Baden-Württemberg

Front-runner in many fields

There are many things that are unique about Baden-Württemberg. Some of its distinctive, defining characteristics enjoy a well-earned reputation far beyond the state's borders: its flourishing economy, hi-tech prowess, pioneering universities and research infrastructure, for example. But that's not all. Baden-Württemberg is also justly proud of its arts and culture, its traditions, its landscape and, of course, its people.

Baden-Württemberg is situated in the heart of Europe. The state borders on France to the west, and to Switzerland and – across Lake Constance – to Austria in the south. It is the third largest of the country's sixteen states in terms of area (35,751 km² ) and population (almost 11 million inhabitants)

Tucked into the southwestern corner of Germany, the state is one of the leading industrial regions in Europe. Products from Baden-Württemberg are in demand all over the world. Small and medium-sized manufacturing and processing enterprises, operating in the machine tools, automotive, information technology and creative industries in particular, are typical business players in Baden- Württemberg and are by no means confined to urban areas. 50 per cent of Germany's manufacturers of machine and precision tools are based here, for example. All the important service enterprises, such as banks or internationally renowned software companies, as well as Germany's leading multimedia agencies, have set up their head offices or established branches in the state. Around 13 per cent of all new German books are published here, and ürttemberg is also a preferred business location for biotech, medical engineering and pharmaceutical companies.

Baden-Württemberg is home to 9 universities, 6 teacher training colleges, 23 universities of applied science, 5 colleges of music, 2 art schools, a college of design technology, the Baden-Württemberg Academy of Performing Arts, the film academy, pop academy and the eight sites of the Cooperative State University. With a further 23 non-state, yet state recognised, institutions of higher education and numerous research institutes which are not linked to the universities, Baden-Württemberg benefits from a range of educational and research facilities which are unparalleled anywhere else in Germany. This is a significant factor influencing companies' decisions to operate their businesses in Baden-Württemberg. This infrastructure also enables firms to exploit the synergies generated by the combination of traditional industrial strengths and the technologies of tomorrow, such as microsystem and nanotechnologies, new materials, biotechnology, genetic science, environmental and energy engineering as well as communications and information technology.

Baden-Württemberg has not only produced numerous inventors and entrepreneurs, it is also the land of thinkers and poets and the home of Schiller, Hölderlin, Hegel, Mörike, Hesse, Heidegger and many more famous names.

The State of Baden-Württemberg came into being as recently as 25 April 1952 following a plebiscite in 1951 and the merger of the former states of Baden, Württemberg-Baden and Württemberg-Hohenzollern. The new constitution was adopted on 19 November 1953. Stuttgart is the seat of the State Government, home to the State Parliament and the state's political hub.

The first President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Theodor Heuss, paid tribute to the political and economic success of the newly emerged State of Baden-Württemberg when he succintly described the state as a "model of German possibilities".

Baden-Württemberg's coat of arms eloquently expresses the state's unity in diversity.

The escutcheon bears the ancient coat of arms of the Hohenstaufen duchy of Swabia. The three black lions on a gold field recall the period of the high Middle Ages between 1079 and 1268 when the history of the Holy Roman Empire was dominated by the Staufer dynasty. The supporters are the stag of Württemberg and the heraldic griffin of Baden. The circlet represents the former constituent territories of the state: the historic coat of arms of eastern Franconia (the silver- tipped "Franconian rake"), Hohenzollern (white and black quartered escutcheon), Baden (red bars on a gold field), Württemberg (three black stag antlers on a gold field), the Palatinate (golden lion in black) and anterior Austria (red-white-red bordered escutcheon).