Nearly a thousand years ago, Mannheim, Germany, was mentioned in a legal transaction in 766 A.D. as “Mannenheim.” It was the first written record of the village, which is contained in a document known as the Codex Laureshamensis from Lorsch Abbey .

Mannheim stayed a village until the fortress of Friedrichsburg and the city’s grid-like core were constructed in the beginning of the 17th Century, in 1606. The small village today has grown into a metropolitan area with a population numbering 2.4 million people. Here, you will find a city brimming with history and architecture, from the amazing symmetry of Mannheim’s streets with 142 identical blocks in the downtown region to the intricately designed Water Tower, to Mannheim Residenzschloss, the largest Baroque castle in Germany.

The castle and palace took over forty years to build, beginning in 1720. Prince Elector Carl Phillip wanted to relocate his home from Heidelberg to Mannheim over differences in religion with the Protestants. He died in 1742, the same year in which the castle’s foundation stone was laid; his successor, Carl Theodor, who lived from 1742 to 1799, oversaw the completion of the castle.

Damaged during World War Two, the castle was entirely rebuilt in the 1950s. Its most noted features include the ornamental knights’ hall and the former palace library. It’s possible to still walk through the old castle gardens that grows between the castle and the Rhine; inside the castle church, you’ll also find the crypt containing a highly decorated coffin of Carl Phillip.

In the 21st Century, the castle is still in use; the University of Mannheim uses over 400 of the castle’s rooms, containing over 1,400 windows, for educational purposes, internationally renowned for its business school. While the palace is a great place to visit, if you want to stay overnight in the city, try one of the many Mannheim hotels nearby.

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