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BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG
- The title of this article contains the character ü. Where it is unavailable or not desired, the name may be represented as Baden-Wuerttemberg.
Baden-Württemberg is a state of Germany in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine. It is third largest in both area and population among the country's sixteen states, with an area of 35,742 km² and 10.7 million inhabitants. The state capital is Stuttgart.
Geography
The state borders on Switzerland to the south, on France to the west, and on the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate (northwest), Hesse (north) and Bavaria (east).
Its principal cities include Stuttgart, Mannheim, Karlsruhe, Freiburg, Heidelberg, Heilbronn, Ludwigsburg, Ulm, Tübingen, Pforzheim and Reutlingen.
The Rhine forms the western border as well as large portions of the southern border. The Black Forest (Schwarzwald), the main mountain range of the state, rises east of the Rhine valley. Baden-Württemberg shares both Lake Constance (Bodensee) and the foothills of the Alps with Switzerland.
The Danube (Donau) river has its source in Baden-Württemberg near the town of Donaueschingen, in a place called Furtwangen in the Black Forest.
See also List of places in Baden-Württemberg.
Administration
Baden-Württemberg is divided into 35 districts and 9 independent cities, both grouped into the four Administrative Districts (Regierungsbezirke) of Freiburg, Karlsruhe, Stuttgart, and Tübingen.
Map
Furthermore there are nine independent cities, which do not belong to any district:
- Baden-Baden
- Freiburg
- Heidelberg
- Heilbronn
- Karlsruhe
- Mannheim
- Pforzheim
- Stuttgart
- Ulm
History
This state combines the historical states of Baden, Hohenzollern and Württemberg. After World War II the Allied forces established three states: Württemberg-Baden (occupied by the USA), Württemberg-Hohenzollern (France) and Baden (France). In 1952 these states merged in order to form the State of Baden-Württemberg; the 1949 constitution of West Germany contains special clauses (Article 118 and 118a) that makes mergers possible. In the case of Berlin and Brandenburg, the citizens of Brandenburg did not agree.
Politics
- 1952 - 1953: Reinhold Maier (FDP/DVP)
- 1953 - 1958: Gebhard Müller (CDU)
- 1958 - 1966: Kurt Georg Kiesinger (CDU)
- 1966 - 1978: Hans Karl Filbinger (CDU)
- 1978 - 1991: Lothar Späth (CDU)
- 1991 - 2005: Erwin Teufel (CDU)
- since 2005: Günther Oettinger (CDU)
2006 state election results
See also: Baden-Württemberg state election, 2006
| Party |
Party List votes |
Vote percentage (change) |
Total Seats (change) |
Seat percentage |
| Christian Democratic Union (CDU) |
1,748,781 |
44.2% |
-0.6% |
69 |
+6 |
49.7% |
| Social Democratic Party (SPD) |
996,095 |
25.2% |
-8.1% |
38 |
-7 |
27.3% |
| Alliance '90/The Greens |
462,889 |
11.7% |
+4.0% |
17 |
+7 |
12.2% |
| Free Democratic Party (FDP) |
421,885 |
10.7% |
+2.6% |
15 |
+5 |
10.8% |
| Labour and Social Justice Party (WASG) |
121,875 |
3.1% |
+3.1% |
0 |
0 |
0.0% |
| The Republicans |
100,079 |
2.5% |
-1.9% |
0 |
0 |
0.0% |
| All Others |
108,741 |
2.6% |
0.0% |
0 |
+0 |
0.0% |
| Totals |
3,960,345 |
100.0% |
|
139 |
+11 |
100.0% |
Education
Baden-Württemberg is home to some of the oldest, most renowned and prestigious universities in Germany, such as the universities of Freiburg, Heidelberg and Tübingen. Other university towns are Karlsruhe, Konstanz, Mannheim and Ulm. Furthermore, two universities are located in the state capital Stuttgart, the University of Hohenheim and the University of Stuttgart.
External links
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