Baden-Wurttemberg is the third largest state of Germany and has common
borders with the neighbouring countries of Austria, France and Switzerland.
Transregional co-operation takes place with these countries as well as with the
neighbouring states in Germany, as Rheinland-Pfalz. Baden-Wurttemberg
traditionally has strong relations with countries in middle and Eastern Europe.
The charming countryside of Baden-Wurttemberg embraces, not only the
Black Forest, a very popular recreational area in the central region and Lake
Constance, known locally as the 'Swabian Sea', but also the green valleys of the
Rhine, the Danube, the Neckar, the Tauber, the rugged Schwabische Alb and the
gentle Markgraflerland. The Rhine river continues travelling westward from Lake
Constance and bends sharply north towards castle country that begins with a line
drawn from about Baden Baden eastwards.
The different soil conditions are ideal for the cultivation of fruit, wine,
asparagus and tobacco. This area traditionally has developed with key industries
of electric/electronic machinery manufacture, automobile and other related
industries. Many large companies, such as Daimler Chrysler, Bosch and Porsche
were founded in this area.
Baden-Wurttemberg boasts of one of the most powerful economies of any of the
German Federal States.