www.gävle.se. Gävle is a city in east central Sweden with 68,700 inhabitants (2005). It is the seat of Gävle Municipality with a population of 92,416 (2006) and of Gävleborg County.
Trade from the port of Gävle increased markedly during the 1400s when copper and iron began to be exported from the port. In order to ensure that all trade was via Stockholm, sailing to foreign ports from Gävle and a few other ports was forbidden.
Today there are few shipping companies or shipyards left, but an important port remains. It has over 1000 ships calling per annum and is among the top ten common ports in Sweden.
Gävle is a vivrant citry with an important number of student population. The University College of Gävle currently enrolls 12,500 students. It offers courses of study at six departments: Business Administration, Education and Psychology, Caring Sciences and Sociology, Humanities and Social Sciences, Mathematics, Natural and Computer Sciences and Technology, and Built Environment.
 

www2.varberg.se
Varberg has a population of about 56.000 and is located in one of Sweden’s most expansive regions. Varberg is situated on the west coast of Sweden in the country of Halland connecting Oslo and Gothenburg with Copenhagen, Hamburg and central Europe by the railways. In addition, Varberg is one of Sweden’s most popular seaside resorts, the tourist industry is a strong factor in the economy of Varberg.

Varberg is an important hub for goods traffic by road, rail, and not least by sea – thanks to the modern port facility and ferry link to Grenå in Denmark. Local industry consists of a few major companies and many smaller businesses. The Municipality of Varberg invests in education, health, logistics and culture.

History:
Varberg’s history dates back to the middle Ages, with the city retaining features from the period when it was under Danish rule. After numerous wars and extensive fires during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, the city has always risen from the ashes. The pride of Varberg is its fort, which was originally built as a castle by a Danish count in the late 13th century. In the 17th century, a fortress and moat were built around the castle. This mighty structure, perched on a rock overlooking the sea, has been the focal point of Varberg and life in the town for centuries.
 

Varberg gained its reputation as a health resort in the 19th century. The building housing the Warm Baths is from that period. Later Cold Baths became fashionable, and the water in Varberg was said to have healing properties. Many celebrities and members of high society came here to ease their pains and diseases in mud and seaweed baths. Many also came to drink the spring water from The Black Spring.

Visitors have had many opportunities to amuse themselves with dancing, singing and theatre in Societetsparken. Among the dignitaries who visited Varberg in the 19th century we find not only royalty (King Oscar II), but also the renowned painter Carl Larsson and authors Gustaf Fröding and Esaias Tegnér.

Location:
The Municipality of Varberg is situated on the west coast of Sweden in the county of Halland by the E6, the E20 and railway connecting Oslo and Gothenburg with Copenhagen, Hamburg and central Europe. The harbour has daily ferry services to Denmark. Varberg is located in one of Sweden’s most expansive regions. The geographical location on the west coast and excellent links from Varberg to the principal cities in the region, combine to attract people wanting to settle here.

Population: Varberg has a population of about 56.000 and increasing. The average life in Sweden is high and in the county of Halland the highest in Sweden.

Education:
The Municipality of Varberg provides education from kindergarten to upper secondary school. Major investments in the school buildings have been made to adjust the premises to modern way of education. Since 2003 students have been able to study Advanced Vocational Education and university programmes and courses at Campus Varberg. Varberg doesn’t have its own university college, but provides this education in association with other universities. These courses have become very popular, with the number of students steadily rising, today totalling nearly 1300.

Tourism & culture:
Varberg is one of Sweden’s most popular seaside resorts. The beaches are well known throughout the country. Windsurfers from all over Europe come to Aplviken, to enjoy the best waves in Sweden. The tourist industry is a strong factor in the economy of Varberg.

In July 2004 UNESCO added the Grimeton radio station to its list of World Heritages. The radio station was erected in 1922-24 as a link in the worldwide network of broadcast transmitters. With an aerial system of six impressive steel towers and an Alexanderson alternator, the transmitter symbolizes a crucial step in the evolution of modern wireless communications and is the only one of its kind still in operation.

Local economy:
Local industry consists of a few major companies and many smaller businesses. The two largest companies are: the nuclear power station Ringhals and pulp and paper producer Södra Cell Värö employing around 1,600 people. Varberg is an important hub for goods traffic by road, rail, and not least by sea – thanks to the modern port facility and ferry link to Grenå in Denmark.

Today the port is equipped and capable of handling most existing types of goods. Today Varberg is Sweden’s leading handler of sawn timber. The port has successively developed and expanded.

The Municipality of Varberg and Halland County Council are the two largest employers. Around 4,500 people work for the municipality and around 2,000 work for the county council. Varberg is also home of many IT businesses and shoe companies and is famous for it’s long tradition of bicycle manufacturing Increasing numbers of companies are turning their attentions to Varberg. The Municipality of Varberg invests in education, health, logistics and culture. Major recent investment includes the Institute of Advanced Studies (Campus Varberg), and Sparbankshallen, a multi-purpose facility designed for sports, music, theatre, exhibitions and fairs.

The spa tradition thrives and is continuously developing. The Warm and Cold Baths are still housed in magnificent buildings close to the town centre. Several hotels offer packages with traditional spa treatments. The Institute of Advanced Studies provides courses in health promotion.

As many others, Varberg has made an effort to contribute to a sustainable development. The number of wind power plants is increasing. The waste heat from pulp and paper producer Södra Cell Värö becomes district heating in Varberg. This development of district heating has reduced our emission with 27 500 ton per year. The commercial and industrial life is continuously growing. Rural development has a high priority with activities and strategic planning to increase population, job opportunities, public transportation, and service and organise so that fiber network is accessible in the more sparsely populated parts of the municipality of Varberg.

www.jyvaskyla.fi
Jyväskylä is one of Finland’s five most important centres of growth. From beginning of 2009 three municipalities merged to a city with 130 000 inhabitants.Jyväskylä is situated in Central Finland, and it is 270 km from Helsinki, the capital, in a beautiful lake district with excellent possibilities for outdoor activities. In recent years the population of our area has grown at record speed compared to the country as a whole. Jyväskylä is in fact the second most popular place in Finland to move to. Finns have also ranked Jyväskylä as offering the country’s best environment in which to live and bring up children.

www.mikkeli.fi
Mikkeli, a town of about 33,000 inhabitants is the administrative centre of the South Savo region and also the province of Eastern Finland. Mikkeli has numerous historically interesting places and events, according to the emphasis in developing tourism in the Mikkeli sub-region has been on its scenic attractions, particularly nature and waters.

Mikkeli's manufacturers are predominantly small and medium-sized companies, and the large production plant in the Mikkeli region is Schauman Wood Oy's plywood mill in Ristiina. The long-established printing industry has maintained its position, metal engineering, electrical and forest industries have also maintained their positions. A new international business is a sawmill built in the town by a Japanese company, other new businesses have also been established, especially advanced and environmental technology companies.

Location:
Mikkeli is the administrative centre of the South Savo region and also the province of Eastern Finland. The town is located at the site of Savilahti, which was the main town of eastern Finland from 1 100 to 1400. Mikkeli became a provincial centre soon after it was established as a town in 1838. The headquarters of the Finnish armed forces were in Mikkeli during all the four wars since independence in 1917. The town is on a shore of Lake Saimaa. Small lakes abound about in this landscape, which makes the area popular with holidaymakers. The town is on the Savo eastern main railway line and main road 5 and 13. There are flights to Helsinki from the town every weekday. Mikkeli is especially renowned as an administrative, commercial, garrison and educational town. Mikkeli town will be merged with the surrounding Mikkeli rural district and Anttola in 2001. The town is compact. Areas of newly built housing surround the town centre, where the streets form a grid pattern. Urban housing extends into the Mikkeli rural district. Over a third of the town's homes are one-family houses. The housing is comparatively new: 85 % of homes have been built since 1960. 

Population:
Mikkeli has 33 000 inhabitants, but with the merger the population will rise to about 47 000. Since the Second World War the town's population has tripled.
 

Education:
Mikkeli has several higher education teaching and services units. The Helsinki School of Economics has the Small Business Centre and the International Centre, which grants MBA and BBA degrees. In the town there is Helsinki University Institute for Rural Research and Training, Institute For Co-operative Studies and some other units. Mikkeli Polytechnic teaches technical, business and social and health care subjects. It also has a research and development unit called Institute of Environmental Technology. It does research in the fields of wood processing, environmental and food technologies.

Tourism & culture:
The centre of cultural life is the Mikkeli Concert and Congress Hall, which was completed in 1988. The Mikkeli Music Festival and Ballet Mikkeli are important annual cultural events. There are frequent performances, including concerts by the Mikkeli Town Orchestra, opera and Mikkeli Theatre plays. Mikkeli is also host to Työväen Näyttämöpäivät, the country's most important amateur drama festival. The emphasis in developing tourism in the Mikkeli sub-region has been on its scenic attractions, particularly nature and waters. Popular tourist attractions include the Visulahti tourist centre and Kenkävero handicraft and arts centre. Mikkeli has numerous historically interesting places and events associated with Marshall Mannerheim and the wartime military headquarters. The town has several museums and tourist attractions related to military history, such as the Headquarters Museum and Infantry Museum. The town is renowned for its football, skiing and trotting, for all of which facilities are first class. The wide range of sports facilities includes golf courses and canoeing centre.

Local economy:
Mikkeli's manufacturers are predominantly small and medium-sized companies. The only large production plant in the Mikkeli region is Schauman Wood Oy's plywood mill in Ristiina. A quarter of all industrial jobs disappeared in the early 1990s, but in recent years the number of such jobs has been increasing. At the same time there has been major restructuring, by companies. The long-established printing industry has maintained its position, with Help-rint at the forefront as the biggest engraving printer in the Nordic countries. Metal engineering, electrical and forest industries have also maintained their positions. A new international business is a sawmill built in the town by a Japanese company. Other new businesses have also been established, especially advanced and environmental technology companies.

www.vigociudad.com
Vigo with a city population approximately 299.379 habitants, is the most populated city in Galicia (Spain), and the nucleous of a metropolitan area, which is a point of reference in the Galicia-Northern Portugal Euroregion due to its economic potential and its dynamic commercial, social and cultural life.

Local economy Vigo is the economic head of the south of Galicia and the nucleous of a wide socioeconomic area, also has one of the three free trade zones of Spain, this is very important for the industrial activity of the city, like the automobile (Citröen), which is one of the main economic activities of the city, together with the service sector and the fishing.

Vigo’s tourist resources make the city an attractive destination for spending a pleasant holiday on the Atlantic coast.

History:
Vigo was inhabited by castro dwellers and Romans. It experienced attacks by sea from English pirates and also had to fight on land against the French. The arrival of the Catalans boosted the city’s industrial development, which has not stopped growing since it was founded. At the end of the 16th century, the town had 868 residents, which rose to 15,000 at the end of the 19th century. At the beginning of the 20th century, Vigo’s liberal middle class took over the mechanisms of economic power. New industries were set up while communications improved and new plans were created to expand the city. In just over ten years the population doubled (there were 30,000 inhab. In 1910). As the century advanced, Vigo gradually absorbed the neighbouring municipalities of Bouzas and Lavadores. During the first third of the 20th century, the port of Vigo was linked to the image of thousands of Galicians boarding ships in order to emigrate to America. Another symbol is the tram, which began to function in 1914. The city was seething at that time with a great amount of social activities. There was an abundance of newspapers and weeklies, as well as political and trade union associations and organisations. All of this dynamic activity was neutralised by the outbreak of the Civil War.

Famous for: - Natural Bay and Ria. - Cíes Islands. - Sea Port with international importance. - Tradition of an open, cosmopolitan, industrial city with international projection. - The Vigo´s Ria has a special reference in the Julio Verne´s novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas. For example: “…The Spanish captains of the convoy protested against the decision. They wanted to be accompanied to a Spanish port, and if it could not be Cadiz, then Vigo Bay on the north-west coast of Spain, not blockaded at the time. Admiral de Châteaurenault was weak enough to obey these demands, and the galleons entered Vigo Bay…” “…Unloading the ingots from the galleons in Vigo port would have gone against their rigths. They therefore complained to Madrid, and persuaded the weak Philip V that the convoy should remain sequestered in the roadstead of Vigo without unloading, until the enemy fleets had gone away again. Now while this decision was being taken, the English vessels arrived in Vigo Bay, on 22 October 1702. Although outnumbered, Admiral de Châteaurenault fought courageously. But when he saw that the convoy´s riches were going to fall into the enemy´s hands, he burned and scuppered the galleons and so sank them with their enormous treasure…” “…Well, Dr Aronnax, we are in Vigo Bay, and you are now in a position to penetrate its mysteries…” “…Yes indeed, captain. Allow me, however, to tell you that in making use of Vigo Bay, you are merely anticipating the work of a rival company…” Julio Verne.

Location:
Vigo is the most populated city in Galicia (Spain), and the nucleous of a metropolitan area, which is a point of reference in the Galicia-Northern Portugal Euroregion due to its economic potential and its dynamic commercial, social and cultural life.

Population: The population of Vigo at the end of 2004 was 299.379 habitants

Education:
The city Council of Vigo developes its own education planning through the “Municipal Institute of Education” (Instituto Municipal de Educación) , which has a department for programation and another one for the orientation of the education. The municipal schools for music, theatre, games and chess are attached to this Institute.

Tourism & culture:
Good beaches, suitable facilities for nautical sports, all kinds of musical concerts, the market of Pedra, the Zoo, the Cíes Islands… Vigo’s tourist resources make the city an attractive destination for spending a pleasant holiday on the Atlantic coast. Have a look at the turismodevigo.org web if you are looking for accommodation, city routes or simply want to find out more about the range of leisure activities. Local economy Vigo is the economic head of the south of Galicia and the nucleous of a wide socioeconomic area, which covers from the Morrazo Peninsula to the Portuguese border. Vigo also has one of the three free trade zones of Spain, managed by a Consortium (Zona Franca ), in which the City Council of Vigo and the Porth Authority also participate. This is a tax free area in order to facilitate the international trade. This is very important for the industrial activity of the city, like the automobile (Citröen), which is one of the main economic activities of the city, together with the service sector and the fishing.

www.leeuwarden.nl Leeuwarden, a town of about 92.000 inhabitants is the capital of the province of Fryslan situated in the north of the Netherlands. Is the centre of financial services in the north of the Netherlands and important agro- and nutri-business-complex. Leeuwarden is the centre for (semi) government, education and health care and the second ‘office’ city of the northern region with an important position in the financial service sector.

Leeuwarden a city with a varying employment structure but Information and Communication Technology ICT is the fastest growing sector world wide. Leeuwarden wants to play a key role in this growth, so the municipality stimulates innovation, brings companies together and creates opportunities for well established companies and young beginners. Leeuwarden has a number of professional universities, although the city has no university, several dependencies are located here.

History:
Leeuwarden arose from a number of three artificial dwelling mounds (terpen in Dutch) at the shore of the Middelzee. Recent archeological research suggests that there were already people living here before 500. From the tenth century these agricultural inhabitants started trading as well. The position at the Middelzee was ideal for this purpose. The contacts reached into Russia. In this way Leeuwarden developed urban characteristics. But in the thirteenth century the Middelzee silted up and from that moment on the trading activities were concentrated in the area. Leeuwarden obtained city-rights in the year 1435 and became capital city of the region in 1504, when the central government and jurisdiction settled down here. Beside that, Leeuwarden became the residence of the Frisian stadtholders. In these centuries the town was flourishing. The number of inhabitants rose spectacularly: from five thousand in the year 1500 to sixteen thousand in 1650. Then Leeuwarden belonged to the ten most important cities in the Netherlands. Several monumental buildings are still testifying to that period. Such as the Chancellery, where justice was settled, the Court of the Stadtholders, the Weighing-house, and the leaning tower the Oldehove. The prosperity of Leeuwarden needed to be protected against enemies. Therefore a canal was dug round about the town and ramparts were thrown up. Later, when these defences became needless, they were broken down or reformed to a public garden. Inside the inner town almost all the canals are still intact. In the nineteenth century Leeuwarden expanded outside the town-canal. As a result of the major social changes in the second half of the nineteenth century, Leeuwarden became important as a town with central tasks in the area. Whereas at national level the importance of Leeuwarden decreased extremely. Nowadays the situation is still the same. Leeuwarden, having around 92.000 inhabitants, is the urban centre with a large number of provisions, within the comparatively sparsely populated province of Fryslan. Famous natives of Leeuwarden include stadtholder Wiliam IV of Orange, graphical artist M.C. Escher, statesman P.J. Troelstra, the exotic danced and convicted spy Mata Hari and writer Jan Jacob Slauerhoff.

Location:
Exact location in relation to the main conurbation areas of the Netherlands:  Leeuwarden (92.000 inhabitants)  The capital of the province of Fryslan (624.000 inhabitants)  situated in the north of the Netherlands (1.656.000 inhabitants)  bounded by the Waddenzee at the North-West side and by the IJsselmeer at the South-West side North Randstad 75 minutes by car, 120 minutes by train.  The governmental, economic, educational and cultural heart of Fryslan. The centre of financial services in the north of the Netherlands Important agro- and nutri-business-complex.

Education:
Leeuwarden has a number of professional universities (HBO in Dutch), Such as the Van Hall Instituut (Agricultural, environmental and life sciences), The Christelijke Hogeschool Nederland (retail management, leisure and tourism, economical and educational studies) and the Noordelijke Hogeschool Leeuwarden (any meanstream study). Although the city has no university, several dependencies are located here, including the Universiteit Twente and the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. Wetsus, the research centre for sustainable watertechnology in Leeuwarden, is an example of university research of several Dutch universities. With its more than 17.000 higher vocational education students, Leeuwarden is the most important higher vocational education city in the northern Netherlands. Among them, an increasing number of foreign students. Leeuwarden is planning to concentrate the professional education in a knowledge campus (Kenniscampus), just outside the historic city. Besides higher education the city is also home to two regional vocational schools (MBO): The Friese Poort and Friesland College. Housing The city has not delayed in revealing its ideas about the future. There is a wide residential ring encircling the old inner city which contains residential districts that are kept up-to-date through municipal renovation. New residential districts are now in the design phase or are already under construction.

Tourism & culture:
Leeuwarden has a lot to offer for tourists. To begin with, the city has a wonderful historic centre the perfect place for a stroll through old narrow walkways and along the city canals. The city has about 750 state monuments. The Tourist Information can gives walking routes for the city (www.vvvleeuwarden.nl) On the streets, one can see students of the three local colleges. In the summer, they can be found at one of the sidewalk cafés on the canals.

Local economy:
Leeuwarden is the centre for (semi) government, education and health care. Besides that, from the 19th century, in Leeuwarden developed a big agro-industrial dairy foods complex. Since the 70’s, one can see that the economy is shifting from a production-economy to a (business) service economy. Leeuwarden has about 54.000 employers. More than half of these people are from outside the town. Leeuwarden has a strong centre function for the province and region. This can be seen by the amount and character of the facilities. Some figures: The (inner) city counts more than 400 shops, there are more than 160 cafes and restaurants. The museums attract more than 140.000 visitors a year. The city theatre ’de Harmonie’ get every year about 240.000 visitors (about 600 performances a year). Leeuwarden is second ‘office’ city of the northern region. De city has an important position in the financial service sector. Besides that, the business service sector, the government, education and health care have developed as important economic factors. This makes Leeuwarden a city with a varying employment structure (see also figure 1). The general employment grow in the period 1995 – 2003 by 19,5%. The growth is not the same for every sector. The employment in the industry, transport and agricultural sector shrunk, whereas the employment in health care, financial and business sector and the public sector rose.

More information:
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) ICT is the fastest growing sector world wide. Leeuwarden wants to play a key role in this growth, so the municipality stimulates innovation, brings companies together and creates opportunities for well established companies and young beginners. The ICT Centre in the Leeuwarden Business Park is becoming the Frisian centre for the new growth sector. Leeuwarden exploits a glassfibre cityring and an internet exchange (starting next autumn) Industrial locations Leeuwarden possesses several big industrial and office locations to set up a business. The costs to set up are relatively low. Industrial estate De Hemrik, Industrial estate Newtonpark,  Business Park Leeuwarden, FEC City office location,  Industrial estate Leeuwarden West Full of culture... Leeuwarden is a city full of culture. There are several museums and galleries to visit. The city is filled with monuments of a stylish past, such as the imposing Oldehove Tower. Besides that there are a lot of small cultural events. For example the performances in the Prinsentuin during the summer. But also if you look around in the city: culture is everywhere: the nice streets, the very old stone tablets, the 750 monuments of the city. They all show that the city of Leeuwarden has a rich history. Museums and archives The most national famous museums and archives are: - Keramiek museum Het Princessehof: The only museum in The Netherlands which is specialised in ceramics, www.princesshof.nl - Fries Museum: Highlights of Frisian culture and modern and contemporary Dutch art, www.friesmuseum.nl - Fries Historisch en Letterkundig Centrum Tresoar, www.tresoar.nl - Historisch Centrum Leeuwarden: the centre for historical information and activities in Leeuwarden, www.historischcentrumleeuwarden.nl - Natuurmuseum Friesland, www.natuurmuseumfryslan.nl Theaters and cinemas City theatre ‘De Harmonie’: the fifth theatre of The Netherlands, www.harmonie.nl Theatre ‘Romein’, a small scale theatre, www.theaterromein.nl Parnas: center for art, www.parnas.nl Tivoli and Cinema (two cinemas): In these two cinemas you can find the latest movies. 'Het Filmhuis' ('The Moviehouse') shows actual movies from different cultures. Sights Welknown buildings in the city include the Kanselarij (the former chancellary), The Waag (the old trade centre of the city) and the leaning tower Oldehove. Leeuwarden is also the site of the country’s largest cattle market and on Ascension day, the largest flowers market of the Netherlands is held here. Just outside the city Near the city one can find two recreation areas ( De Wielen and De Groene Ster) and a Aqua Zoo (a zoo with water related animals). Cycling is the perfect way to discover the charming villages with little castles such as Popta Slot in Marssum and in Dekemastate in Jelsum.

Ulm is still a city with is a historic centre. The first document about Ulm is from the year 854, when it was then a king’s palatinate. In 1181 it became a designated town. In the Middle Ages Ulm was the cultural and economic centre of the region and a “Free Imperial City”, until 1802. During the Middle Ages Ulm was a trade centre for cloth and its citizens were important patrons for the arts. In that times Ulm citizens built the famous huge cathedral with its spire of 161meters, which is still the highest in Christian world. The inner part of the City is still in the structure of a medieval town with its guildhouses and quarters for fisherman and other craftsman. In the Second World War this centre was by 85% destroyed, but was rebuilt after the war.

Location:
Ulm is a city in the southwest of the Land Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Ulm is on the river Danube with important trade routes crossing. Ulm is on the southern edge of the Swabian Alb, a low mountain range and a paradise for walking . Ulm is a regional and traffic hub, with two A-Routes crossing and is on the way of the new to be built European Railway connection “Magistrale” from Paris to Budapest. Ulm, as a city on the river Danube has European connections with the cites alongside the river until the Black Sea. Ulm was always the centre of this part of Baden-Württemberg, the next two big cities are Stuttgart and Augsburg, both 100 km away.

Population: Nowadays Ulm has 120 000 inhabitants.

Area: 118,69 km2

Tourism & culture:
Ulm had always European connections along the Danube. Since the Middle Ages Ulm was a centre for trade and for migration for settlers, sailing down the Danube to Hungary and further. Nowadays the connections are more in the field of cultural exchange. Ulm is also the cultural centre of the region. During the last 20 years Ulm started to bring modern architecture into the inner city with a “Stadthouse” designed by the American architect Richard Meier, a pyramid library and the “New Middle”: modern buildings were once big streets divided the city. The latest building is a gallery for modern art in this “New Middle”. Ulm has various museums, galleries and theatres.

Local economy:
Ulm is the logistic and technology centre of the region. In Ulm you find two universities, one of applied sciences. Ulm is a “Science City” with a Science park, which is run by the municipality. Important international enterprises like Daimler, Siemens, Nokia are part of this Science City, but also start ups find their way to it. Science City exists since 30 years now. Ulm is part of many clusters around the region: life science, bio, automotive, logistic and more. The backbone of Ulm’s economy are the small and middle sized enterprises. Together Science City and SME offer 80.000 jobs in the region around Ulm.

http://www.sindelfingen.de

Sindelfingen with a city population of approximately 60.000 inhabitants is located in the Southwest of Germany, in Baden-Württemberg. It forms part of the Stuttgart metropolitan region, a predominantly urban agglomateration, where app. 3 mio people live. Sindelfingen thus belongs to one of the most innovative regions in Europe.

Sindelfingen has a lot to offer: Founded in 1263, the city is characterized by a charming historic city centre with timberframed houses and the Martin’s Church, one of the oldest Romanesque churches in Württemberg. Furthermore the city embraces nature with its extensive forest paths and numerous parks.

 With app. 20% inhabitants of foreign origin, Sindelfingen is an international city. Its international character is expressed via lively exchange activities with its seven town twinnings and the “International Street Festival” which takes place each year in June. Sindelfingen city administration has its own European Affairs Department, which is actively involved in a range of international city networks and EU-initiatives and which promotes European Affairs and EU-policy awareness in the city.

Economically, Sindelfingen is also known as “car-town”: Sindelfingen is home to the largest production plant of Daimler AG in the world, where approx. 36,000 people are employed. Every day, approximately 2,000 vehicles are manufactured at the plant. Sindelfingen also hosts Mercedes Technology Center, a modern research, design and development centre for the automotive industry.

Apart from the automotive industry, Sindelfingen is economically strong in the fashion sector (B2B), retail and engineering.

The town is active in promoting trade and industry. This includes the development of the “Flugfeld”, a former airfield that is now undergoing redevelopment and covers approximately 80 hectares (almost 200 acres). At Flugfeld, a modern combination of business locations and residential areas are located next to each other. Flugfeld is also being developed as a prime location for the aerospace industry. For this purpose, the town of Sindelfingen receives funding from the European Regional Development Fund to support cluster development in the aerospace sector.

Education:
The promotion of children and young people’s talents is one of the key objectives of Sindelfingen city policy. Sindelfingen has altogether more than 20 schools.

During the last years Sindelfingen has been investing in the school infrastructure and facilities for full-time-schools. Furthermore it promotes innovative educational concepts at its children daycare facilities. Each year the “Sindelfingen Knowledge Days” take place which foster innovative approaches to learning and offer a variety of non-formal-learning events and workshops. 

History:

Sindelfingen was founded in 1263 by the Count Rudolf Scherer of Tübingen-Herrenberg. In 1351 the city was sold to Württemberg. The new rulers led the Reformation in 1535. Sindelfingen, however, remained an insignificant provincial town. In the 19th Century when mechanical mills were introduced, Sindelfingen gained in importance and standing with a strong textile and weaving industry. In 1850 Sindelfingen had 4304, predominantly protestant, inhabitants.

During the 20^th century, Sindelfingen became an important industrial location. The Daimler plant was built 1914 in Sindelfingen; furthermore DEMOHAS (which was sold later on to IBM) had its headquarters in Sindelfingen.

During the Second World War the Daimler company was one of the largest stakeholders in the arms and defence industry. This was one of the reasons, why Sindelfingen was hit hard by counter-attacks by the allied forces during the end of WWII. However, due to its relative wealth, large parts have been rebuilt during the 50s and 60s and there has been enormous population increase: While the city had approx. 8500 inhabitants by the end of WWII, there were 20.000 inhabitants in 1957.

Location:

Sindelfingen is located in the Southwest of Germany and it is part of the state of Baden-Württemberg. It belongs to the Stuttgart metropolitan region and forms the largest city in the district of Böblingen. With three slip road to the motorway A 81 Sindelfingen offers easy access ot the whole region. Black Forest and Swabian Alb are not more than a one-hour drive away, it takes approx. two hours to get to Lake Constance and Switzerland. The state capital Stuttgart is only 15 km away.