The Dukes of Baden-Durlach founded Karlsruhe in 1715 as a “Residenzstadt” or capital city for their realm. The planned city became a model for Baroque cities across the world and famously influenced the layout of Washington DC. The city was entirely annihilated in WWII, with not a single building of the inner-old town surviving. Today we are left with fragments of a city that once displayed the might and splendor of the Duchy of Baden.
The highlighted areas on the map show areas with a reasonable proportion of older-buildings. Most buildings will be reconstructions or partial reconstructions, with gaps filled by post-war architecture. As a result, there are no areas that can be reasonably be described as ‘old-town’. The only publicly accessible building with preserved interiors is the Staatliche Kunsthalle, or the Baden State Museum of Art.