Ludwigshafen

Ludwigshafen, officially Ludwigshafen am Rhein (German pronunciation: [ˈluːtvɪçsˌhaːfn̩ ʔam ˈʁaɪn] ^ⓘ; meaning "Ludwig's Port upon the Rhine"; Palatine German: Ludwichshafe or Lumpehafe), is a city in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, on the river Rhine (Upper Rhine), opposite Mannheim. With Mannheim, Heidelberg, and the surrounding region, it forms the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region.

Known primarily as an industrial city, Ludwigshafen is home to BASF, the world's largest chemical producer, and other companies. Among its cultural facilities are the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz.

It is the birthplace and death place of the former Chancellor of Germany, Helmut Kohl.

In 2012, Ludwigshafen was classified as a global city with 'Sufficiency' status by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC).

In antiquity, Celtic and Germanic tribes settled in the Rhine Neckar region. During the 1st century B.C. the Romans conquered the region, and a Roman auxiliary fort was constructed near the present suburb of Rheingönheim.

The Middle Ages saw the foundation of some of Ludwigshafen's future suburbs, including Oggersheim, Maudach, Oppau, and Mundenheim. Most of the area, however, remained swampland, with its development hindered by seasonal flooding of the Rhine.

The Rhine Neckar region was part of the territory of the Prince-elector of the Kurpfalz, or Electorate of the Palatinate, one of the larger states within the Holy Roman Empire. The foundation of the new capital of the Kurpfalz, Mannheim, was a decisive influence on the development of the area as a whole. Parallel to the foundation of Mannheim in 1606, a fortress (die Rheinschanze) was built by Frederick IV, Elector Palatine on the other side of the Rhine to protect the City of Mannheim, thus forming the nucleus of the City of Ludwigshafen itself.

In the 17th century, the region was devastated and depopulated during the Thirty Years' War, and also in King Louis XIV of France’s wars of conquest in the later part of the century.