Places of interest in Mannheim

Mannheim is the third largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart and Karlsruhe and is home to one of the largest palace complexes in the world with its baroque palace.

Since Mannheim was granted city privileges in 1607, it became the residential city of the Electoral Palatinate in 1720 and a few decades later became the industrial city of Baden and is still considered a student city today. A special feature of Mannheim is the fact that it is known as the “city of squares “, meaning that the city is divided into a total of 144 squares, all of which are numbered consecutively. The city center is simply called “The Squares”, and the higher the number, the further out the district is.

The baroque palace in Mannheim

The baroque palace in Mannheim was built in three construction periods between 1720 and 1760. With its wide cour d’honneur and 440-metre-long façade, it is the largest baroque palace in Germany and one of the largest palaces in Europe. Most of it belongs to the University of Mannheim, with one section serving as a palace museum. Some of the historic interior rooms house an exhibition that provides information about life at the electoral court. Over 800 exhibits are on display

The palace chapel, which can also be visited on special guided tours, contains the tombs of the Elector and his wife.

The palace itself offers its visitors all sorts of things: there is the Knights’ Hall with its impressive ceiling paintings, four state rooms that were used as imperial quarters and the original library cabinet.
A visit during the semester break or at the weekend is recommended, but the hustle and bustle of students doesn’t disturb anyone and shows how the building is still full of life today.

Jesuit Church in Mannheim

The Jesuit Church of St. Ignatius and Franz Xaver is a Catholic church in the center of Mannheim and is located in square A4. It was built and completed between 1738 and 1760 and makes a rather inconspicuous impression from the outside. However, this changes when you enter the church, which features baroque works of art such as the ceiling fresco. True connoisseurs will immediately notice that the Jesuit church was built true to the Roman model of the mother church “Il Gesù”.

If you visit Mannheim in good weather, you can walk from the Jesuit Church to the green area of Schillerplatz and relax on the lawn or in one of the surrounding cafés.
The church is open from Monday to Sunday from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm and admission is free.

The water tower

The Roman water tower is the landmark of the city of Mannheim. It stands 60 meters high in the middle of Friedrichsplatz and is the largest Art Nouveau structure in Germany. It was built in the 1880s and became a listed building in 1987. The Christmas market is held here in winter and the fountains are illuminated in the evening during the summer months. If you take a walk here, you will be surprised by water fountains and sandstone figures from Greek mythology.

Pretty arcades make a stroll through the park a special experience.

The Luisenpark

If, on the other hand, you are looking for a larger green space, you should visit Luisenpark. This is where Mannheim residents can take a break from the hustle and bustle of city life. Especially in the lower part of the park, which is the oldest and has meadows and flowerbeds for relaxation.

The upper part of Luisenpark is a completely different story. Visitors have to pay admission here, but in return they can ride across the pond on so-called gondolettas, take part in a tea ceremony or visit the plant show house. Here you can discover tropical plants and numerous animals such as butterflies and monkeys. Families with children can also look forward to cool playgrounds.

The best thing is that there are restaurants, cafés and kiosks all over the park. You don’t have to go back into the city to eat and drink and can relax at the end of the day. To be found at Theodor-Heuss-Anlage 2.

The Technomuseum

Sounds like techno music at first, but it is actually the State Museum of Technology and Labor. It focuses primarily on industrial history from the industrial revolution of the 18th century to the present day and is one of the largest technology museums in Germany. Here you not only get to see 200 years of technological and social history, but can also experience for yourself how things work at various experimental stations.

Children of all ages get their money’s worth at the Technoseum in Mannheim: set a steam engine in motion yourself? Build a bridge? Or immerse yourself in virtual reality and watch a factory being planned? All this is possible. From mechanics to electrical engineering and robotics, you can try out all sorts of things here. Even paper production at the vat.

Opening hours are daily from 9:00 to 17:00 and admission is €9 for adults and €6 for children. Children under 6 years have free admission.