Karlsruhe: at the speed of light Par Marie Lecocq
 The castle's gardens © M. LecocqFrom the Age of Enlightenment...1715: a watershed year for Karl Wilhelm from Baden-Durlach, who laid the first stone of his stately home, around which an entire town was soon to appear. A follower of the Enlightenment, he had a circular plan drawn up, centered on his new residence from where the roads radiate. Karlsruhe, means Karl's resting place in German, and indeed the founder of the city rests symbolically under a pyramid of pink sandstone erected in his honour bang in the city centre, on Marktplatz (Market Square). At rush hour, trams follow and cross one another at a furious pace, swallowing up or releasing a continuous flow of commuters who rapidly go their individual ways. Before changing lines, they often fit in a bit of shopping on Kaiserstrasse, the street crossing the city from east to west, or in Ettlinger Tor, the huge shopping centre located close by. A Flower Market is held on Marktplatz daily (except on Sundays) from January to mid-November and then a Christmas Market takes over for a few weeks with its little wooden chalets.  Fundamental Rights Square © M. LecocqThe old Baroque chateau, flattened by Allied bombing and then rebuilt identically, today houses a museum devoted to the history of the Land. In the sunny season, its surroundings are soon full of petanque players: France is fairly close! Under his pyramid, the enlightened prince no doubt quietly prides himself on his city having been chosen as headquarters of the German Constitutional Court, and on the fact that the avenue leading from Marktplatz to the chateau has been renamed Fundamental Rights Square. Many signs displaying excerpts from the Constitution are displayed on this highly frequented pedestrian artery.  Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie © M. Lecocq… to ZKM's neon lightsThe Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie (Art and Media Technology Centre), Karlsruhe's technological showcase, has been developing since the 1990s a unique interdisciplinary concept bringing together several institutions under the same roof. In addition to this museum, this former industrial wasteland is now the setting of institutes devoted to music, education, economics and even cinema. Brauerstrasse, a major artery in the south of the city, is the location of a major development similar to the large Kunsthalle in the centre. Karlsruhe's inhabitants have themselves expressed this desire for modernity in the west of the city centre where clubs and bars around Europaplatz take over from the shops on Kaiserstrasse when night falls. Earlier in the day, at lunch time or on leaving work, locals happily congregate on Ludwigsplatz with its multiple parasols and exotic plants in summer. But competition can be felt from Südstadt, the southern district where Stadtmitte, a hip club-cafe-biergarten attracts many clubbers.  Kaiserstrasse © M. LecocqThe 'Karlsruhe model'Karlsruhe, in addition to having served in its time as a model for rights and freedoms, is today the envy of many European cities regarding its transport system. The city, which has just welcomed the TGV high speed train, has had an ingenious transport system for the past 15 years: its trams also travel on the regional Deutsche Bahn railways. The network has become so dense that they are now planning to build in the near future a tunnel under Kaiserstrasse to make city centre traffic more fluid. At present, visiting Karlsruhe by car would be a mistake. You only have to glance around to realise that the favourite means of transport of locals is the bicycle. Since the month of August, Deutsche Bahn has operated a self-service bike concept, the 'call-a-bike' system already operational in Berlin and Munich among other cities. Easily recognisable by the 'DB' logo on their seat, the rail company's bikes can be found at almost all city centre street corners. There are no terminals or stands: these bikes are unlocked by inputting an opening code you get by phone and you can leave them afterwards at a traffic sign by following the callbike procedure. BiergartensThere are no brasseries without their biergarten (beer garden). Among the most famous in Karlsruhe, the Hoepfner brasserie, a family affair dating to the end of the 18th century, has been located for a century or so in an amazing red sandstone neogothic fortress modeled on one of the residences of the whimsical Louis II of Bavaria. The pleasantly shaded biergarten provides a romantic touch on account of its fortified walls covered with greenery. More recently, Rudi Vogel's brasserie started to make a name for itself in the 1980s. The discreet exterior hides a modern interior and the pretty biergarten is covered with a refreshing pergola. The Tiergarten, the city's green lung, as well as the botanic garden, near the chateau, also have their biergarten offering most pleasant surroundings to relax. The Tiergarten | 
