Wender·Vista
Mannheim
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileGermany
at the confluence of the Rhine and the Neckar, in Baden-Württemberg

Mannheim

— — a city laid out as a chessboard.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“Mannheim sits where the Neckar runs into the Rhine, the old town set out in a grid of lettered and numbered squares — the Quadrate — that has held since the early seventeenth century. The Baroque palace closes the south side, the red sandstone Wasserturm anchors Friedrichsplatz to the east. Trams run the long axes. Karl Benz built the first automobile here in 1886. — from the studio

from the studio
Mannheim
— bring it home

Mannheim, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Mannheim

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Mannheim is a city of roughly 315,000 in the north-west of Baden-Württemberg, at the confluence of the Rhine and the Neckar, opposite Ludwigshafen across the Rhine in Rhineland-Palatinate. The historic centre was laid out by Elector Friedrich IV in 1606 as a grid of square blocks identified by a letter and a number rather than by street names — a plan still in use today. Mannheim Palace, completed in 1760, is one of the largest Baroque palaces in Europe.

— the stone

Two structures hold the city's image. The Mannheimer Schloss runs about 450 metres along its main façade and houses the University of Mannheim in its working wings. The Wasserturm, finished in 1889 in red Pfalz sandstone, stands sixty metres above the Jugendstil gardens of Friedrichsplatz and is the city's recognised symbol. The Marktplatz in the Quadrate holds the seventeenth-century Altes Rathaus and the parish church of St. Sebastian as a single conjoined building, an arrangement unusual in German civic planning.

— the visit

Mannheim Hauptbahnhof is a main ICE node, roughly 35 minutes from Frankfurt and 40 from Stuttgart. The Quadrate are walkable end to end in under half an hour. The palace, the Wasserturm, and the Kunsthalle stand within the same easy axis. The Luisenpark on the Neckar's south bank holds the city's gardens and the Fernmeldeturm. Trams run as the local backbone; the central RNV ring opens out to Heidelberg in about fifteen minutes by S-Bahn.

— where
Germany · Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg
— elevation
97 m · 318 ft
— position
49.4875° N · 8.4660° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
20 km E
Heidelberg
old town
3 km W
Ludwigshafen
city
25 km S
Speyer
cathedral city
N
Mannheim
Heidelberg
Ludwigshafen
Speyer
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Mannheim — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

The Quadrate grid dates from 1606. Each block sits in a coordinate of letter and number rather than carrying a street name. The system was conceived by Elector Friedrich IV and is still the working address scheme today.

The Wasserturm is a red Pfalz-sandstone water tower of about sixty metres, finished in 1889, that anchors the east end of Friedrichsplatz in a Jugendstil garden ensemble. It is the recognised symbol of Mannheim.

Mannheim Palace, completed in 1760 for the Electors Palatine, is one of the largest Baroque palaces in Europe. Its main façade runs roughly 450 metres and houses the University of Mannheim today.

Karl Benz built and patented the first automobile, the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, in Mannheim in 1886. The city was also early in pianoforte manufacture, public-park design, and the Mannheim school of classical composition.

About 20 kilometres east. The S-Bahn S1, S2, S3, and S4 lines run between the two central stations and complete the trip in roughly fifteen minutes through the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. The Quadrate grid and the Wasserturm are particular to the city and instantly recognised by anyone who has lived there. A Medium or Large with a handwritten note from the studio carries well.

The sandstone red and palace cream sit well in warm-tone European-classic rooms, in Bauhaus-leaning modern interiors, and in Jewel-tone Maximalist walls that already carry deep reds and brass.

A single Large reads from across the room. For wider walls a 4-tile Mural carries the palace façade with room to breathe; a 9-tile Mural is right above a long sideboard or sectional.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and made for vertical installation on backsplashes, shower walls, and powder-room features.

A soft microfibre cloth and clean water. The colour is held inside the ceramic surface under the finish, so it does not lift or fade with normal household cleaning.

Yes. The Mannheim piece is original to Wender Studios. Reid is the curator and the eye behind every WenderVista place. We do not license outside work.

— if this one stayed with you

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