Baden-Württemberg
[key], state, 13,803 sq mi (35,750 sq km), SW Germany. Stuttgart is the capital. It was
formed in 1952 by the merger of Württemberg-Baden, Württemberg-Hohenzollern, and
postwar Baden, all of which came into being after 1945. It includes the
historic states of Baden and Württemberg, the former principality of
Hohenzollern,
and the former district of Lindau, Bavaria. The state borders on
Switzerland in the south, France and the Rhineland-Palatinate in the west,
Hesse in the north, and Bavaria in the east. Drained by the Rhine (which
forms its border on the west), the upper Danube, and the Neckar,
Baden-Württemberg includes the Black Forest in the southwest, Lake
Constance in the south, and the Swabian Jura in the southeast. It is a
forested and fertile land (the Rhine plain is one of the most fertile areas
in Germany), but lacks valuable mineral deposits. Industries (chiefly the
manufacture of electrical goods, clocks, watches, textiles, and the assembly
of motor vehicles) are the main employers and are centered at Stuttgart,
Mannheim, Karlsruhe, Heidelberg, Freiburg, and Ulm. Agriculture, forestry,
and livestock raising are also important. One of the largest and most varied
tourist areas of Germany, Baden-Württemberg has the picturesque
Neckar valley, the idyllic forests and lakes of the south, and the famous
spas of Baden-Baden and Wildbad. Freiburg and Heidelberg have noted
universities. The history of Baden-Württemberg is the history of
Baden and of
Württemberg.
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