Mannheim definition

Mannheim is the chief commercial town on the upper Rhine, and yields in importance to Cologne alone among the lower Rhenish towns.

The name of Mannheim was connected with its present site in the 8th century, when a small village belonging to the abbey of Lorsch lay in the marshy district between the Neckar and the Rhine.

In 1688 Mannheim, which had in the meantime recovered from its former disasters, was captured by the French, and in 1689 it was burned down.

In 1794 Mannheim fell into the hands of the French, and in the following year it was retaken by the Austrians after a severe bombardment, which left scarcely a single building uninjured.