Located on the right bank of the Rhine (Upper Rhine) near the French border, between the Mannheim-Ludwigshafen conurbation to the north and Strasbourg to the south, Karlsruhe is Germany's legal center, being home to the Federal Constitutional Court, the Federal Court of Justice and the Public Prosecutor General.

The Rhine, one of the world's most important shipping routes, forms the western limits of the city, beyond which lie the towns of Maximiliansau and Wörth am Rhein in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

The city lies at an altitude of between 100 and 322 m (328 and 1,056 ft), the higher figure being near the communications tower in the suburb of Grünwettersbach.

[7] The city centre is the oldest part of town and lies south of the palace in the quadrant defined by nine of the radial streets.

The central part of the palace runs east–west, with two wings, each at a 45° angle, directed southeast and southwest (i.e., parallel with the streets marking the boundaries of the quadrant defining the city center).

The market square has the town hall (Rathaus) to the west, the main Lutheran church (Evangelische Stadtkirche) to the east, and the tomb of Margrave Charles III William in a pyramid in the buildings, resulting in Karlsruhe being one of only three large cities in Germany where buildings are laid out in the neoclassical style.

Charles William founded the city on June 17, 1715, after a dispute with the citizens of his previous capital, Durlach.

Karlsruhe was visited by Thomas Jefferson during his time as the American envoy to France; when Pierre Charles L'Enfant was planning the layout of Washington, D.C., Jefferson passed to him maps of 12 European towns to consult, one of which was a sketch he had made of Karlsruhe during his visit.

The Stadtgarten is a recreational area near the main railway station (Hauptbahnhof) and was rebuilt for the 1967 Federal Garden Show (Bundesgartenschau).

The Karlsruhe Palace (Schloss) is an interesting piece of architecture; the adjacent Schlossgarten includes the Botanical Garden with a palm, cactus and orchid house, and walking paths through the woods to the north.

The neo-Gothic Grand Ducal Burial Chapel, built between 1889 and 1896, is a mausoleum rather than a church, and is located in the middle of the forest.

The State Art Gallery, built in 1846 by Heinrich Hübsch, displays paintings and sculptures from six centuries, particularly from France, Germany and Holland.

[citation needed] Today the Prinz-Max-Palais, built between 1881 and 1884 in neoclassical style, houses the organisation and includes its museum.

Due to population growth in the late 19th century, Karlsruhe developed several suburban areas (Vorstadt) in the Gründerzeit and especially Art Nouveau styles of architecture, with many preserved examples.

[citation needed] Another tourist attraction is the Centre for Art and Media (Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie, or ZKM), which is located in a converted ammunition factory.

In compensation for the state authorities relocated to Stuttgart, Karlsruhe applied to become the seat of the high court.

[citation needed] Germany's largest oil refinery is located in Karlsruhe, at the western edge of the city, directly on the river Rhine.

As a daily newspaper, it not only provides the news, but also informs readers about upcoming events in Karlsruhe and surrounding areas.

[24] The VBK is also a partner, with the Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft and Deutsche Bahn, in the operation of the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn, the rail system that serves a larger area around the city.

This system makes it possible to reach other towns in the region, like Ettlingen, Wörth am Rhein, Pforzheim, Bad Wildbad, Bretten, Bruchsal, Heilbronn, Baden-Baden, and even Freudenstadt in the Black Forest right from the city centre.

The Stadtbahn is known for pioneering the concept of operating trams on train tracks, to achieve a more effective and attractive public transport system.

Their professional lives led both men to the neighboring city of Mannheim, where they first applied their most famous inventions.Jews settled in Karlsruhe soon after its founding.

[26] A year later the city council addressed to the margrave a report in which a question was raised as to the proportion of municipal charges to be borne by the newly arrived Jews, who in that year formed an organized congregation, with Rabbi Nathan Uri Kohen of Metz at its head.

As the city grew, permission to settle there became less easily obtained by Jews, and the community developed more slowly.

In 1783, by a decree issued by Margrave Charles Frederick of Baden, the Jews ceased to be serfs, and consequently could settle wherever they pleased.

In commemoration of these changes special prayers were prepared by the acting rabbi Jedidiah Tiah Weill, who, succeeding his father in 1770, held the office until 1805.

The well-known German-Israeli artist Leo Kahn studied in Karlsruhe before leaving for France and Israel in the 1920s and 1930s.

Deportations commenced on 22 October 1940, when 893 Jews were loaded onto trains for the three-day journey to the Gurs concentration camp in France.

Among the institutes related to the ZKM are the Staatliche Hochschule für Gestaltung (State University of Design), whose president is philosopher Peter Sloterdijk and the Museum for Contemporary Art.

Markets, drumming workshops, exhibitions, a varied children's programme, and musical performances take place during the three days festival.