Karlsruhe

Karlsruhe Carlsruhe
View over Karlsruhe
Flag Coat of arms
Karlsruhe
Coordinates: 49°00′33″N 8°24′14″E / 49.00920970°N 8.40395140°E / 49.00920970; 8.40395140Coordinates: 49°00′33″N 8°24′14″E / 49.00920970°N 8.40395140°E / 49.00920970; 8.40395140
Country	Germany
State	Baden-Württemberg
Admin. region	Karlsruhe
District	Urban district
Founded	1715
Government
• Lord Mayor	Frank Mentrup (SPD)
Area
• Total	173.46 km2 (66.97 sq mi)
Population (2015-12-31)
• Total	307,755
• Density	1,800/km2 (4,600/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	76131–76229
Dialling codes	0721
Vehicle registration	KA
Website	www.karlsruhe.de

Karlsruhe (German pronunciation: [ˈkaɐ̯lsˌʁuːə]; formerly Carlsruhe) is the second-largest city in the state of Baden-Württemberg, in southwest Germany, near the French-German border. It has a population of 307,755. The city is the seat of the two highest courts in Germany: the Federal Constitutional Court and the Federal Court of Justice. Its most remarkable building is Karlsruhe Palace, which was built in 1715.

The city lies at an altitude between 100 m (on the eastern shore of the river Rhine) and 322 m (near the communications tower In the suburb of Wettersbach). Its geographical coordinates are 49°00′N 8°24′E / 49.000°N 8.400°E / 49.000; 8.400; the 49th parallel runs through the city centre. Its course is marked by a stone and painted line in the Stadtgarten (municipal park).

The city was planned with the palace tower (Schloss) at the center and 32 streets radiating out from it like the spokes of a wheel, or the ribs of a folding fan, so that one nickname for Karlsruhe in German is the "fan city" (Fächerstadt). Almost all of these streets survived until today. Because of this city layout, in metric geometry, Karlsruhe metric refers to a measure of distance that assumes travel is only possible along radial streets and along circular avenues around the centre.