Schwetzingen Palace

Schlosstheater Schwetzingen (Schwetzingen palace theater) is a court theater in Schwetzingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The historic building, opened in 1753, is part of Schloss Schwetzingen and since 1952 the principal venue of the Schwetzingen Festival. It is also called Hoftheater (court theater), Hofoper (court opera), and Comoedienhaus (comedy house). The frequently applied name Rokokotheater (Rococo theater) is misleading, because it shows also neoclassical elements, added in 1762.

Schwetzingen (German: [ˈʃvɛtsɪŋən] ; Palatine German: Schwetzinge) is a German town in northwest Baden-Württemberg, around 10 km (6.2 mi) southwest of Heidelberg and 15 km (9.3 mi) southeast of Mannheim. Schwetzingen is one of the five biggest cities of the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis district and a medium-sized centre between Heidelberg and Mannheim. The city is most famous for Schwetzingen Palace and the Schlosstheater. The palace grounds also feature a mosque, the oldest in Germany. Although not functional, it was used by Muslim prisoners in the Franco-Prussian War.

Schwetzingen station is a through station in Schwetzingen, a town in the German state of Baden-Württemberg and lies not far from its centre. It is located at kilometre 13.6 of the Rhine Railway, which runs from Mannheim via Hockenheim and Graben-Neudorf to Karlsruhe. North of the station, the line to Mannheim-Friedrichsfeld branches to connect with the Main-Neckar Railway; the branch is almost exclusively used by freight. Until 1967, the Heidelberg–Speyer railway gave Schwetzingen direct connections to Heidelberg and Speyer. The only operating section of this line today is the section from Schwetzingen to the industrial area of Hockenheim-Talhaus, which is used for freight traffic. It is classified by Deutsche Bahn (DB) as a category 4 station. It has three platform tracks and is served exclusively by DB services. Its address is Bahnhofsanlage 1–3.

Oftersheim is a municipality in the district of Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 8 km southwest of Heidelberg.

Plankstadt (German: [ˈplaŋkʃtat] ) is a municipality in the district of Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

Brühl (pronounced [bʁyːl] ) is a municipality in the Rhein-Neckar district of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The former fishing village along the Rhine has become a satellite of a growing Mannheim. Many of the residents of Brühl work in Mannheim. Brühl is known as the hometown of former tennis player Steffi Graf.

Ketsch (German: [kɛtʃ] ) is a municipality in the district of Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located on Bertha Benz Memorial Route. It is situated on the right bank of the Rhine, 14 km south of Heidelberg.

The 2006 German Grand Prix (officially the Formula 1 Grosser Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland 2006) was a Formula One motor race held at the Hockenheimring on 30 July 2006. The 67-lap race was the twelfth round of the 2006 Formula One season and was won by Michael Schumacher. The Grand Prix weekend got off to a controversial start when the mass damper system fitted by Renault was deemed legal by the FIA appointed stewards, despite the FIA banning the use of these devices. The FIA appealed against the steward's decision, Renault withdrew the system after Friday practice to avoid further sanctions. Kimi Räikkönen took pole position, it proved artificial as McLaren had inadvertently not put enough fuel as intended in his car before qualifying. In the race, Räikkönen's early pitstop left him unable to challenge at the front, and the way was left clear for Ferrari to score a dominant one-two. Perhaps due to the damper issue, Renault were not competitive; it was the first time in 2006 that neither of their cars finished the race on the podium. Sakon Yamamoto made his Formula One début at the Grand Prix, starting from pit lane after changing chassis after the qualifying session. He was not the only one to suffer changes after qualifying, as Jarno Trulli and Christijan Albers both had to change engines, incurring ten-place penalties. A nightmare weekend for Albers was summed up with his disqualification, along with team-mate Tiago Monteiro, as the Midlands were disqualified after the race for having illegally flexing rear wings. The race also saw the last appearance by 1997 champion Jacques Villeneuve, who blamed the split on the "lack of assurances about his short-term future with BMW Sauber". Robert Kubica was promoted internally at BMW to drive at the Hungaroring because Villeneuve was still recovering from the after-effects of his crash in Germany, and went on to race in all the remaining Grands Prix.

The 2004 German Grand Prix (officially the Formula 1 Grosser Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland 2004) was a Formula One motor race held at Hockenheim on 25 July 2004. It was Race 12 of 18 in the 2004 FIA Formula One World Championship. The 66-lap race was won by local driver Michael Schumacher, driving a Ferrari. Schumacher took his eleventh victory of the season, equalling his record from 2002, after starting from pole position. Englishman Jenson Button finished second in a BAR-Honda despite a ten-place grid penalty for an engine change in practice, and a loose helmet strap during the race, with Spaniard Fernando Alonso third in a Renault. Kimi Räikkönen of McLaren-Mercedes set the fastest lap of the race but retired on lap 14 after his rear wing gave way at Turn 1, sending his car into the barriers at high speed. The first start was aborted after Olivier Panis indicated a problem with his Toyota. This led to a second formation lap, and the shortening of the race by one lap. This was the final Grand Prix for Brazilian driver Cristiano da Matta, and the final time Williams used the "Walrus" front wing. Marc Gené was replaced at Williams by Antônio Pizzonia, returning to Formula One after being sacked by Jaguar following the 2003 British Grand Prix. Pizzonia scored his first points by finishing seventh.

The 2008 German Grand Prix (formally the Formula 1 Grosser Preis Santander von Deutschland 2008) was a Formula One motor race held on 20 July 2008 at the Hockenheimring, Hockenheim, Germany. It was the 10th race of the 2008 Formula One World Championship and was contested over 67 laps. It was won by Lewis Hamilton for the McLaren team after starting from pole position. Nelson Piquet Jr. finished second for Renault, with Felipe Massa third for Ferrari. Hamilton maintained his startline advantage and led until he made his first pit stop on lap 18. As other cars made their pit stops, Hamilton regained the lead on lap 22. On lap 36, Timo Glock crashed, and the race was neutralized by the deployment of the safety car. Hamilton, on a two-stop strategy, did not stop to get more fuel during this period, while all the cars around him did. Thus, when he did eventually stop on lap 50, he rejoined the race in fifth position. In the closing stages of the race, Hamilton first overtook his teammate Heikki Kovalainen, then Massa, and finally Piquet, whilst also gaining a position due to Nick Heidfeld's late pit stop. This allowed him to take the lead again on lap 60, which he maintained to win the race. The victory was Hamilton's second consecutive win, having won the preceding British Grand Prix at Silverstone. The win also put him ahead of his two main rivals in the Drivers' Championship, Kimi Räikkönen (who finished sixth) and Massa, who were on equal points with him before the race. After the race he was four points ahead of Massa, and seven ahead of Räikkönen. In the Constructors' Championship, McLaren drew closer to the two teams ahead of them, BMW Sauber and Ferrari. Ferrari still led by 15 points from McLaren, and 12 from BMW, whose drivers – Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica – finished fourth and seventh respectively.

The 2003 German Grand Prix (formally the Grosser Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland 2003) was a Formula One motor race held on 3 August 2003 at the Hockenheimring, Hockenheim, Germany. It was the twelfth race of the 2003 Formula One season and the sixty-fifth German Grand Prix. The 67-lap race was won by Juan Pablo Montoya driving for the Williams team after starting from pole position. David Coulthard finished second in a McLaren car, with Jarno Trulli third in a Renault.

The 2005 German Grand Prix (officially the Formula 1 Grosser Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland 2005) was a Formula One motor race held on 24 July 2005 in the Hockenheimring, Hockenheim, Germany at 14:00 CEST (UTC+2). The 67-lap race was the twelfth round of the 2005 Formula One season. Renault driver Fernando Alonso won the race, taking his sixth victory of the season, whilst Juan Pablo Montoya finished second for the McLaren team. BAR-Honda driver Jenson Button, completed the podium by finishing in third position. It was his first podium finish of the season, because the BAR team had been disqualified from the San Marino Grand Prix. As a consequence of the race, Alonso extended his lead in the Drivers' Championship by 10 points to 36 points over his main title rival, McLaren driver Kimi Räikkönen, who had retired from the lead of the race, but still remained second in the standings. Ferrari driver and reigning world champion Michael Schumacher, finished the race in fifth position and retained third place in the standings, albeit being 40 points behind Alonso. Juan Pablo Montoya was still in fourth, and Rubens Barichello remained fifth despite finishing out of the points. In the Constructors' Championship, Renault extended their lead to 22 points from title rivals McLaren. McLaren increased the gap between themselves and third placed Ferrari to 17 points, whilst Toyota and Williams remained fourth and fifth respectively.