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Mannheim is a city in Germany. With 307,640 inhabitants it is the second largest city in the state of Baden-Württemberg after the capital Stuttgart.

Mannheim is situated at the confluence of the Rhine and Neckar rivers, in the northwestern corner of Baden-Württemberg. The Rhine separates Mannheim from the adjunct Rhineland-Palatinate city of Ludwigshafen The Hessian border is north of the city. Mannheim is the largest city of the Rhine Neckar Area, a metropolitan area with 2.4 million inhabitants.

Mannheim is unique among German cities in that its downtown area is laid out in a grid pattern (called i - squares), much like many North American cities. The main route through the squares leads to an enormous 18th century castle that houses the University of Mannheim.

Mannheim is also home of the i

Mannheim is first mentioned in a document from 766, the "Codex Laureshamensis" from the Lorsch Cloister. It is listed as "Mannenheim" (Home of Manno). It remained a village until Frederick IV, Elector Palatine initiated building the fortress Friedrichsburg and the adjacent grid-like city core.

The city was destroyed subsequently in the Thirty Years' War in 1622 by Tilly's troops, and in the Nine Years War for the Palatinate succession in 1689 by the French.

Rebuilt, in 1720, Mannheim replaced Heidelberg as the capital of the Palatinate. It was then that Karl III Philip, Elector Palatine started construction of the Mannheim Castle and the Jesuitenkirche. They were completed in 1760. In the 18th century Mannheim was home to the so-called Mannheim School of classical composers. It was reputed for having one of the best court orchestras in Europe.

Carl Benz invented and drove the world's first car in Mannheim in 1885. Earlier still in 1817, Karl Drais invented and rode the first two-wheeled contraption called Laufmaschine or velocipede - the very start of horseless personal transport. And banker Otto Hermann Kahn was born there.

Traditionally, DaimlerChrysler has a large presence in Mannheim. Today, trucks and buses are assembled there. The Swiss Roche Diagnostic group formerly known as Boehringer Mannheim has its division headquarters in Mannheim. Additionally, the city has also attracted large factoriesLudwigshafen is surrounded by a ring of motorways connecting it to Frankfurt in the north, Karlsruhe in the south, Saarbrücken in the west and Nurembergn in the east.

Mannheim's main station is southern Germany's most important train junction and part of the ICE high speed train system with connections to Frankfurt, KarlsruheBasel and Stuttgart. The city is also home to the second largest river port in Germany.

Although Frankfurt International Airport is only 65 km north, since 2004 there are daily domestic passenger flights from Mannheim City Airport (IATA code MHG) to Berlin, Hamburg and Saarbrücken.