European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 13, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse Tote Entrance to the Kun Sthall a famous Art gallery. Fhe painted ceiling in the Chipel h the Mannheim pm Der. Story and photos by Andrew Cowin Vidu say you have time on your hands and a yen to discover a unique Wisl German City How does this sound a i own Wilh a Rich history and Eye catching baroque buildings impressive healers and in Orl gallery of International standing one of Europe s finest Parks Ami on excellent shopping censer the description fits Mannheim yes Mannheim. Though ils general reputation now is Hal of a somewhat Gritty Industrial Center Mannheim was known in the Halcyon Days of the Ibsh Century As the second such celebrities As Mozart Goethe and Voltaire were frequent visitors. The Point where the Rhine and Neckar converge is a natural site for a town indeed As Early As 766, we find the first mention of however he present Day town traces its origins 1o 1607, when Kurfirst elector Palatine Frederick in granted various liberties and privileges to the area s inhabitants. In the previous year he had Laid the foundation Slone for a new fortified Palace there. Disaster marked the town s Early years. In 1622. The emperor s army Laid the town waste about 70 years later Louis Xiv s troops did the same things began to Itzik up in 1720, when Kurfurst Karl Philipp who Harl grown lived of the draft ruins of Heidi la web it Sale and the argumentative character of its Ali ens decided to move to Mannheim Hal year he began Gorlion a new Castle modelled on the palate at Versailles. It was to Lake 4o years to Complete and is still one of largest in Europe. Its front is almost a half Kilometre Long and its 400 rooms have More than 2,Odd windows. Most of this astonishing building is now the Home of Mannheim s University but some of the most imposing rooms have been painstakingly restored and Are open to the Public. The admission fee is 1.50 Marks. Operating hours from april 1 to oct. 31 Are 10 to 11 30 . And 3 to 4 30 . Tuesday through sunday the rest of the year it is open Only on saturdays and sundays the Small Chapel on the right As visitors enter the main Gale of the Complex is always open and has a very attractive ceiling painting. Just Over the Road from the Castle stands the Jesuit Church of St. Ignatius and Francis Xavier one of the finest baroque buildings in Baden. The Church was begun on the command of Karl Philipp i in 1733 and was completed in 1760. Despite suffering damage during world War ii it remains an impressive Structure with its monumental facade and remarkable dome. The Interior is extraordinarily spacious. The curious octagonal building Al the East end of the Church was an Observatory built for the court astronomer Christian Mayer. The Castle and Lepuil Church were shrewdly sited on raised ground Safe from floods. Other parts of the City were less fortunate the land being marshy and prone to visits from the Rhine and Neckar. The town was bid out Bylthe dutch architect Barll Janson in 1606 on a sort of Checkerboard design Hiil will be familiar to inhabitants of Manhattan. This formal has been retained so Hal the town Center called the quadrate consists of 144 squares identified not by Street names bul by the letters a to u Wilh an adjoining number. This confusing system which Means thai an address May consist Only of something like a 8,14," Dales Back to 1b11. In the Center of the town is the Altes Rathaus old Lown Hall and the Ungere Pfar Kirche which were Buill Between 1700 and 1723. The Mark Platz directly opposite them is the site of a bustling Market on tuesday thursday and saturday mornings. The successor of Karl Philipp was his grandson Karl Theodore under whom Mannheim knew its greatest hours this Kurfirst was in open handed Patron of the arts and the sciences and Mannheim became a Center of culture whose Ion spread across Europe. However the glory Days were of Short duration in 1778, Karl Theodore became Duke of Bavaria and was compelled la Lake himself and his court off to Munich. His influence was loss. One of his last gestures however was to found a Heater in Mannheim which four years later was the scene of the premiere of Schiller s subversive play the robbers one of the most famous events in the history of the German theater. The theatrical reputation of Mannheim is still Strong and the new theater opened in 1957 offers a Broad Range of High Quality dramatic and operatic performances. Shortly after Karl Theodore s departure Mannheim suffered yet another wartime setback. This time it was the austrian who Only left 11 houses standing. In some ways More catastrophic for the cily s development was Napoleon s reorganisation of the German states in 1b02, As a re Sull of that Mannheim loss its Central position in the Kur Pfalz and was consigned to a Corner of the duchy of Baden 12 if Ipei a Guine october 13, isl Al
