Baden-Württemberg is one of the sixteen states of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Stuttgart is the capital and largest city. Other important cities are Mannheim, Karlsruhe, Freiburg, Heidelberg and Ulm.

Baden-Württemberg is one of the most prosperous states of Germany, and is highly industrialized. Manufactures include textiles, motor vehicles, machinery, chemicals, leather goods, pottery, glass, furniture, clocks, and optical equipment.

Crops — including wheat, barley, grapes, potatoes, and tobacco — are grown in the river valleys and foothill regions. Dairying and forestry are carried on in the Black Forest and other highland regions.

With its picturesque natural scenery, historic towns and castles, and famous health resorts, the state is second to Bavaria in tourism.

The state, which is divided into four administrative districts, is headed by a minister-president, responsible to a popularly elected assembly.

The earliest known inhabitants of Baden were the Alamanni, who fell under the dominion of the Frankish Empire in the 5th century.

In the 11th century, Berthold, a duke of the Austrian duchy of Kärnten (Carinthia), built the castle of Zahrringen in Breisgau, in Baden; a descendant of his second son took the title of margrave of Baden and founded a dynasty that ruled the region for more than eight centuries.

One of the outstanding members of this dynasty was Charles Frederick, who became margrave in 1746. By favoring Napoleon and joining the Confederation of the Rhine, Charles Frederick quadrupled his possessions in area and population and acquired in 1803 the dignity of elector and in 1806 the title of grand duke.

In 1811, he was succeeded by his grandson Charles, who, after the Battle of Leipzig, seceded from the Confederation of the Rhine and in 1815 joined the German Confederation, a loose union of 39 sovereign states, including Prussia, under Austrian presidency.

During the German revolution of 1848 to 1849, the reigning grand duke was deposed and then reinstated with the aid of Prussia. Under the leadership of Prussia, Baden joined with the other southern German states to defeat France in the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871).

In 1871, Baden became a part of the German Empire. Under the empire, the grand dukes of Baden continued to reign with the help of an elected diet.

At the end of World War I (1914-1918), the ruling dynasties of the German states were dethroned, and the grand duke Frederick II abdicated on November 22, 1918.

On January 15, 1919, a popularly elected national assembly met to draw up a new constitution. This constitution, issued the following May, abolished all privileges based on noble birth and religion; bestowed full legal rights on women; recognized the right of workers, including civil servants, to organize; and granted the vote to all men and women over 20 years of age.

It vested executive power in a cabinet comprising the state president and his aides, all elected by the legislature. Legislative power was vested in a unicameral assembly.

Baden became an administrative unit of the Third Reich in 1935. The area was invaded by the Allied forces in 1945, during the final stages of World War II.

Following the unconditional surrender of the Third Reich, about a third of the territory of Baden became part of the United States military occupation zone in Germany; the remainder became part of the French zone.

The American-occupied sections of Baden and Württemberg, having been merged for administrative purposes, were organized as the autonomous state of Württemberg-Baden in 1946. French-occupied Baden became an autonomous state in the next year.

In 1949, both states became components of West Germany.

In 1952, the states of Baden, Württemberg-Baden, and Württemberg-Hohenzollern were merged to form the new state of Baden-Württemberg.

In 1990, West and East Germany united and became the Federal Republic of Germany.