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98-578: The coat of arms features a golden crowned eagle on a blue background. The eagle derives from the fact that, at one time the town was ruled directly by the emperor of Germany. After his invasion of Gallia , Gaius Iulius Caesar made the Rhine river the border between the Roman Empire and Germania . Some small areas east of it were later invaded and added to the Roman province of Agri Decumates . As it

196-649: A (cf. gamba > jambe ), and the diphthong au would be unexplained; the regular outcome of Latin Gallia is Jaille in French, which is found in several western place names, such as, La Jaille-Yvon and Saint-Mars-la-Jaille . Proto-Germanic *walha is derived ultimately from the name of the Volcae . Also unrelated, in spite of superficial similarity, is the name Gael . The Irish word gall did originally mean "a Gaul", i.e. an inhabitant of Gaul, but its meaning

294-426: A French army under Beauharnais . From the year 1797, Germersheim belonged to France , incorporated into the newly created Mont-Tonnerre department in 1798. It was conquered by Bavarian troops in 1814. After being retaken in 1814, Germersheim's Bavarian rulers started to build a fortress in 1831. It was completed in 1855, although excavations for underground passages continued until 1861. By this time, however,

392-574: A Gallo-Roman culture , Gallia remained the conventional name of the territory throughout the Early Middle Ages , until it acquired a new identity as the Capetian Kingdom of France in the high medieval period. Gallia remains a name of France in modern Greek (Γαλλία) and modern Latin (besides the alternatives Francia and Francogallia ). The Greek and Latin names Galatia (first attested by Timaeus of Tauromenium in

490-573: A siege of Gergovia , a fortified town in the center of Gaul. Caesar's alliances with many Gallic clans broke. Even the Aedui, their most faithful supporters, threw in their lot with the Arverni but the ever-loyal Remi (best known for its cavalry) and Lingones sent troops to support Caesar. The Germani of the Ubii also sent cavalry, which Caesar equipped with Remi horses. Caesar captured Vercingetorix in

588-674: A university town , and a major transportation hub between Frankfurt and Stuttgart, including an ICE interchange (the Mannheim Hauptbahnhof ), Germany's second-largest marshalling yard (the Mannheim Rangierbahnhof ), and Germany's largest inland port (the Mannheim Harbour ). The city is home to many factories, offices and headquarters of several major corporations such as Roche , ABB , IBM , Siemens , Unilever and more. Mannheim's SAP Arena

686-680: A combination of Roman and Celtic practice, with Celtic deities such as Cobannus and Epona subjected to interpretatio romana . The imperial cult and Eastern mystery religions also gained a following. Eventually, after it became the official religion of the Empire and paganism became suppressed, Christianity won out in the twilight days of the Western Roman Empire (while the Christianized Eastern Roman Empire lasted another thousand years, until

784-516: A form of excommunication from the assembly of worshippers, which in ancient Gaul meant a separation from secular society as well. Thus the Druids were an important part of Gallic society. The nearly complete and mysterious disappearance of the Celtic language from most of the territorial lands of ancient Gaul, with the exception of Brittany, can be attributed to the fact that Celtic druids refused to allow

882-410: A higher humidity in summer which causes a higher heat index. Snow is rare, even in the cold months. Precipitation occurs mostly during afternoon thunderstorms during the warmer period (average days of thunderstorms in a year is 40–50). The climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate

980-518: A key role in Germany's war economy. This contributed to the fact that, on 27 May 1915, Ludwigshafen was the world's first civilian settlement behind the battle lines to be bombed from the air. French aircraft attacked the BASF plants, thereby killing twelve people. The precedent was set for this attack by Germany's repeated air raids against British civilian populations throughout southeastern Britain during

1078-558: A migration into southern Britain in the Bronze Age, during the 500-year period from 1300 to 800 BC. The newcomers were genetically most closely related to ancient individuals from Gaul. The authors describe this as a "plausible vector for the spread of early Celtic languages into Britain". The major source of early information on the Celts of Gaul was Poseidonios of Apamea , whose writings were quoted by Timagenes , Julius Caesar ,

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1176-715: A new location. At the old location, there is a monument to Friedrich Schiller and the Zum Zwischen-Akt pub. The housing shortage led to the development of many new residential areas. In 1964, the City Hospital ( Städtisches Krankenhaus ) became part of the Heidelberg University for Clinical Medicine in Mannheim . In 1967, the University of Mannheim was established in the city. In 1975,

1274-724: A number of early centers along the Seine , the Middle Rhine and the upper Elbe . By the late 5th century BC, La Tène influence spread rapidly across the entire territory of Gaul. The La Tène culture developed and flourished during the late Iron Age (from 450 BC to the Roman conquest in the 1st century BC) not only in France but also what is now Switzerland , northern Italy , Austria , southern Germany , Bohemia , Moravia , Slovakia and Hungary . A major archaeogenetics study uncovered

1372-718: A population of around 317,000. The city is the cultural and economic centre of the Rhine-Neckar , Germany's seventh-largest metropolitan region , with nearly 2.4 million inhabitants. Mannheim is located at the confluence of the Upper Rhine and the Neckar in the Kurpfalz ( Electoral Palatinate ) region of northwestern Baden-Württemberg. The city lies in the Upper Rhine Plain , Germany's warmest region, between

1470-568: A result of the invention of the pre-combustion chamber by Prosper L'Orange , Benz & Cie. developed the world's first compact diesel-powered car at its motor works in Mannheim in 1923. In 1922, the Grosskraftwerk Mannheim (Mannheim large power station) was opened. By 1930, the city, along with its sister city of Ludwigshafen, which had developed out of the old Mannheim Rheinschanze, had a population of 385,000. During World War II , air raids on Mannheim completely destroyed

1568-456: A temporary transport system. A number of major projects were completed in the 1980s and 1990s: a planetarium, an extension to the art gallery, the new Reiß Museum, Stadthaus, a new May Market ground, synagogue, mosque, State Museum for Technology and Work , Carl-Benz stadium and the Fahrlach tunnel were opened. Mannheim has lost many industrial jobs, although in the recent past, the city

1666-426: Is cognate with the names Wales , Cornwall , Wallonia , and Wallachia . The Germanic w- is regularly rendered as gu- / g- in French (cf. guerre "war", garder "ward", Guillaume "William"), and the historic diphthong au is the regular outcome of al before a following consonant (cf. cheval ~ chevaux ). French Gaule or Gaulle cannot be derived from Latin Gallia , since g would become j before

1764-479: Is " Cfb " (Marine West Coast Climate/ Oceanic climate ), bordering closely on a humid subtropical climate (Cfa), with summer months often averaging above 21 degrees (71 F). Mannheim, population 315,000, is the 2nd largest city in Baden-Württemberg . Its location near the Rhine and Neckar rivers spurred Mannheim's industrialization and transition into a major city in the early 19th century. The city

1862-514: Is Germany's leading university in the fields of business and economics and attracts students from around the world. Described by Die Zeit as the ' Harvard of Germany', it is seen as the training grounds of German business leaders. More than 12,000 students were enrolled in the 2013/14 semester. The university town also houses one of the medical schools of Heidelberg University (at the University Hospital Mannheim ),

1960-577: Is a smart city ; the city's electrical grid is installed with a power-line communication network. A brick kiln excavated in 1929 in the Seckenheim district, which operated from 74 AD to the early second century, attests to settlement in Roman times. The name of the city was first recorded as Mannenheim in a legal transaction in 766, surviving in a twelfth-century copy in the Codex Laureshamensis from Lorsch Abbey . The name

2058-553: Is home to German ice hockey record champions Adler Mannheim as well as the popular handball team Rhein-Neckar Löwen . Since 2014, Mannheim has been a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network and holds the title of " UNESCO City of Music ". In 2020, Mannheim was classified as a global city with ' Sufficiency ' status by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC). Mannheim

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2156-476: Is interpreted as "the home of Manno", a short form of a Germanic name such as Hartmann or Hermann . Mannheim remained a mere village throughout the Middle Ages. In 1606, Frederick IV, Elector Palatine started building the fortress of Friedrichsburg and the adjacent city centre with its grid of streets and avenues. On 24 January 1607, Frederick IV gave Mannheim the status of a "city", whether it really

2254-413: Is no certainty concerning the origin of the druids, but it is clear that they vehemently guarded the secrets of their order and held sway over the people of Gaul. Indeed, they claimed the right to determine questions of war and peace, and thereby held an "international" status. In addition, the Druids monitored the religion of ordinary Gauls and were in charge of educating the aristocracy. They also practiced

2352-488: Is sometimes known as the " Harvard of Germany". The Mannheim May Market is the largest regional consumer exhibition of Germany. The civic symbol of Mannheim is the Romanesque Mannheim Water Tower , completed in 1886 and rising to 60 metres (200 feet) above the highest point of the art nouveau area Friedrichsplatz . Mannheim is well-known for its inventions, including the automobile ,

2450-559: Is strong Hallstatt influence throughout most of France (except for the Alps and the extreme north-west). Out of this Hallstatt background, the La Tène culture arose during the 7th and 6th century BC, presumably representing an early form of Continental Celtic culture and likely under Mediterranean influence from the Greek , Phoenician , and Etruscan civilizations . This culture spread out in

2548-515: Is the sister of Eugene Beauharnais [sic; in fact, she was his second cousin]. There is a cathedral, a theatre which is considered good, an observatory, a gallery of pictures at the château, and some private collections. About two kilometres (one point two miles) below the town the Russian Army crossed the Rhine in 1813. Population 18,300. During the eighteenth century, Mannheim was the home of

2646-623: The Square "). Within a ring of avenues surrounding the city centre, there are squares, numbered from A1 to U6, instead of street names. At the southern base of that system is Mannheim Palace , one of the largest palace complexes in the world. It was the former home of the Prince-elector of the Electoral Palatinate, and now houses the University of Mannheim , which repeatedly receives top marks in business administration and

2744-639: The Battle of Alesia , which ended the majority of Gallic resistance to Rome. As many as a million people (probably 1 in 5 of the Gauls) died, another million were enslaved , 300 clans were subjugated and 800 cities were destroyed during the Gallic Wars. The entire population of the city of Avaricum (Bourges) (40,000 in all) were slaughtered. Before Julius Caesar's campaign against the Helvetii (Switzerland),

2842-980: The Belgae in the north (roughly between the Rhine and the Seine), the Celtae in the center and in Armorica , and the Aquitani in the southwest, the southeast being already colonized by the Romans. While some scholars believe the Belgae north of the Somme were a mixture of Celtic and Germanic elements, their ethnic affiliations have not been definitively resolved. In addition to the Gauls, there were other peoples living in Gaul, such as

2940-649: The Bundesgartenschau ( Federal horticulture show ) was celebrated in Luisen and Herzogenried parks. A number of pieces of infrastructure were developed for the show: the telecommunications tower and a second bridge across the Rhine (the Kurt Schumacher Bridge ) were built, the pedestrian zone was established, the new Rosengarten conference centre was opened and the Aerobus was installed as

3038-710: The FEI European Jumping Championships in 2007 14–19 August, in the MVV-riding stadium. In 2002, Hobby Horse Polo was invented in Mannheim, evoking the classical rivalry towards "polite society" in Heidelberg. The Maimarkt-Turnier Mannheim is an annual international horse show held during the Mannheimer Maimarkt since 1964. According to Forbes magazine, Mannheim is known for its exceptional inventive power and

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3136-562: The Jesuit Church ; they were completed in 1760. In 1819, Norwich Duff wrote of Mannheim: Mannheim is in the Duchy of Baden and situated at the confluence of the Rhine and Neckar over both of which there is a bridge of boats. This is the third town of this name having been twice burnt. The houses are large, and the streets are broad and at right angles to each other, and is one of the most airy clean towns I have seen in Germany. It

3234-603: The March Revolution of 1848 , the city was a centre for political and revolutionary activity. In 1865, Friedrich Engelhorn founded the Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik (Baden Aniline and Soda Factory, BASF ) in Mannheim, but the factory was constructed across the Rhine in Ludwigshafen because Mannheim residents feared air pollution from its operations. From this dye factory, BASF has developed into

3332-652: The Netherlands , Germany , and Northern Italy . It covered an area of 494,000 km (191,000 sq mi). According to Julius Caesar , who took control of the region on behalf of the Roman Republic , Gaul was divided into three parts: Gallia Celtica , Belgica , and Aquitania . Archaeologically, the Gauls were bearers of the La Tène culture during the 5th to 1st centuries BC. This material culture

3430-764: The Palatine Forest and the Oden Forest . Mannheim forms a continuous urban zone of around 500,000 inhabitants with Ludwigshafen am Rhein in the Rhineland-Palatinate , while some northern suburbs lie in Hesse . Hamburg is the only other German city with such a presence in two states other than its own. Central Mannheim streets and avenues are laid out in a grid pattern unusual for German cities, leading to its nickname Quadratestadt ( Square City ) and tourism slogan " Leben im Quadrat " (" Life in

3528-712: The Sicilian Greek Diodorus Siculus , and the Greek geographer Strabo . In the 4th and early 3rd century BC, Gallic clan confederations expanded far beyond the territory of what would become Roman Gaul (which defines usage of the term "Gaul" today), into Pannonia, Illyria, northern Italy, Transylvania and even Asia Minor. By the 2nd century BC, the Romans described Gallia Transalpina as distinct from Gallia Cisalpina . In his Gallic Wars , Julius Caesar distinguishes among three ethnic groups in Gaul:

3626-624: The Teutons , who were in turn defeated by the Romans by 103 BC. Julius Caesar finally subdued the largest part of Gaul in his campaigns of 58 to 51 BC. Roman control of Gaul lasted for five centuries, until the last Roman rump state , the Domain of Soissons , fell to the Franks in AD 486. While the Gauls shifted from a primarily Celtic culture during Late Antiquity , becoming amalgamated into

3724-487: The bicycle , and the tractor , which is why the city is often called the "city of inventions". The city is the starting and finishing point of the Bertha Benz Memorial Route , which follows the tracks of the first long-distance automobile trip in history. A Großstadt (major city with more than 100,000 inhabitants) since 1896, Mannheim is now an important industrial and commercial city,

3822-623: The " Mannheim School " of classical music composers . Mannheim was said to have one of the best court orchestras in Europe under the leadership of the conductor Carlo Grua . The royal court of the Palatinate left Mannheim in 1778, as Charles Theodore had become Elector of Bavaria and moved to Munich . Two decades later, in 1802, Mannheim was removed from the Palatinate and given to the Grand Duchy of Baden . In 1819, August von Kotzebue

3920-446: The " Rhine shift ". In summer, temperatures sometimes rise up to 35 °C (95 °F) and higher. The highest recorded temperature was 39.8 °C (104 °F) on 7 August 2015. The daily lows during heat waves can be very high for the latitude (around 25 °C / 77 °F). In September 2016, the average temperature in Mannheim was 18.6 °C, highest in Baden-Württemberg. In comparison to other regions of Germany, Mannheim has

4018-399: The 2010s, partially due to its large university population. The following list shows the most significant groups of foreigners in the city of Mannheim by nationalities. In total 44,7% of all Mannheim inhabitants are from foreign descent. The Neckarstadt-West district has the biggest foreign population with 68,9%, while the Wallstadt district has the smallest one with 23,1%. A large part of

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4116-525: The 4th century BC) and Gallia are ultimately derived from a Celtic ethnic term or clan Gal(a)-to- . The Galli of Gallia Celtica were reported to refer to themselves as Celtae by Caesar. Hellenistic etymology connected the name of the Galatians (Γαλάται, Galátai ) to the supposedly "milk-white" skin (γάλα, gála "milk") of the Gauls. Modern researchers say it is related to Welsh gallu , Cornish : galloes , "capacity, power", thus meaning "powerful people". Despite its superficial similarity,

4214-504: The Biturigian capital of Avaricum ( Bourges ), Cenabum ( Orléans ), Autricum ( Chartres ) and the excavated site of Bibracte near Autun in Saône-et-Loire, along with a number of hill forts (or oppida ) used in times of war. The prosperity of Mediterranean Gaul encouraged Rome to respond to pleas for assistance from the inhabitants of Massilia , who found themselves under attack by a coalition of Ligures and Gauls. The Romans intervened in Gaul in 154 BC and again in 125 BC. Whereas on

4312-439: The Celtic language group once spoken in Gaul is predominantly known as Gaulish . There is little written information concerning the peoples that inhabited the regions of Gaul, save what can be gleaned from coins. Therefore, the early history of the Gauls is predominantly a matter of archaeology, and the relationships between their material culture , genetic relationships (the study of which has been aided, in recent years, through

4410-470: The Celtic oral literature or traditional wisdom to be committed to the written letter. Mannheim Mannheim ( German pronunciation: [ˈmanhaɪm] ; Palatine German : Mannem or Monnem ), officially the University City of Mannheim ( German : Universitätsstadt Mannheim ), is the second-largest city in the state of Baden-Württemberg , after the state capital of Stuttgart , and Germany 's 21st-largest city , with

4508-407: The Franks to the north and east, and in the northwest to the lower valley of the Loire , where Gallo-Roman culture interfaced with Frankish culture in a city like Tours and in the person of that Gallo-Roman bishop confronted with Merovingian royals, Gregory of Tours . The Druids were not the only political force in Gaul, however, and the early political system was complex, if ultimately fatal to

4606-420: The French as a dependency of Alsace . Through the intervention of the pope in 1702, the French, on payment of a large sum, agreed to vacate the town, and in 1715 its fortifications were rebuilt. Still strategically important during the French Revolutionary Wars , in July 1793 Germersheim was the scene of a significant French defeat when an Austrian army under the veteran Field Marshal von Wurmser defeated

4704-477: The Gallic tongue". Coexisting with Latin, Gaulish helped shape the Vulgar Latin dialects that developed into French. The Vulgar Latin in the region of Gallia took on a distinctly local character, some of which is attested in graffiti, which evolved into the Gallo-Romance dialects which include French and its closest relatives. The influence of substrate languages may be seen in graffiti showing sound changes that matched changes that had earlier occurred in

4802-421: The Gauls occupy, takes its beginning at the river Rhone; it is bounded by the river Garonne, the ocean, and the territories of the Belgae; it borders, too, on the side of the Sequani and the Helvetii, upon the river Rhine, and stretches toward the north. The Belgae rises from the extreme frontier of Gaul, extend to the lower part of the river Rhine; and look toward the north and the rising sun. Aquitania extends from

4900-434: The Gauls unite under a single leader like Vercingetorix. Even then, however, the faction lines were clear. The Romans divided Gaul broadly into Provincia (the conquered area around the Mediterranean), and the northern Gallia Comata ("free Gaul" or "long-haired Gaul"). Caesar divided the people of Gallia Comata into three broad groups: the Aquitani ; Galli (who in their own language were called Celtae ); and Belgae . In

4998-470: The Gauls was identified by Julius Caesar in his Commentarii de Bello Gallico with the Roman god Dis Pater . Perhaps the most intriguing facet of Gallic religion is the practice of the Druids . The druids presided over human or animal sacrifices that were made in wooded groves or crude temples. They also appear to have held the responsibility for preserving the annual agricultural calendar and instigating seasonal festivals which corresponded to key points of

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5096-475: The German king Rudolph von Habsburg ( Rudolf of Habsburg ) gave Germersheim city rights in 1276 (18 August). There is a legend which says that he, as a sick man, rode from Germersheim to Speyer to die there and not in Germersheim. In 1325 the town was given to the Electorate of the Palatinate by King Ludwig IV . It got a higher status in the following centuries. A Catholic Order founded a monastery in 1298 which it used up to 1527. Having been nearly destroyed in

5194-412: The Greeks and Phoenicians who had established outposts such as Massilia (present-day Marseille ) along the Mediterranean coast. Also, along the southeastern French Mediterranean coast, the Ligures had merged with the Celts to form a Celto- Ligurian culture. In the 2nd century BC Mediterranean Gaul had an extensive urban fabric and was prosperous. Archeologists know of cities in northern Gaul including

5292-416: The Helvetians had numbered 263,000, but afterwards only 100,000 remained, most of whom Caesar took as slaves . After Gaul was absorbed as Gallia , a set of Roman provinces, its inhabitants gradually adopted aspects of Roman culture and assimilated, resulting in the distinct Gallo-Roman culture . Citizenship was granted to all in 212 by the Constitutio Antoniniana . From the third to 5th centuries, Gaul

5390-413: The Oststadt-Theater, the TIG7 (Theater im Quadrat G7), the Theater Oliv, the Freilichtbühne, the Theater31, the Theater ImPuls, the Theater Felina-Areal, the Mannheimer Puppenspiele, the Kleinkunstbühne Klapsmühl', Schatzkistl, and zeitraumexit . There are two nationally renowned football clubs in Mannheim, SV Waldhof Mannheim , who currently are playing in the third tier 3. Liga , but who have played in

5488-434: The Rhineland following the First World War . General Hans Graf von Sponeck , who ordered the retreat of his troops from Kerch because they were going to be hopelessly cut off by the Russian landings at Theodosia on the Crimean peninsula, and against express instruction of his superior officer in the winter 1941, was interned here in the fortress after Hitler had commuted his death sentence to six years' detention. In

5586-414: The basis of France's eventual division into ecclesiastical bishoprics and dioceses , which would remain in place—with slight changes—until the French Revolution . Although the clans were moderately stable political entities, Gaul as a whole tended to be politically divided, there being virtually no unity among the various clans. Only during particularly trying times, such as the invasion of Caesar, could

5684-417: The city centre. Mannheim was heavily damaged during aerial bombing by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). Allied bombing raids razed the city centre of Mannheim at night-time area bombing , killing thousands of civilians. In the meantime, 2,262 of Mannheim's Jews were sent to Nazi concentration camps . Some sources state that the first deliberate strategic bombing of

5782-517: The conquered tribes. As a direct result of these conquests, Rome now controlled an area extending from the Pyrenees to the lower Rhône river, and in the east up the Rhône valley to Lake Geneva . By 121 BC Romans had conquered the Mediterranean region called Provincia (later named Gallia Narbonensis ). This conquest upset the ascendancy of the Gaulish Arverni peoples. The Roman proconsul and general Julius Caesar led his army into Gaul in 58 BC, ostensibly to assist Rome's Gaullish allies against

5880-418: The council. The regional ethnic groups, or pagi as the Romans called them (singular: pagus ; the French word pays , "region" [a more accurate translation is 'country'], comes from this term), were organized into larger multi-clan groups, which the Romans called civitates . These administrative groupings would be taken over by the Romans in their system of local control, and these civitates would also be

5978-424: The field of archaeogenetics ) and linguistic divisions rarely coincide. Before the rapid spread of the La Tène culture in the 5th to 4th centuries BC, the territory of eastern and southern France already participated in the Late Bronze Age Urnfield culture ( c.  12th to 8th centuries BC) out of which the early iron-working Hallstatt culture (7th to 6th centuries BC) would develop. By 500 BC, there

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6076-422: The first German Football League which is called GFL1. As of 2018, between 500 and 900 people watch each game. Rhein-Neckar Löwen are a handball team playing in the professional German Handball League . The WWE visited Mannheim in 2008. Around 10,000 fans attended the event. UFC fighter Dennis Siver lives and trains in Mannheim. Mannheim hosted the European Show Jumping Championships in 1997, and

6174-412: The first half of 1915. When Germany lost the war in 1918, according to the peace terms, the left bank of the Rhine was occupied by French troops. The French occupation lasted until 1930, and some of Ludwigshafen's most elegant houses were erected for the officers of the French garrison. After the First World War , the Heinrich Lanz Company built the Bulldog, an advanced tractor, powered by heavy oil. As

6272-411: The first occasion they came and went, on the second they stayed. In 122 BC Domitius Ahenobarbus managed to defeat the Allobroges (allies of the Salluvii ), while in the ensuing year Quintus Fabius Maximus "destroyed" an army of the Arverni led by their king Bituitus , who had come to the aid of the Allobroges. Rome allowed Massilia to keep its lands, but added to its own territories the lands of

6370-443: The former highest German ice hockey league known as Bundesliga ). The city is home to the Mannheim Tornados , the oldest operational baseball and softball club in Germany. The Tornados play in the first division of the Baseball Bundesliga and have won the championship 11 times, more than any other club. In 2003, the American football club Mannheim Bandits  [ de ] was founded. The Mannheim Bandits are playing in

6468-413: The fortress had become outdated, as artillery had improved greatly in the thirty years since work began. The fortress was destroyed in 1921/22 as a result of the Treaty of Versailles . Some parts still exist, such as the " Fronte Beckers ", where the town's Music School is today. Germersheim was the scene of several conflicts between French troops and German veteran associations during the occupation of

6566-449: The immigrants are from the Balkans and European countries. The distribution of Mannheim's population by religious affiliation (as of December 31, 2020) is Roman Catholic 25.4%, Protestant 20.0%, and other/ none 54.6%. The National Theatre Mannheim was founded in 1779 and is the oldest "Stage" in Germany. In 1782 the premiere of Die Räuber , written by Friedrich Schiller , was shown. Recently, smaller stages have opened, such as

6664-499: The indigenous languages, especially Gaulish. The Vulgar Latin in the north of Gaul evolved into the langues d'oïl and Franco-Provencal , while the dialects in the south evolved into the modern Occitan and Catalan tongues. Other languages held to be "Gallo-Romance" include the Gallo-Italic languages and the Rhaeto-Romance languages . Following Frankish victories at Soissons (AD 486) , Vouillé (AD 507) and Autun (AD 532) , Gaul (except for Brittany and Septimania ) came under

6762-430: The invasion of Constantinople by the Ottomans in 1453); a small but notable Jewish presence also became established. The Gaulish language is thought to have survived into the 6th century in France, despite considerable Romanization of the local material culture. The last record of spoken Gaulish deemed to be plausibly credible concerned the destruction by Christians of a pagan shrine in Auvergne "called Vasso Galatae in

6860-451: The largest chemical company in the world. After opening a workshop in Mannheim in 1871 and patenting engines from 1878, Karl Benz patented the first motor car in 1886. He was born in Mühlburg (now part of Karlsruhe). The Schütte-Lanz company , founded by Karl Lanz and Johann Schütte in 1909, built 22 airships. The company's main competitor was the Zeppelin works. When World War I broke out in 1914, Mannheim's industrial plants played

6958-426: The lunar-solar calendar. The religious practices of druids were syncretic and borrowed from earlier pagan traditions, with probably indo-European roots. Julius Caesar mentions in his Gallic Wars that those Celts who wanted to make a close study of druidism went to Britain to do so. In a little over a century later, Gnaeus Julius Agricola mentions Roman armies attacking a large druid sanctuary in Anglesey in Wales. There

7056-507: The migrating Helvetii . With the help of various Gallic clans (e.g., the Aedui ) he managed to conquer nearly all of Gaul. While their military was just as strong as the Romans', the internal division between the Gallic tribes guaranteed an easy victory for Caesar, and Vercingetorix 's attempt to unite the Gauls against Roman invasion came too late. Julius Caesar was checked by Vercingetorix at

7154-455: The mind; and they are the nearest to the Germans, who dwell beyond the Rhine, with whom they are continually waging war; for which reason the Helvetii also surpass the rest of the Gauls in valor, as they contend with the Germans in almost daily battles, when they either repel them from their own territories, or themselves wage war on their frontiers. One part of these, which it has been said that

7252-560: The modern sense, Gaulish peoples are defined linguistically, as speakers of dialects of the Gaulish language. While the Aquitani were probably Vascons , the Belgae would thus probably be a mixture of Celtic and Germanic elements. Julius Caesar, in his book, The Gallic Wars , wrote All Gaul is divided into three parts, one of which the Belgae inhabit, the Aquitani another, those who in their own language are called Celts, in our Gauls,

7350-779: The normal English translation of Gallia since the Middle Ages, Gaul , has a different origin than the Latin term. It stems from the French Gaule , itself deriving from the Old Frankish *Walholant (via a Latinized form *Walula ), literally the "Land of the Foreigners/Romans". *Walho- is a reflex of the Proto-Germanic * walhaz , "foreigner, Romanized person", an exonym applied by Germanic speakers to Celts and Latin-speaking people indiscriminately. It

7448-558: The old fairground, and the new Schafweide tram line. The concept of the anniversary of the city is aimed at a diverse range of events without a dominant central event. In 2001, the City hospital was officially and legally awarded with the title University Hospital Mannheim . In 2023, Mannheim hosted the Bundesgartenschau 2023 (National Garden Show); the second time after 1975. Mannheim is located in Germany's warmest summer region,

7546-601: The public events and cultural responsibilities of urban life in the res publica and the sometimes luxurious life of the self-sufficient rural villa system, took longer to collapse in the Gallo-Roman regions, where the Visigoths largely inherited the status quo in the early 5th century. Gallo-Roman language persisted in the northeast into the Silva Carbonaria that formed an effective cultural barrier, with

7644-600: The purge following the failed assassination attempt on Hitler Graf von Sponeck, although not involved, was shot. Today, a street in Germersheim is named Hans-Graf-von-Sponeck-Straße in his honour. There are regular regional train connections to Karlsruhe and Mannheim . Gallia Gaul ( Latin : Gallia ) was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Romans , encompassing present-day France , Belgium , Luxembourg , and parts of Switzerland ,

7742-465: The river Garonne to the Pyrenaean mountains and to that part of the ocean which is near Spain: it looks between the setting of the sun, and the north star. The Gauls practiced a form of animism , ascribing human characteristics to lakes, streams, mountains, and other natural features and granting them a quasi-divine status. Also, worship of animals was not uncommon; the animal most sacred to the Gauls

7840-672: The rule of the Merovingians , the first kings of France . Gallo-Roman culture, the Romanized culture of Gaul under the rule of the Roman Empire, persisted particularly in the areas of Gallia Narbonensis that developed into Occitania , Gallia Cisalpina and to a lesser degree, Aquitania . The formerly Romanized north of Gaul, once it had been occupied by the Franks, developed into Merovingian culture instead. Roman life, centered on

7938-422: The society as a whole. The fundamental unit of Gallic politics was the clan, which itself consisted of one or more of what Caesar called pagi . Each clan had a council of elders, and initially a king. Later, the executive was an annually-elected magistrate. Among the Aedui, a clan of Gaul, the executive held the title of Vergobret , a position much like a king, but his powers were held in check by rules laid down by

8036-510: The third. All these differ from each other in language, customs and laws. The river Garonne separates the Gauls from the Aquitani; the Marne and the Seine separate them from the Belgae. Of all these, the Belgae are the bravest, because they are furthest from the civilization and refinement of [our] Province, and merchants least frequently resort to them, and import those things which tend to effeminate

8134-609: The times of the plague and the Thirty Years' War , during which it was conquered by Austria and then by France , Germersheim was burned down by French troops in 1674. Only the crypt and the foundations of the Catholic Church survived. The death of the childless elector Charles II in 1685 led to the devastating War of the Palatinate Succession (1688-1697) during which Germersheim was claimed by

8232-569: The top tier, the Bundesliga ; and VfR Mannheim , winner of the German championship in 1949 , now playing in the sixth tier Verbandsliga Baden . The Adler Mannheim (formerly MERC, Mannheimer Eis- und Rollsport-Club) is an ice hockey team playing in the professional Deutsche Eishockey Liga , having won the German championship a total of eight times (7 times Deutsche Eishockey Liga and one time

8330-477: The war occurred at Mannheim during a Royal Air Force night raid on 16 December 1940. Today around one third of the city consists of buildings from before 1950. In late March 1945, the Allied ground advance into Germany reached Mannheim, which was potentially well-defended by German forces. However, the German forces abandoned the city and the U.S. 44th Infantry Division entered unopposed on 29 March 1945. There

8428-459: Was assassinated in Mannheim. The climate crisis of 1816–17 caused famine and the death of many horses in Mannheim. That year Karl Drais invented the first bicycle. Infrastructure improvements included the establishment of Rhine Harbour in 1828 and the construction of the first Baden railway , which opened from Mannheim to Heidelberg in 1840. Influenced by the economic rise of the middle class, another golden age of Mannheim gradually began. In

8526-482: Was attacked more and more it was given up in the second half of the third century and a military camp was founded, named " Vicus Iulii " (" Village of Julius / Julius' Village ). It was supported up to the fourth century. The first record of the name "Germersheim" is from 1090, when it was named in the Sinsheimer Chronik ( Chronicle of Sinsheim ). The citadel was rebuilt by the emperor Conrad II , and

8624-532: Was economically dominated by manufacturing. The city tried in the past to prevent the establishment of service providers by designating some locations as industrial areas. A prime example of the current trend is the construction of the Victoria Tower (Victoria-Turm) in 2001, one of the tallest buildings in the city, on railway land. Mannheim celebrated its 400th anniversary with a series of cultural and other events throughout 2007. The 400th anniversary proper

8722-489: Was exposed to raids by the Franks . The Gallic Empire , consisting of the provinces of Gaul, Britannia , and Hispania , including the peaceful Baetica in the south, broke away from Rome from 260 to 273. In addition to the large number of natives, Gallia also became home to some Roman citizens from elsewhere and also in-migrating Germanic and Scythian tribes such as the Alans . The religious practices of inhabitants became

8820-551: Was formerly fortified, but the fortifications were razed in 1806 and gardens fill their places. There is a large château here belonging to the Grand Duke and a very good garden; part of the château was destroyed when the town was bombarded and has never since been repaired, the other part is occupied by the Grand Duchess, widow of the late Grand Duke who was succeeded by his uncle having left only three daughters. She

8918-525: Was found not only in all of Gaul but also as far east as modern-day southern Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary. Warbands led by the Gaul Brennos sacked the city of Rome in 387 BC, becoming the only time Rome was conquered by a foreign enemy in 800 years. However, Gallia Cisalpina was conquered by the Romans in 204 BC and Gallia Narbonensis in 123 BC. Gaul was invaded after 120 BC by the Cimbri and

9016-534: Was heavily damaged during WWII but soon regained prominence as an industrial centre, causing rapid population growth in the 1950s. Many motor, electronic and power plant companies came to Mannheim and other cities in the Rhine-Neckar Region, including Ludwigshafen and Heidelberg , which lies just kilometres up the Neckar. The population of Mannheim started to decline in the 1980s but began to rebound in

9114-524: Was in 2006, since Frederick IV, Elector Palatine laid the foundations of Mannheim citadel on 17 March 1606. In preparation for the anniversary, some urban activities were implemented, beginning in 2000: the building of the SAP Arena with access to the city's new eastern ring road, the rehabilitation of the pedestrian zone in Breite Straße, the arsenal and the palace, the complete transformation of

9212-468: Was later a large American military occupation presence in the Mannheim area with up to 10 barracks. The first one shut down in 2007 and the last was closed in 2013 (see United States military installations below). Rebuilding of the city began industriously. Mannheim Palace and the water tower ( Wasserturm ) eventually were rebuilt and the National Theatre was replaced by a new building at

9310-510: Was later widened to "foreigner", to describe the Vikings , and later still the Normans . The dichotomic words gael and gall are sometimes used together for contrast, for instance in the 12th-century book Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib . As adjectives, English has the two variants: Gaulish and Gallic . The two adjectives are used synonymously, as "pertaining to Gaul or the Gauls", although

9408-651: Was one by then or not. Mannheim was mostly levelled during the Thirty Years' War around 1622 by the forces of Johan Tilly . After being rebuilt, it was again severely damaged by the French Army in 1689 during the Nine Years' War . After the rebuilding of Mannheim that began in 1698, the capital of the Electorate of the Palatinate was moved from Heidelberg to Mannheim in 1720 when Karl III Philip, Elector Palatine began construction of Mannheim Palace and

9506-666: Was ranked 11th among the Top 15 of the most inventive cities worldwide. Many significant inventions were made in Mannheim: The University of Mannheim is one of Germany's younger universities. Although founded in 1967, it has its origins in the Palatine Academy of Sciences , established in 1763, and the former Handelshochschule (Commercial College), founded in 1907. Situated in Mannheim Palace , it

9604-447: Was the boar which can be found on many Gallic military standards, much like the Roman eagle . Their system of gods and goddesses was loose, there being certain deities which virtually every Gallic person worshipped, as well as clan and household gods. Many of the major gods were related to Greek gods; the primary god worshipped at the time of the arrival of Caesar was Teutates , the Gallic equivalent of Mercury . The "ancestor god" of

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