Karlsruhe travel guide

Karlsruhe was created on the drawing board -- this fact, which many cities in the world record proudly in their history books, is every day perfectly visible in the third-largest city in Baden-Württemberg. All you have to do is stroll through one of the 32 streets and avenues, all of which resolve in a common destination -- the Karlsruhe Castle. "Just like a sundial," was Margrave William's idea for his residential city -- to this day, the fanned-out sunbeam streets of earn Karlsruhe the name the "fan city."

Medieval alleyways you will not find in the first fan-shaped city, conceived in 1715, of course. But its marketplace with the Evangelical Church and the Town Hall represents one of the finest examples of classical plaza design in Europe. Modernity is here too, represented most prominently by the Walter Gropius-designed housing development on the Dammerstock site to the south of the city (once again, a city district was born on the drawing board). And the Center for Art and Media (ZKM) looks into the exciting future of building and living together.