Editing Mannheim (section)

===18th and 19th centuries===
In 1819, [[Norwich Duff]] wrote of Mannheim:

{{Quote |Mannheim is in the Duchy of Baden and situated at the confluence of the [[Rhine]] and [[Neckar]] over both of which there is a bridge of boats. This is the third town of this name having been twice burnt. The houses are large, and the streets are broad and at right angles to each other, and is one of the most airy clean towns I have seen in Germany. It was formerly fortified, but the fortifications were razed in 1806 and gardens fill their places. There is a large [[château]] here belonging to the Grand Duke and a very good garden; part of the château was destroyed when the town was bombarded and has never since been repaired, the other part is occupied by the [[Stéphanie de Beauharnais|Grand Duchess, widow]] of the [[Karl, Grand Duke of Baden|late Grand Duke]] who was succeeded by [[Ludwig I, Grand Duke of Baden|his uncle]] having left only three daughters. She is the sister of [[Eugene Beauharnais]] [sic; in fact, she was his second cousin]. There is a cathedral, a theatre which is considered good, an observatory, a gallery of pictures at the château, and some private collections. About {{convert|2|km|mi|spell=on|abbr=off}} below the town the [[Imperial Russian Army|Russian Army]] crossed the Rhine in 1813. Population 18,300.}}

[[File:Mannheim 1758.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Mannheim in 1758]]
[[File:Stadtplan Mannheim 1880.jpg|thumb|left|Historical map of Mannheim in 1880]]
During the eighteenth century, Mannheim was the home of the "[[Mannheim School]]" of [[European classical music|classical music composers]]. Mannheim was said to have one of the best court orchestras in Europe under the leadership of the conductor [[Carlo Grua]]. The royal court of the Palatinate left Mannheim in 1778, as [[Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria|Charles Theodore]] had become [[Elector of Bavaria]] and moved to [[Munich]]. Two decades later, in 1802, Mannheim was removed from the Palatinate and given to the [[Grand Duchy of Baden]].

In 1819, [[August von Kotzebue]] was assassinated in Mannheim.

The [[Year Without a Summer|climate crisis of 1816–17]] caused famine and the death of many horses in Mannheim. That year [[Karl Drais]] invented the first bicycle.

Infrastructure improvements included the establishment of [[Mannheim Harbour|Rhine Harbour]] in 1828 and the construction of the [[Mannheim–Karlsruhe–Basel railway|first Baden railway]], which opened from Mannheim to Heidelberg in 1840. Influenced by the economic rise of the middle class, another golden age of Mannheim gradually began. In the [[Revolutions of 1848 in the German states|March Revolution of 1848]], the city was a centre for political and revolutionary activity.

In 1865, [[Friedrich Engelhorn]] founded the ''Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik'' (Baden Aniline and Soda Factory, [[BASF]]) in Mannheim, but the factory was constructed across the Rhine in Ludwigshafen because Mannheim residents feared [[air pollution]] from its operations. From this dye factory, BASF has developed into the largest chemical company in the world. After opening a workshop in Mannheim in 1871 and patenting engines from 1878, [[Karl Benz]] patented the first motor car in 1886. He was born in [[Mühlburg]] (now part of Karlsruhe).