A Discovery Journey Through Schwetzingen
Schwetzingen has a population of approx. 22,500 inhabitants and was first mentioned in 766 in the Lor Codex as "Suezzingen."
The Schwetzingen "water castle" was first mentioned in 1350 when Pfalzgraf bei Rhein received the right of residence in the castle.
The castle was destroyed during the Thirty Years War and the Palatinatian succession war and again-established by elector Johann William and/or his predecessors.
Starting from 1720, it occasionally served as an alternate residence for elector Karl Philipp, after making his way from Heidelberg. In 1759, the village Schwetzingen received the market right, and in the 18th century, was developed in the baroque style.
Starting from 1850, the industrialization began. Among other things, the city became seat of cigar and tinning factories. The cultivation of asparagus gained significance as well.
By the way, Schwetzingen is the asparagus city of Germany. Asparagus is a speciality. A whole bunch of asparagus will be eaten during the harvest time in April and May. You then get almost everything, from asparagus soup over asparagus vegetables up to the asparagus ice cream. (Yup, really!)
Schwetzingen Castle And Gardens
The castle was the summer residence of the Palatinatian cure prince Karl Philipp and Karl Theodor and lies in the middle of the city. The building was established and developed in several sections starting from the year 1697. A garden extension were made in 1752. The baroque garden within the castle area is classified in a strict geometrical form. The most important elements are the central axle and the circular. The front garden part points itself as Rococo garden with Parterres and bosketten. The rear part of the garden was arranged as a English landscape garden.
Schwetzingen Nightlife
In front of the castle is the Schlossplatz (Castle Square), considered as the "center court" of the city. On this square you are going to find not less than six restaurants and taverns. All of them have their own character.
Brauhaus Ritter (Knight's Brewing House)
A tasteful restaurant with own brewery. When you come in you immediately see the large copper boiler. Simply grandiose. From time to time there are playing life bands. Then it is a genuine benefit to spent your time in there.
Kaffeehaus (Coffee house)
The In-Pub of Schwetzingen. Here you will see and will be seen. When other restaurants are badly visited it's for sure that the Kaffeehaus (okay, and the rising Cubar) is full of people. This pub really is the real deal. Why? No idea! Just go in there, and you will feel, hear, and see it. Good music is being played as well.
Grüner Baum (Green Tree)
This restaurant has the flair of a club house or a family meeting place. It is cosy — that's it. Whom it's enough, will have a good time there. That you are going to find German food in it is a good thing.
Cubar
Oh my... how much time do you have? 
This one is my favourite. It's actually a bar with music from Brazil and Cuba bein played. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings is party time. That means, from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m., you can attend a free salsa dancing class, and after that teaching, the show goes on with dancing professionals on the dance floor.
Mexican
Beside the Cubar is "our" Mexican. It's also very beautiful there but not as exciting and rousing as in the Cubar. However, eating a Mexican salad is a must.
Café Journal
This one is comparable with Kaffeehaus — has also a kind of wood design with cosy seats and nice music.
I hope I could give you a bit of our Schwetzingen lifestyle with these lines here. The above six restaurants and pubs are not the only ones this town contains. Again, more than 160 gastronomic businesses reside in Schwetzingen.
When you come to this town drop me a line. We probably will not go drinking a coffee since I'm now living in Brazil (since July 2006). But I can tell you more secret spots since I know this cute town from inside out. 
The Johanneshof, located on field between Schwetzingen and Hockenheim, is incredible. Just visit their website (German language only) and click on a button that says Anfahrtsskizze. Then you can see a short description on how to get there. Trust me, it's worth spending some time on this farm. They are open from May to September. Best days are Sunday (for breakfast/brunch) and Friday (start of weekend, people are happier). Best times to eat there are in the morning and afternoon. It has a playground for kids.
Warmly,
![Map of Germany Showing Schwetzingen's Position [Image: opengeodb.de]](image-files/schwetzingengermanymap.gif "Map of Germany Showing Schwetzingen's Position [Image: opengeodb.de]")
