Your place of study opens up all kinds of possibilities.
As a student in Karlsruhe, you should expect living costs for housing, food, transportation, etc. to average €750 per month. We will be happy to help you find accommodation.
Are you a Karls student looking for an apartment or would you like to advertise your apartment? Take a look at our apartment exchange in Microsoft Teams! If you do not yet have access to Microsoft Teams, you can contact info(at)karlshochschule.de as a student from Germany or international(at)karlshochschule.de as a student from abroad to find out whether new apartments are currently available.
As a newcomer, you will find all the important information about the city of Karlsruhe in the following factsheet and on the website. You are also welcome to exchange ideas with your fellow students!
Student life
There is one question I never have to ask myself in Karlsruhe: How do I organize my student life? Because Karlsruhe always has something to offer me.
I want to go out with my friends and fellow students? No problem: numerous cafés and pubs, clubs and open-air parties, wine festivals and beer gardens invite us to turn night into day.
I want to experience culture? I visit one of the many galleries or spend a day at the ZKM, the city’s cultural center. Of course, I can also become active myself and join one of the many initiatives at the university, such as the theater group, the Karlsberatung or the choir.
I want to get out into nature? The city is full of parks and oases of peace – in the middle of one of Baden’s most beautiful landscapes and Germany’s sunniest regions.
I would like to do sport? Thanks to a cooperation with the University of Karlsruhe, I can take advantage of all the sports activities and courses on offer or simply hop on my bike and head out. And if I have any free time left, I can contribute to making Karlsruhe vibrant myself. For example, by getting involved in the editorial team at Karlshochschule, which independently plans and organizes events of all kinds.
There are many different types of events in Karlsruhe. An annual highlight in the music scene is Das Fest – an open-air event with over 100,000 spectators – which takes place in July. The European Culture Days, the Handel Festival and many other festivals complete the list of ongoing cultural activities in Karlsruhe. Since October 2003, the New Karlsruhe Trade Fair Center has provided space for a variety of sporting and cultural events. Numerous rock concerts with well-known groups take place in the Europahalle and the dm-Arena.
Traffic
Local public transport
Karlsruhe has a well-developed public transportation system (bus, streetcar, light rail and regional rail). This means that all parts of the city can be reached quickly and easily. Karlshochschule is centrally located and has good access to public transportation. The nearest streetcar stop (Karlstor) is in the immediate vicinity of the university. Students receive a free ticket for one semester when they register at the Residents’ Registration Office. Visit www.kvv.de and www.efa-bw.de for information on local public transport timetables.
Regional traffic
Deutsche Bahn offers a good rail network for national and international destinations. Baden-Württemberg can be explored for little money with the Baden-Württemberg-Ticket. Up to five people can use it to travel throughout Baden-Württemberg for a day (only on regional trains). The ICE and IC high-speed trains are recommended for longer journeys. Alternatively, numerous long-distance buses also depart from the main station. Portals such as omio.com can be used to compare the various travel options. The main train station for regional and long-distance traffic in Karlsruhe is close to the city center, 30 minutes on foot or 6 minutes by streetcar from Karlshochschule.
Many young people use the internet platforms blablacar.de, bessermitfahren.de or drive2day.de when they are looking for a cheap way to travel within Germany and Europe. The platforms offer the possibility to search for travel options between different locations on your desired date. The meeting point, time and price can be arranged using the driver’s shared contact details.
Airports
Three international airports are located within a short distance of Karlsruhe: Baden, Stuttgart and Frankfurt. The nearest airport is Baden Airport in Baden-Baden, 40 km from Karlsruhe. Stuttgart Airport is around 80 km away from Karlsruhe. It can be reached by train in around 90 minutes. The largest, Frankfurt Airport, is 144 km away and can be reached by ICE in just one hour. There are hourly connections to Karlsruhe during the day. Frankfurt International Airport is the largest in Germany and flies to most international destinations.
Cultural and leisure activities
Situated in the Rhine plain between the Black Forest, Alsace and the Palatinate, Karlsruhe is a culturally and scientifically vibrant center with a population of around 300,000. It is located in the middle of a dynamic, growing industrial and technological region with the highest concentration of researchers in Europe.
The city is known for its joie de vivre – the people here know how to enjoy life. The city is characterized by a diverse cultural scene with concerts, museums, galleries and several theaters. The almost 40,000 students at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the city’s world-class university, the universities of applied sciences and the universities of music and design make Karlsruhe an exceptionally lively city for young people. More than 1,800 hours of sunshine a year, a relaxed, southern atmosphere, extensive parks in the middle of the city, cafés, cinemas and a lively pedestrian zone offer a wide range of leisure activities and shopping opportunities.
Over 800 hectares of public parks and green spaces invite you to stroll and relax, for example the Palace Garden with the Botanical Garden and the zoo in the City Garden. Information about cycle paths and cycle tours in the city can be found at www.rad-karlsruhe.de.
The Badische Staatstheater, various private theaters, the Academy of Fine Arts, the Academy of Music, the Badischer Kunstverein, the city museum in the Prinz-Max-Palais, the Ständehaus with the city library and many other institutions offer a wide range of cultural opportunities. The Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe is one of the largest picture galleries in southern Germany with works from all periods of German painting. The Center for Art and Media (ZKM ) opened in 1997 as a production facility for media art.
Film enthusiasts will find cinemas such as the Filmpalast am ZKM and the Universum-City, where blockbusters are shown, as well as arthouse cinemas such as the Schauburg Filmkino or the Kinemathek, where current independent productions and classic experimental films with subtitles are presented.
An annual highlight in the music scene is Das Fest – an open-air event in July with more than 100,000 visitors. The European Culture Days, the Handel Festival and many other festivals complete the list of ongoing cultural activities in Karlsruhe. Since October 2003, the New Karlsruhe Trade Fair Center has provided space for a variety of sporting and cultural events. Many rock concerts with famous bands also take place in the Europahalle and the dm-Arena. The cultural and sports program is enriched by events in nearby cities such as Baden-Baden, Heidelberg, Mannheim, Stuttgart and Strasbourg.
Food and drink
In the immediate vicinity of Karlshochschule there are many cafés and restaurants serving lunch for between 5 and 7 euros, for example Lehner’s (Karlstraße 21) or Aposto (Waldstraße 57). There are also several student cafés such as Stövchen (Waldstraße 54) and Café Bleu (Kaiserallee 11). The small, cozy Italian bistro Da Serio (Karlstraße 42-44) is right next to Karlshochschule. Around Europaplatz there are fast food restaurants such as McDonald’s or Nordsee, bakeries, etc. If I’m looking for a nice place to eat and drink in the evening, I can go to a German brewery such as Brauhaus Kühler Krug (Wilhelm-Baur-Straße 3a) or Vogelbräu (Kapellenstraße 50). They offer their own beer and regional food.
The city also offers a variety of supermarkets and grocery stores. Asian, Indian or Arabic foods, which are not available in all supermarkets, can be found in smaller stores or Asian stores. Organically grown food is sold in supermarkets and health food shops. If I want to buy fruit, vegetables or cheese, there are plenty of farmers’ markets where I can buy fresh produce from the region. The farmers’ market on Europaplatz takes place on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings. The farmers’ market on Gutenbergplatz (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays) is also worth a visit (Yorckstraße streetcar stop).
Baden-Württemberg – a leading technology region
As one of the 16 German federal states, Baden-Württemberg is located in the border triangle of Germany, France and Switzerland. Its special location, combined with a tradition of independence and inventiveness, has fostered an open and innovative climate.
Baden-Württemberg is one of the most dynamic and successful federal states in Germany and one of the leading technology regions in Europe. It is home to 78 universities, almost 130 research institutes and numerous medium-sized companies, some of which are global leaders in niche markets. Baden-Württemberg’s economy is famous for mechanical engineering, automotive production and software engineering; companies such as Daimler, SAP and Heidelberger Druckmaschinen have their headquarters here.
Research is focused on the development of new technologies in the fields of IT, the environment and life sciences. The region has a long tradition of research and development (R&D) and innovation, with famous inventors such as Gottlieb Daimler and Robert Bosch. In the 21st century, Baden-Württemberg can boast a close-knit network of research institutes and the highest number of patent applications in Germany.
With its mild climate in the Rhine and Neckar valleys, where first-class wines are grown, with picturesque villages and farmsteads and with graceful mountain regions ideal for hiking and winter sports, it is also an attractive destination for tourists. Rich in thermal springs, there are numerous spas in Baden-Württemberg, the best known of which is Baden-Baden. Its history goes back to the Romans, who, together with the first settlements, built extensive bathing facilities around the hot springs. This laid the foundation for the modern spa town, which today is also famous for its casino, international horse races and theater festivals. Lake Constance offers a range of water sports and beautiful old towns as well as the garden island of Mainau, the historic abbey of Reichenau Island and a unique open-air museum in which pile dwellings from various periods of the Iron Age have been reconstructed. The people are open and hospitable and enjoy celebrating outdoors. Baden-Württemberg’s rich cultural offerings in summer include many open-air events such as concerts and plays in historic surroundings, open-air cinemas, street festivals and events at Germany’s largest open-air stage in Ötigheim near Rastatt.
Baden-Württemberg is famous for its culinary arts and its wines. The region’s traditional dishes include a wide variety of pasta, asparagus, typical Black Forest cakes, onion tart, roast venison, snail soup and meat salads, to name but a few. Three stars in the Michelin Guide for a restaurant in Baiersbronn in the Black Forest have made Baden-Württemberg’s cuisine internationally renowned.
