (near Vaihingen an der Enz). Reconstruction of burial mound and farmstead. This museum was opened where a Celtic burial mound was found in 1950s. 

Tourist routes

• Bertha Benz Memorial Route. The route follows the tracks of the world's first long-distance journey by automobile in the year 1888, performed by Bertha Benz, the wife of Dr Karl Benz, the inventor of the automobile. It starts and ends in Mannheim. 
• Bergstraße. The route follows the western edge of the Odenwald mountain range. Along the route are vineyards and several attractive towns. 

Do

• With the abundance of hills, low mountains, picturesque valleys and forests, as well as quite evenly dispersed hospitable settlements, Baden-Württemberg is among the best places in Europe to go hiking
• If you prefer travelling by car, you may want to follow the Bertha Benz Memorial Route, and visit the Mercedes-Benz and Porsche museums in Stuttgart
• Enjoy the beautiful Lake Constance by getting on a boat or ship in the Bodensee Region
• ...or fly a Zeppelin in Friedrichshafen!
• 1 Härtsfeld-Museumsbahn, Dischinger Str. 11, Neresheim, ☏ +49 7326 5755. Once abandoned and now restored by enthusiasts, this metre-gauge railway operates steam trains and diesel motor cars through rustic areas. It operates on the first Sunday of each month from May to October, plus on other scheduled event days. (updated Aug 2020)
• Go skiing on Feldberg surrounded by the gorgeous Black Forest.

Eat

Maultaschen mit Kartoffelsalat, the staple dish of the region

• Spätzle. The "national dish" of Württemberg is Spätzle, a freshly prepared pasta made from eggs, flour, salt and water (and nothing else). It is typically served topped with cheese (Kässpätzle) or lentils and sausage (Spätzle mit Linsen und Saitenwürschdle). 
• Maultaschen. Similar to ravioli, Maultaschen consists of an outer-layer of pasta dough, which encloses a filling traditionally consisting of minced meat, smoked meat, spinach, bread crumbs and onions and flavoured with various herbs and spices. Mostly served in a soup (in der Brühe) or as cut slices and fried in a pan with onions and scrambled eggs (geröstet). 
• Zwiebelrostbraten (onion-topped roast beef with gravy). It is the traditional Sunday dinner dish of the Swabian cuisine and served in every better restaurant. The meat used for Zwiebelrostbraten is traditionally a standing rib roast cut, which is called "Rostbraten" in German. The fried roast beef is topped with roasted onions (German: Zwiebeln) and served with spaetzle and mostly a mixed salad. 
• Swabian potato salad (Kartoffelsalat). Mostly eaten as a side-dish, the Swabian potato salad (Kartoffelsalat) which, in contrast to the northern German variety is prepared with broth instead of mayonnaise, creating in effect a completely different dish. 

Drink

• Beer. With 185 different breweries Baden-Württemberg is on the second rank after Baveria. There are some breweries of note in the region, of which the state-owned Rothaus or Welde are two beers which enjoys cult status. 
• Wine. Baden-Württemberg contains some of Germany's most significant wine-growing regions. Much of the wine economy is in the hands of local co-operatives and the locals enjoy the wine in old-fashioned wine cellars. The best wine grows in an area called the Kaiserstuhl in Baden. 
• Spirits. Fruit brandies, e.g. Obstler (distilled from apples and pears) and Zwetschgenwasser (plums) are just two of the most common spirits. The queen of Schnapps is without any doubt the Kirschwasser (also sometimes referred to as Kirschwaesserle) made out of Morello cherries from the black forest area. These are commonly drunk after a meal in a restaurant. 

Stay safe

Baden-Württemberg is one of the safest regions in Germany. In large cities like Mannheim and especially Stuttgart, be aware of theft. Other regions are safe and you can travel alone without any problems. Even walking alone late at night is no problem. When out hiking and trekking have a map and take proper clothing. The forests are thick and dark and surprisingly rural considering the population density of Central Europe. Whilst walking in forests, you should be aware of ticks as they carry Lyme disease. Take extra care and if you see a tick you should brush it off immediately and seek medical advice if a noticeable bite occurs.

Go next

• France is only a short drive away.
• You could go south into the Alps of Switzerland and Austria.
• Go to Bavaria to experience the rest of southern Germany.