Editing Ludwigshafen (section)

===Industry and growth of population===
{{historical populations
|1840|90
|1848|600
|1852|1400
|1858|2800
|1871|7900
|1885|21000
|1895|40000
|1900|62000
|1914|94000
|1925|102000
|1939|144000
|1945|61000
|1950|124000
|1956|147000
|1970|180000
|1985|161000
|1995|171000
|2000|165000
|2004|166000
|2006|163000
|2018|171000
|footnote=Population size may be affected by changes in administrative divisions.}}

[[File:BASF Werk Ludwigshafen 1866.JPG|thumb|BASF, 1866]]
At its founding Ludwigshafen was still a very modest settlement with just 1,500 inhabitants. Real growth began with [[industrialization]], and gained enormous momentum in Ludwigshafen due to its ideal transport facilities. In addition to its excellent position and harbor facilities on the Rhine, a railway connecting Ludwigshafen with the [[Saar (river)|Saar]] coalfields was completed in 1849.<ref>Oliver Zimmer, ''Remaking the Rhythms of Life: German Communities in the Age of the Nation-State'' (Oxford University Press; 2013) compares the city to Augsburg and Ulm.</ref>

The year 1865 was an important date in the history of independent Ludwigshafen. After several discussions, [[BASF]] decided to move its factories from Mannheim to the [[Hemshof]] district, which belonged to Ludwigshafen. From then on, the city's rapid growth and wealth were linked to BASF's success and its expansion into becoming one of the world's most important chemical companies. Ludwigshafen also became home to several other rapidly growing chemical companies, including [[Friedrich Raschig]] GmbH, the [[Reckitt Benckiser#Benckiser|Benckiser]] company (founded by Johann Benckiser), Giulini Brothers, Grünzweig&Hartmann AG, and {{ill|Knoll AG|de}}.

With more jobs available, the population of Ludwigshafen increased rapidly. In 1899 the city was governing more than 62,000 residents (compared to 1,500 in 1852).

This population explosion looked quite “American” to contemporaries; it determined Ludwigshafen's character as a “worker's city”, and created problematic shortages of housing and real estate. The solution was the expansion of the [[municipal]] area and the incorporation of the two nearest villages, Friesenheim and Mundenheim, in the years 1892 and 1899. In the area between the city centre and those two suburbs new quarters (“North” and “South”) were built after (then) modern urban development plans. Because the ground was marshy and too low to be protected from Rhine floods, all the new houses were built on raised ground, sometimes as high as 5 metres above the original ground. Visitors can see the original ground level in many backyards of Ludwigshafen, which are sometimes two floors below street level.