Economic Centre

Mannheim's famous museums, concert halls and theatres offer cultural events for the whole southwestern area of Germany. Compared to other cities of the same size Mannheim's exceptional commitment to culture brings reward: nowhere else in Germany are there as many sculptures outdoors. Arts and culture - often even admission free.

Mannheim’s mile of culture

The Mannheim mile of culture is a city promenade that leads to the main cultural institutions and to over 70 works of art. There are the National Theatre, the municipal Art Gallery, the Reiss-Museum, the Planetarium and the State Museum for technology and labour to name but a few. The mile's starting point and symbol is Franz Bernhard's sculpture “die groBe Mannheimerin", almost 13 metres high and located at the eastern entrance to the city.

The National Theatre

The National Theatre, also named “Schiller's stage" (because of the first showing of Schiller's “Robbers" in 1782), counts among the best stages in Germany. The long operatic tradition can be traced back to the Mannheim school of music (Stamitz, Cannabich, Holzbauer) and to works by Mozart, Verdi and Wagner. The sections for drama and ballet also have an international reputation. The production of contemporary works rounds off the programme. Up-and-coming actors make their mark on the stage of the affiliated “Schnawwl".

The Reiss-Engelhorn-Museums

The prompt-textbook of the “Robbers" first showing is kept in the separate theatre collection of the municipal Reiss-Museum. The history of Mannheim is also shown in the Reiss-Museum. The Museum for the art and the history of theatre, for local and natural history as well as for archaeology and ethnology attracts about 300,000 visitors p. a. by its spectacular special exhibitions, for instance on dinosaurs, the Maya culture or the ancient Chinese Empire.

The State museum for technology and labour

The industrial revolution and its consequences - originals, true-to-life replicas and complete scenarios are embedded in an avantgarde exhibition concept. This unique museum with its individual architecture, takes the visitors on a journey through time and space, showing how technical progress has influenced the work and lives of people in the last 250 years. The largest exhibit of the State Museum, the museum ship, is anchored on the river Neckar.

The International Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg

For more than 40 years the city of the movies: The ..International Film Week" in 1994 renamed ..International Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg" is counted among the best-known film festivals in the world. Both emerging and well-known directors present their independently-produced movies. It was here that now famous directors from Eastern and Western Europe, the USA and Latin America first stepped into the international limelight. Mannheim makes film history - year after year.

The Municipal Art Gallery

Eduard Manets „Execution of the Emperor Maximilian“: the world-class collection of 19th and 20th century art consists of numerous excellent, highly-valuable paintings by Friedrich, Renoir, van Gogh, Monet, Cézanne, Liebermann, Corinth, Dix, Kandinsky, Klee, Tàpies, Mattá, Bacon and others. The main emphasisi is placed on German and French artists. The remarkable collection of sculptures by Rodin, Klinger, Barlach, Ernst, Brancusi, Giacometti, Marini, Moore, Long, Merz, Paik and others does not follow only one main direction.. The collection lives - in the sense of it being continuously enlarged: the municipal Art Gallery („Kunsthalle“) competently keeps adding new important works by international artists. There is not only the „Kunsthalle“ bit also the Mannheim arts association and numerous private galleries, offering you the possibility to indulge yourself in arts.