By Laura Vieth
Mannheim has a long tradition and was first mentioned in the Lorsch Codex in 766. Although Mannheim only received its city privileges in 1607. Today, it is the third largest city in Baden-Württemberg, after Stuttgart and Karlsruhe. It is also the economic and cultural centre of the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region. Due to its long history, many special buildings and revolutionary inventions, we want to introduce you to the sights of the city and tell you why to take a private flight to Mannheim.
Mannheim Palace
The baroque palace was built between 1720 and 1760 and served as the residence of the Elector of Palatine between 1720 and 1777. Unfortunately, the palace was almost completely destroyed during the Second World War. It was even considered to demolish the remaining part of the palace. However, the decision was taken against this in 1947 and the reconstruction was completed on 28 March 2007. It is the second largest baroque palace in Europe, after Versailles. Nowadays, the castle is mainly used by the University of Mannheim. There are several libraries as well as lecture halls. Nevertheless, the castle is also open for tours, which can be booked online.
Square City
Mannheim is known as a square city. Elector Friedrich IV laid the foundation stone for the city in 1606. The city had to fulfil all the military requirements as well as the ideals of the Renaissance. It was constructed with a chestboard pattern, instead of streets it was divided into blocks of houses. However, these 144 squares hardly correspond to a real square, but look more like rectangles or trapezoids. The squares stretch from the castle to the Neckar and between the water tower and the Kurt Schumacher Bridge.
The rows of squares are divided into the letters A to U and numbered consecutively. The higher the number, the further out the square lies. This may sound confusing to outsiders, but at the corner of every house you will find blue signs telling you which square you are in.
Water Tower
The water tower is Mannheim’s landmark and part of the largest contiguous Art Nouveau complex in Germany. The tower was built between 1886 and 1889 and is 60 metres high and has a diameter of 19 metres. Around the water tower there are several green areas, water basins, fountains and sandstone figures of the Greek mythology.
In summer there are illuminated water games and in winter the Mannheim Christmas market starts here at the water tower. There you can eat delicious food and visit craft shops.
Inventions
A lot of people probably don’t even know it, but many inventions that are taken for granted today find their origin in Mannheim.
- First of all, there is the draisine/ bicycle. It was invented by Karl Drais in 1817. He drove it for around 7 kilometers from M1 (one of the squares mentioned above) to the “Schwetzinger Relaishaus”.
- In 1880, Werner von Siemens built the world’s first electric lift. Formerly known as the “vertical lift”, the lift was presented at the agricultural and industrial Pfalzgau Exhibition in Mannheim.
- Definitely one of the most important inventions was made by Carl Benz in 1886: the automobile. The car achieved its desired economic triumph in 1888 when his wife drove it from Mannheim to Pforzheim. Which is around a 90 kilometers distance. On the way, she had to stop at pharmacies to “refuel” and since there were no road signs yet, she had to orientate herself by river courses and railway lines.
- On 17 September 1929, the first rocket plane took off at an airfield close to Frakfurt. It was built by Julius Hatry, who was only 20 years old. Hatry launched his machine with the help of a catapult. Three rockets, each with a thrust of 350 kiloponds and a burn time of four seconds, propelled the plane to take off. At 100 kilometres per hour at an altitude of 10 metres, the machine covered about 350 metres.
Rhine-Neckar Region
The Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region is a conurbation and planning region around the border triangle of Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Hesse. Major cities in the region are Mannheim, Heidelberg (both Baden-Württemberg) and Ludwigshafen am Rhein (Rhineland-Palatinate). The region is easy to reach with well-developed motorways and offers many jobs due to it’s well developed chemical and automobil industry. But the region not only offers jobs, but also beautiful cities with a long history and nature for relaxation.
City Airport Mannheim
The airfield in Mannheim exists since 1926 and has since gained great importance for the region. The location is an advantage, especially in the economic sector, because people from the prevail industries can reach the airfield fast and don’t have to drive to bigger airports far away. From the city centre, you can reach the airfield in 10 minutes by car. The airport is open from 6am to 9pm on workdays and from 8am to 8pm on the weekends and holidays.
The City Airport is perfectly suited for private flights. The airport only offers a few scheduled flights, and even these are limited to a small number of passengers. This makes check-in as well as the security check very fast and makes it possible to arrive at the airport only shortly before departure.
Our fleet consists of Cirrus SR22 and Piper PA46 Meridian aircraft, with which we will fly you to your desired destination.
Take a private flight to Mannheim with Fly Aeolus
Would you like to take a private flight to Mannheim? On our destinations page, you can look at our 1600 destinations in Europe to find the right airport for your trip. Furthermore, you can use our price calculator to get a first overview of what a private jet to Mannheim with Fly Aeolus would cost you.
If you would like to visit other major German cities, we can also recommend our blog entries about Hamburg, Düsseldorf and Berlin.
If you have any questions or would like to receive further information, you can either send us an e-mail to info@flyaeolus.com or call us on +32 (0)3 500 9082.