Mannheim, Water Tower

Mannheim is an attractive city called Quadratstadt (Squared Town), with the downtown laid out (unusual for an European city) as a checkerboard of 144 blocks. Each block is identified by a number and letter to designate an exact location.

In Friedrichplatz, the unusual Wasserturm (Water Tower) was constructed between 1886 and 1889 when the city decided to expand its municipal water supplies. The Wasserturm contains nearly a million gallons of water. Nearby there are ornamental fountains, and a conference and convention center.

Mannheim sits between Die Bergstrasse (The Mountain Road) on the east and Die Weinstrasse (The Wine Road) on the west. Woods and hills, castles and cathedrals, vineyards and river-meadows, all easily accessible on Germany’s excellent road system. Mannheim is also a port-of-call for the tourist boats on the Rhein and the Neckar Rivers, which join in Mannheim. Die Burgenstrasse (The Castle Road) celebrates a string of more than thirty fortified castles and palaces from Mannheim east to Nürnberg, a distance of about 200 miles. (In German, Berg means mountain, Burg means castle)