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Term: Mannheim

The city of Mannheim is located on the east bank of the Rhine River, opposite Ludwigshafen at the confluence of the Neckar River and the Rhine in southwestern Germany. First mentioned as a village in 764, it was expanded and fortified by the Elector Frederick IV in 1606. It was heavily damaged and rebuilt in the Thirty Years' War and in the prelude to the War of the Grand Alliance in the 17th century. The Electors of Palatine moved their residence there in 1720, and built many structures in the Baroque style, notably the Jesuit Church, the castle, the town hall, and the pilgrimage church. The city became a center of high culture in the 18th century, which it has remained to this day, famous for its music, art museum, and Germany's National Theater. Destroyed again in 1795, it was once more rebuilt and was a center of revolutionary activity in 1848-1849. A harbor constructed there on the Rhine in 1834 encouraged economic and industrial activity. The city was heavily damaged again in World War II, but most of its principal historic buildings have been restored. Its principal manufactures include textiles, chemicals, fertilizer, and food products, and coal and iron are traded through its river harbor. The 2004 population estimate was 309,600.