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Kaiserslautern
Rathaus and Kaiserpfalz (c) Stadt Kaiserslautern.
* Located in Rhineland Palatinate, south western Germany
* Close to Heidelburg and the Palatinate Forest
* Population of 110,000 people
* Relaxed and friendly city with a 'provincial' feel
* Historic center going back to the 9th century
* Within easy reach of France and Luxembourg
* Location for the annual World Garden Show
* Site of large US Army base - 'K-Town'
* Lively local rock and jazz music scene
World Cup 2006 Matches in Kaiserslautern
Mon 12 June Australia v Japan
Sat 17 June Italy v USA
Tues 20 June Paraguay v Trinidad & Tobago
Fri 23 June Saudi Arabia v Spain
Mon 26 June Round of 16
Kaiserslautern's history dates back to around 830 AD. The Emperor Barbarossa built his imperial palace - the Kaiserpfalz - here in 1152. The site of the palace is near the present-day Rathaus, a 1960s skyscraper with a viewing platform at the top. The town hall incorporates the ruins of a Renaissance palace built by Johann Casimir in 1571.Subsequent wars destroyed many of the city's historical buildings but some fine old churches remain, including the Gothic Stiftskirche and St Martinskirche.
The Theodor Zink Museum displays the history of the city and is next to Wadgasserhof - a 17th century manor house.
At the height of the Cold War from 1950 to 1955, Kaiserslautern (K-Town) grew into the largest US military community outside the United States and around 40,000 service men and women are still based in the area.
This leads to some lively night life with a good jazz and rock scene. Acts from the US come over regularly to perform in Kaiserslautern's numerous clubs.Kaiserslautern's main attraction is the expanse of nature on its doorstep: the Palatinate forest is the largest continuous wooded area in the country. There are eleven clearly marked trails from Kaiserslautern and hikers can enjoy walks in the beautiful beech woods of the Karlstal Gorge area.
Within the city limits is the relaxing Volkspark with Sunday concerts.
From April to October the city hosts a World Garden Show including a beautiful Japanese garden and Europe's largest dinosaur exhibition. The city also has a pleasant zoo and a downtown winter skating rink.Today, Kaiserslautern is a modern center of information and communications technologies as well as automobile manufacture. Kaiserslautern has numerous well-known universities, international research institutes and technical colleges located throughout the city.
The Palatine Gallery is well worth a visit and dates from 1874 featuring exhibits of painting and sculpture from the 19th century to the present day.
Getting to Kaiserslautern
Air
Saarbrücken is the nearest airport 55km away (45 minutes by train) while both Frankfurt and Luxembourg airports are approximately 120km away. These major airports are served by several European airways including British Airways (BA), Air France and KLM.
Train
Kaiserslautern has rail connections to Berlin (10 hours), Frankfurt (1 hour 30 mins), Munich (6 hours), Cologne (3 hours), Paris (5 hours) and Basel (4 hours).
Bus/Road
Kaiserslautern connects by autobahn with Paris (A-6), Basel and Frankfurt (A-5), and Cologne (A-61).
A climate-neutral World Cup
Click here for the 2006 Fifa World Cup venues
Click here for general information
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