Sinsheim

Federal state: Baden-Württemberg

Population: 35 000

Area: 127 km2

Rivers: Elsenz

Location: 49° 15' N 08° 53' O

History

Sinsheim lies at the heart of the Kraichgau region between Heidelberg and Heilbronn. The Kraichgau has been settled since ancient times and is one of Europe's oldest cultural areas. Our earliest European forefather, homo heidelbergensis, inhabited the region more than half a million years ago.

The discovery of his fossilised jaw bone in a quarry near the village of Mauer between Sinsheim and Heidelberg in 1907 attracted worldwide publicity. Scientists estimated the age of the fossil at between 620,000 and 750,000 years old. Sinsheim was first historically mentioned in 770 in the Lorsch Codex, in which a certain Hagino bequeathed a courtyard in "Sunnisheim" to the monks of Lorsch. The Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV awarded the town its charter in 1192.

The oldest existing seal showing the Imperial Eagle dates from 1300. Sinsheim was pledged to a series of different feudal lords in the 13th and 14th centuries, including the Margrave of Baden, the Lords of Gemmingen and Hirschhorn, and the Palatine Counts. Goethe travelled through the town in 1797 and wrote of a "cheery country town" in his journal Dichtung und Wahrheit (Poetry and Truth).

Sinsheim was a noted centre of the democracy and freedom movement during the European revolutionary period. After a merger with the districts of Eppingen and Neckarbischofsheim in 1924, Sinsheim became a county town. In the period after World War II, the town took in tens of thousands of refugees. In an administrative reform of 1973, the old rural county of Sinsheim was abolished and the town absorbed a number of outlying communities to become a "large county town".

Portrait

Situated 22 kilometres south-east of Heidelberg, Sinsheim belongs to the state of Baden-Wurttemberg. The town of 35,000 is known around Germany for its Auto & Technik Museum just off the A6 Autobahn, opposite which a new stadium for Bundesliga 2 outfit TSG 1899 Hoffenheim is currently under construction.

Pride of place at the Auto & Technik Museum go to a Concorde, a Tupolev Tu-144 and a retired Lufthansa 747 jumbo jet, alongside an extensive collection of Formula 1 race cars. The city is bisected by the Elsenz, a small tributary of the Neckar which is not navigable. Burg Steinsberg, an old fortress in the village of Weiler dating back to the 13th century with an octagonal tower, and sometimes called the "compass of the Kraichgau", is the town's principal landmark.

The Burg has been in municipal ownership since 1973. The inner courtyard, a superb events location, hosts a summer drama festival, with the Steinsberg Festival and further theatre events at other times. Another historic landmark is the Michaelsberg Abbey tower, part of a Benedictine monastery established in 1100.

The original monastic buildings and the associated outhouses are well worth a visit. The old hospital was constructed beneath the abbey in 1803. Services were provided by a duty doctor and a female attendant. Even servants and journeymen would be offered accommodation for a couple of nights. The centre of Sinsheim is also rich in historic buildings. The town boasts a sizeable trade fair facility hosting year-round exhibitions.

More than 4,000 townspeople work in manufacturing industry. Sinsheim hosts a number of amateur theatre groups, including the Würfeltheater, the Friedrich-Hecker-Theater, the Max-Weber-Theater and the Sinsheimer Theaterkiste. The latter employs professional directors on a variety of productions including popular, children's, cabaret, classical and comedy shows.

Sights:

Auto & Technik Museum

Burg Steinsberg

Citydome cinema

Friedrich-der-Grosse Museum

Sinsheim Abbey

Football

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim are rarely out of the headlines at the moment. Hoffenheim lies four kilometres to the west of Sinsheim, where the new TSG Arena is under construction. Dietmar Hopp, co-founder of the SAP software giant, is the wealthy patron behind the minnows' breathtaking ascent through the divisions. The club won promotion to the fourth tier of the German game in 2000, repeating the feat and gaining admission to the third division south just a season later.

TSG Hoffenheim were promoted to Bundesliga 2 in 2006-07. The current head coach is former VfB Stuttgart and Schalke 04 boss Ralf Rangnick. Construction of the St. Leon-Rot women's football academy is also underway on an adjacent site.

Frankfurt Stadium

The Frankfurt Stadium in was formerly built as the Waldstadion in 1925. Among the national socialists in the thirties, the Waldstadion was also used for political meetings such as deployments and assemblies, with up to 150,000 participants.

Frankfurt 2011

Federal state: Hessen
Population: 662 000
Area: 248 km²
Rivers: Main, Nidda
Location: 50° 07' N 08° 41' O

History
The first recorded mention of Frankfurt dates from an imperial assembly and church synod presided over by Charlemagne in 794. Situated at the crossroads of numerous European trade routes, Frankfurt began to emerge as one of the continent's most important trade and finance centres in the Middle Ages. Jewish sources dating from 1150 report on (autumn) fairs in Frankfurt.

In 1329, the Emperor Ludwig granted the city a second annual fair. From 1330 onwards, the spring fair became a hub for the continent's nascent import-export trade. Emperor Charles lV's Golden Bull confirmed Frankfurt as the location for the election of German kings. From 1562, Frankfurt supplanted Aachen as the city where Emperors were crowned. The city was capital of the German Confederation from 1816 until 1866, and the first freely elected German parliament convened in St Paul's Church in 1848-9. Frankfurt was extensively damaged in the Second World War, with the Old Town practically obliterated.




In 1949, Chancellor Konrad Adenauer narrowly prevailed with his choice of Bonn as capital of the new Federal Republic ahead of Frankfurt, which had even constructed a parliament building for the purpose. The building now houses the local state broadcaster. After many years of acrimonious debate, skyscrapers have become the defining element of the modern city. Alongside the Romer Town Hall, the skyline is the city's symbol and trademark. Frankfurt rates as a leading international finance and business centre, and boasts branches of more than 490 domestic and foreign banks, including the headquarters of Deutsche Bank and the European Central Bank. The ECB will move to a new skyscraper in the east of the city in 2012.



Portrait
The usual top-of-mind associations with Frankfurt are the airport, St Paul's church, Goethe, the German stock exchange, the Book Fair, skyscrapers - and sausages. The city offers a fascinating mix of opposites, a buzzing global crossroads combined with the charm of a village. Internationalism is Frankfurt's leitmotiv: almost a third of the citizens hail from outside Germany, but many districts remain homely to the point of introversion.



The half-timbered houses, narrow alleyways and timeless pubs of Sachsenhausen or Hochst, serving the locals' favourite Ebbelwoi or apple wine, conjure up something close to a rural idyll. However, big business is omnipresent in the banking quarter and the airport. The finance and insurance industries employ 70,000 staff. Just 12 kilometres outside the centre, another 70,000 or more work as civil servants, security personnel and retail staff at the airport, Germany's single biggest centre of employment.



Frankfurt is a globally significant trade fair and exhibition centre. The leading events include the Book Fair, first held in the 15th century, the IAA motor show, and Ambiente, the world's biggest consumer durables fair. The jewel in the city's cultural crown is Museumsufer, a series of outstanding museums ranged along the riverbank. Frankonovurd, the original name of the settlement, means ford of the Franks, indicating a section of the River Main shallow enough in medieval times to be crossed by wading.



Romerberg square and the 14th century Town Hall form the heart of the Old Town. By contrast, the unique skyline has prompted the nickname 'Mainhattan'. The Messeturm was the tallest building in Europe at 257 metres on completion in 1990, only to be supplanted seven years later by the 300-metre tall Commerzbank Tower. Plans are in place for further skyscrapers to shape the ever-modern skyline.



Sights:
Cathedral
St Paul's church
Stadel Museum
Alter Oper opera house
Palmengarten botanical gardens



Football
Frankfurt rates as the capital of German sport, home to leading organisations such as the German Football Association (DFB) and the German Olympic Sports Federation (DOSB). The citizens and their guests from all over the world will never forget the extraordinary atmosphere before, during and after the city's five 2006 FIFA World Cup™ matches at the Frankfurt Arena.



Frankfurt also staged five matches at the 1974 finals, including the Opening Match between Brazil and Yugoslavia, and a legendary battle in torrential rain between Germany and Poland. The stadium was also a venue for the 1988 UEFA European Championship and FIFA Confederations Cup 2005, including the Opening Match and the Final between Brazil and Argentina.



Eintracht Frankfurt boast one of the richest histories in German club football. Eintracht celebrated their greatest triumphs in winning the 1959 German championship and the 1980 UEFA Cup. Local heroes include 1974 FIFA World Cup winners Bernd Holzenbein and Jurgen Grabowski, and "Charly" Korbel, whose 602 appearances are a Bundesliga record. FFC Frankfurt have utterly dominated the Women's Bundesliga for many years, winning the league and Cup seven times apiece, and the UEFA Cup thrice. Far and away the country's most successful women's club, FFC Frankfurt have nurtured greats of the domestic and international game including Birgit Prinz, Steffi Jones and Silke Rottenberg.

Wolfsburg 2011

Federal state: Niedersachsen

Population: 121 000

Area: 204 km2

Rivers: Mittellandkanal

Location: 52° 25' N 10° 47' O

History Wolfsburg is one of the few new towns founded in Germany in the first half of the 20th century, and will be 70 this year. The city was specifically established to manufacture the VW Beetle, an iconic vehicle which was to become a symbol for all that was good about "made in Germany", and a shining example of Germany's prowess in automobile manufacturing.

Following the laying of the foundation stone for the VW factory on 26 May 1938, the President of the Province of Hanover approved the foundation of the "City of the KdF Car near Fallersleben" as of 1 July 1938. The original plan envisaged a modern industrial town of 90,000 to 100,000 inhabitants, laid out on the lines of a Garden City with extensive open space dividing living, working and transportation zones.

However, the war put an end to the KdF Car project and the national socialist concept of an exemplary working-class community. Instead, forced labourers and POWs turned out military equipment at the plant. Two-thirds of the factory was destroyed in the war, but the residential areas survived almost unscathed. On 25 May 1945, Wolfsburg received its present name after the eponymous castle in the city.

The decision of the British occupying forces not to demolish the factory would have far-reaching repercussions for the town. The arrival of refugees in their thousands provided plenty of manpower. The stage was set for the dramatic economic recovery of the 50s and 60s, as the Beetle came to symbolise the Wirtschaftswunder, the German economic miracle. The one millionth Beetle came off the line in 1955.

Portrait In 1972, as a result of local government reforms in Lower Saxony appending nearby communities to the town, Wolfsburg's population broke the 100,000 barrier and it officially became a major urban area. Autostadt, a theme park located to the north of the Mittelland canal devoted to automobiles, opened its doors in 2000.

The inaugural match at the city's new football stadium to the east of Autostadt took place two years later. Wolfsburg is the leading economic and commercial centre in Lower Saxony. The southern approach to the city is marked by numerous culturally significant buildings, such as the Alvar Aalto cultural centre housing the muicipal library and adult education centre, a theatre designed by Hans Scharoun, a Planetarium and the new Arts Museum.

Wolfsburg also hosts an Italian government cultural institute. "Young life in the old castle" is the umbrella philosophy for the activities at the Renaissance castle, a complete contrast to the ultra-modern city. The programme includes contemporary art, artistic and educational workshops, music and theatre events and a museum.

The Museum for Poetry and Democracy in the 19th Century at Fallersleben Castle illustrates an important aspect of German history. Private cultural initiatives have also increasingly emerged in recent years, growing out of an active club and association scene. Wolfsburg's parks boast a total area almost twice as large as Central Park in New York. The city's most famous son is the poet Hoffmann von Fallersleben, who wrote the words to the German national anthem ( Das Lied der Deutschen).

Sights
Autostadt
Allerpark
Fallersleben Castle
Burg Neuhaus
Arts Museum

Football VfL Wolfsburg is one of the very few German clubs to field teams in both the men's and the women's Bundesliga. The men were promoted to the top flight in 1997. The women's team was formed in 2003, after the WSV Wendschott women's Bundesliga team was incorporated into VfL Wolfsburg-Fußball GmbH. Women's football has been a success in Wolfsburg since 1973. Now-defunct VfR Eintracht Wolfsburg reached the 1984 German Cup final but fell 2-0 to SSG Bergisch Gladbach.