Erlangen

We spent five wonderful years in Erlangen from 1995 to 2000. In well as working at the university hospital, we were enjoying life in this vibrant city.

Erlangen is located to the north of Nuremberg and has a population of around 112,000. The city is surrounded by a green belt. Towards the north, the Burgberg leads directly into Franconian Switzerland with the "Walberla" as the mountain of Franconia. To the south, the Franconian Lake District invites you to relax. The Steigerwald, the Frankenhöhe and the Rangau are nearby.

Erlangen was founded as a city in 1398 and became part of Bavaria in 1810. The city developed thanks to the Huguenots, who arrived as Protestant refugees from France in 1685. In 1743, Margrave Friedrich von Bayreuth founded the Friedrich Alexander University, where over 40,000 students are enrolled today.

The University Hospital Erlangen has 1600 beds, 6000 employees and over 1000 people working in medical research facilities. Many biomedical companies and research laboratories for medical technology are in the neighbourhood. As the "capital of medical research", Erlangen has developed into an innovative centre for medical technology and pharmaceuticals.

Siemens AG, a leading industrial manufacturer, was founded in 1847 by the Siemens brothers and Johann Halske. After merging with Reiniger Gebbert & Schall, Siemens became one of the world's largest producers of electrical equipment, in addition to products for diagnostic imaging, transistors, generators and telecommunication systems.

The former palace of the Margraves of Kulmbach-Bayreuth serves as an administrative building for the Friedrich Alexander University. The cityscape of Erlangen is characterised by single-storey half-timbered houses. The palace garden, the aroma garden, the botanical garden, and the herb garden are the green heart of the city centre. There is a lively cultural scene in the city centre.