Offenburg in the context of "Grand Duchy of Baden"

The Eurodistrict Strasbourg-Ortenau is a Franco-German eurodistrict, a cross-border administrative entity (European Grouping for Territorial Cooperation) sharing common institutions, established on 17 October 2005 and definitely functional since 4 February 2010. The district is formed by the Eurométropole de Strasbourg (centred on the city of Strasbourg), the Communauté de communes du Canton d'Erstein (a groupement of the urban communities of Rhinau, Erstein and Benfeld) and the French State on the French side of the Rhine and the Ortenau district, comprising the cities of Achern, Kehl, Lahr, Oberkirch and Offenburg, in the Baden-Württemberg region on the German side. The population of the district was roughly 1,000,000 in 2022, and it covers an area of 2,468 km (953 sq mi)
Building on regional and Franco-German cooperation, it aims to develop bonds between citizens, associations, public administrations, educational establishments and corporations. It is also in the context of European integration, with the presence of European institutions in Strasbourg, and has been compared to a EU version of Washington D.C.

The Eurodistrict's Council is composed of 30 members, with 15 each representing either the French or the German side.

Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of about 355,000 (2021), while the greater Freiburg metropolitan area ("Einzugsgebiet") has about 660,000 (2018).

Freiburg is located at the southwestern foothills of the Black Forest, on the Dreisam River, a tributary of the Elz. It is Germany's southwestern- and southernmost city with a population exceeding 100,000. It lies in the Breisgau, one of Germany's warmest regions, in the south of the Upper Rhine Plain. Its city limits reach from the Schauinsland summit (1,284 metres (4,213 ft)) in the Black Forest to 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) east of the French border, while Switzerland is 42 kilometres (26 mi) to the south. The city is situated in the major wine-growing region of Baden and, together with Offenburg, serves as a tourist entry-point to the scenic Black Forest. According to meteorological statistics, Freiburg held the all-time German temperature record of 40.2 °C (104.4 °F) from 2003 to 2015.

The Heliotrope is an environmentally friendly housing project by German architect Rolf Disch. There are three such buildings in Germany. The first experimental version was built in 1994 as the architect's home in Freiburg im Breisgau, while the other two were used as exhibition buildings for the Hansgrohe company in Offenburg and a dentist's lab in Hilpoltstein in Bavaria.

Several different energy generation modules are used in the building including a 603 sq ft (56.0 m) dual-axis solar photovoltaic tracking panel, a geothermal heat exchanger, a combined heat and power unit (CHP) and solar-thermal balcony railings to provide heat and warm water. These innovations along with the favorable insulation of the residence allows the Heliotrope to capture anywhere between four and six times its energy usage depending on the time of year. The Heliotrope is also fitted with a grey-water cleansing system and built-in natural waste composting.

Kehl (German pronunciation: [keːl] ; Low Alemannic: Kaal) is a city with around 38,000 inhabitants in the southwestern German state of Baden-Württemberg. It lies in the region of Baden on the Rhine River, at the confluence with the smaller Kinzig River, directly opposite the French and Alsatian city of Strasbourg. It is the third-largest city of the Ortenaukreis (Ortenau District) after Offenburg and Lahr/Schwarzwald.

Kehl is mostly known because of its proximity to Strasbourg and as a border city. Strasbourg and Kehl are connected by four Rhine bridges which are from south to north: the Passerelle des Deux Rives (pedestrians and cyclists), the Bridge of Europe (motorists, pedestrians and cyclists), the Beatus-Rhenanus Bridge (tramway, pedestrians and cyclists), and the Rhine Bridge (railway).

Achern (German pronunciation: [ˈaxɐn] ; Low Alemannic: Achre) is a city in Western Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located approximately 18 km southwest of Baden-Baden and 19 km northeast of Offenburg. Achern is the fourth largest town in the district of Ortenau (Ortenaukreis), after Offenburg, Lahr / Black Forest and Kehl.

As subsequent to the district reform in the 1970s the population passed the 20,000 mark, Achern requested to be awarded the status of Große Kreisstadt. The status was granted by the State government effective January 1, 1974. Achern collaborates with the communities of Lauf, Sasbach, and Sasbachwalden in administrative matters.

Lahr (officially Lahr/Schwarzwald since 30 September 1978) ((German: [laːɐ̯] ); Low Alemannic: Lohr) is a city in western Baden-Württemberg, Germany, approximately 50 km north of Freiburg im Breisgau, 40 km southeast of Strasbourg, and 95 km southwest of Karlsruhe. It is the second largest city in Ortenau (district) after Offenburg, and serves as an intermediate economic centre for the cities and towns of Ettenheim, Friesenheim, Kappel-Grafenhausen, Kippenheim, Mahlberg, Meißenheim, Ringsheim, Rust, Schuttertal, Schwanau and Seelbach.

The population of Lahr passed the 20,000 mark in the mid-1950s. When the new body of Municipal Law for Baden-Württemberg came into effect on April 1, 1956, the city was therefore immediately accorded Große Kreisstadt status. In addition, Lahr cooperates with the town of Kippenheim in administrative matters.

Oberkirch (German pronunciation: [ˈoːbɐkɪʁç] ; Low Alemannic: Owerkirch) is a city in Western Baden-Württemberg, Germany about 12 km North-East of Offenburg and belongs to the Ortenaukreis district.