Baden

From Encyclopediak

Baden, one of the States of the German Republic, the fourth in size and the fifth in population. It is bounded by the Rhine-Palatinate, Alsace, Switzerland, Wurttemberg, Hohenzollern, Bavaria and Hesse, and covers an area of 5823 sq. m. The Black Forest, a narrow mountain range heavily wooded, stretches along the Rhine Valley for about 100 m. from Basel to Pforzheim. The loftiest peaks are Feldberg (4900 ft.) and Belchen (4600 ft.). The mineral supplies consist of iron, coal, zinc and nickel, and the agricultural products include oats, wheat, barley, potatoes, rye, tobacco, hemp, wine and sugar beets. The cultivation of fruit yields rich returns; wine is one of the staple products of Baden. Among manufacturing interests are the textile industries, watchmaking and the manufacture of leather, paper, jewelry, mirrors, woodenware, cigars and machinery. Mannheim, one of the most crowded and busiest ports on the Upper Rhine, represents the center of its commerce. The capital is Karlsruhe; other important towns are Baden, celebrated for its mineral springs, and Heidelberg", which has the oldest university in the present German Republic.

The Mark of Baden was established in 1074. In the course of the next seven centuries it was enlarged by several additional tracts of territory and became the Grand Duchy of Baden in 1806. As such, it became a part of the German Empire in 1870; but a republican state of Germany in 1919.