Guesthouse and International Meeting Center

Living in the Guesthouses of the Welcome Center means living a stone’s throw away from the Schloss. The Welcome Center has established 32 apartments for international scholars in L2 and M2. The apartments range from one to four rooms, so you can bring your family along during your stay in the Guesthouses. You can conveniently reach all research institutions and chairs from both Guesthouses. Residents can also enjoy the city’s amenities without having to use public transport as the city center is within walking distance. Nature is calling as well: It only takes about 15 minutes to reach the Rhine promenade leading to the forest park. In addition to its top location, the Guesthouse also provides the opportunity to connect with other international researchers. Don’t just pass each other in the hallway, but get together in the International Meeting Center (IBZ).

Due to high demand, we urge you to get in touch with the Welcome Center for booking purposes as early on as possible.

  • Introducing the Guesthouses and the IBZ

    The Guesthouse in L2 was established in 1982 with funding from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the Ekkehard Foundation of the Land of Baden-Württemberg. Since 2011, the Guesthouse/IBZ is a member of the network of IBZ and Guesthouses in Germany.

    The building in Mannheim’s Quadrat (square) M2 was given to the University of Mannheim as an endowment in October 1994. A generous donation made it possible to remodel the building to accommodate international scholars.
     
    The Ekkehard Foundation holds the booking right for one three-room apartment each in the Guesthouses in L2 and M2 for international students in their funding program.

    Use the International Meeting Center (Internationales Begegnungszentrum, IBZ) on the ground floor of the Guesthouse in L2 to connect with other international scholars and exchange experiences in research and life in Mannheim. The IBZ has an area of about 300 square meters and offers a common room with seating and tables for large groups of people, a kitchen, and a garden with a barbecue grill. The IBZ is where brunches and Christmas parties for international scholars take place, but it can also be booked for other events.

  • Booking the International Meeting Center (IBZ)

    The Guesthouse in L2 is an International Meeting Center (Internationales Begegnungszentrum, IBZ) that comprises a meeting space with a large common room and a coffee bar and kitchen (about 300 qm) in addition to the apartments.

    The meeting space is primarily available to residents of the Guesthouses. You are welcome to use these facilities to hold meetings, cook a meal for your friends and colleagues, or celebrate together. If you would like to use the IBZ, please register at the Guesthouse Administration.

    Accredited student organizations (e.g. AEGEE Mannheim or VISUM) as well as the chairs of the University of Mannheim are welcome to use the IBZ as venue for intercultural events as well. Please send your booking request to the Guesthouse Administration.

  • Booking an apartment in the Guesthouse

    Are you interested in an apartment in the guest house? On the page “Booking an apartment in the Guesthouse” you will find more important information.

  • Prices and terms

    Find more detailed information about the prices of the various apartments in the Guest House on the page “Prices and Terms”.

  • Furnishings

    All important information about the furnishing of each apartment in the guesthouse can be found on the page “Furnishing”.

  • Parking

    You have several options for parking your car: If you would like to leave your car directly in front of the Guesthouse where you stay, you will need to apply for a resident parking permit (“Bewohnerparkausweis”) at the city of Mannheim. This will be valid for a particular zone. However, you will not be allocated a specific parking space. If you want your car to be better protected, you can rent a parking space in one of the city’s many parking garages and your spot will be reserved only for your car.

    Parking in the parking zone around the Guesthouse
    You can apply for a so-called resident parking permit (“Bewohnerparkausweis”) for L 2/M 2 at the citizen's service office (Bürgerdienst) in K7. This parking permit is issued specifically for your car and must always be visibly placed beneath the windshield. The parking permit is valid for one calendar year (01.01. – 31.12) in the zones indicated here.

    As city center resident, you can purchase day-long guest parking passes for your company for EUR 2.60 per pass at the parking authority Mannheimer Parkhausbetriebe (MPB) in C 1, 13 -15, 68159 Mannheim. These parking passes are valid for 24 hours. On presentation of your resident parking permit or registration certificate you are allowed to purchase up to 40 day-long parking passes per year. This applies even if you do not have a car registered under your name.

    Apply for resident parking permit
    Please note that you can only apply for a resident parking permit if you have declared your residence at the university’s Guesthouse as your main residence in Germany. For international guests who are registered in Mannheim only, the Guesthouse is automatically considered the main residence. German guests who have their main residence in another part of Germany have to relocate their main residence to Mannheim in order to apply for a resident parking permit. To do this, please register at one of the citizen's service offices.

    Renting a parking space in a parking garage
    There are several parking lots and garages next to the University of Mannheim where you can rent a parking space, which is then exclusively reserved for you. Prices vary depending on how long you would like to rent the parking space and the location of the specific parking lot. For long-term parking, we recommend to opt for the parking garage beneath the university's cafeteria (Mensa).

    If you are traveling by car, we recommend downloading and printing the PDF “Parking at the University”, which contains all important information about parking in the parking garage beneath the university’s cafeteria (Mensa).

    Parking on the grounds of the university
    As an employee of the University of Mannheim, you may rent a parking space on the premises of the university for a specific fee. Please contact Division VI. However, please be aware that there may be a fairly long waiting list for these parking spots.

    Further parking options in Mannheim

    Parking garage in N1

    Parking garage in C1

    Green zone – environmental badges
    Please be aware that driving in the green zone in Mannheim (marked by signs) requires an environmental badge. Further information can be found in the environmental badges section.

  • Green zone – environmental badges

    In order to reduce the amount of traffic-related emissions of particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide in major German cities, so-called green zones (“Umweltzonen”) have been set up in many cities in the last few years; these are marked by corresponding road signs. For further information about environmental badges and marked green zones please visit the website of the Federal Ministry for the Environment (only available in German).

    You are only permitted to drive in these zones, if your car has a proven environmental badge that is visibly attached to the windshield. Depending on their specific exhaust emissions, vehicles are assigned to one of three categories that are marked by red, yellow and green badges respectively. There are several signs indicating which badge you need in order to enter and drive within the green zone.

    Vehicles without an environmental badge are not allowed to pass the green zone, otherwise the driver has to pay a penalty and gets a penalty point in the Register of Driver Fitness of the Federal Motor Transport Authority in Flensburg, even if the vehicle would be allowed to pass the green zone based on its emission levels.

    This also applies to all foreign-registered vehicles, such as cars, trucks and buses, and both for business and leisure travelers.

    For this reason, we advise all drivers to inform themselves about the environmental badge and to purchase it on time. The Guesthouses of the University of Mannheim are located within the green zone. Therefore, it is advisable to order the badge online in advance if traveling by car.

    Where can I purchase the environmental badge?
    You can buy the environmental badge at each one of the 16 citizen's service offices in Mannheim, at all vehicle registration centers, the TÜV, DEKRA, and all garages authorized to do general inspections as well as in other testing organizations and in the “building and environment” advisory center located in the Collini-Center.

    Can I order the environmental badge from my home country?
    You can order the environmental badge online via the website Umwelt-Plakette.de. The badge will then be sent to you by mail. Shipment usually takes 3–5 days.

    Here, you will find a map of the green zone in Mannheim.

    Further links on this topic:

    http://www.mannheim.de/plakette

    http://www.stuttgart.de/umweltzone

  • Wohnungsgeberbestätigung (landlord's confirmation of residence)

    Since 1 November 2015, presentation of a so-called 'Wohnungsgeberbestätigung' (landlord's confirmation of residence) pursuant to the new Bundesmeldegesetz (Federal Citizens' Registration Act) is required when registering or de-registering one's residence at one of the city’s citizen's service offices.  

    Tenants of the Guesthouse may turn to the Guesthouse Administration to obtain such a confirmation. Please contact us in advance so that we can prepare the document for you.

Handbook of the Guesthouse
The handbook of the Guesthouse contains many valuable tips with regard to your accommodation.
 

Guesthouse apartments

 

 

Accommodation in the Guesthouse is simply great! It is located right in the city center, affordable, and most importantly, available to you right upon your arrival in Mannheim. This alleviates the pressure of finding accommodation in Mannheim prior to your arrival. The dedicated staff of the Welcome Center will even help you finding accommodation in Mannheim, once it's time to leave the Guesthouse!

Prof. Goran Glavaš, junior professor for Text Analytics, from Zagreb (Croatia)

Having temporary accommodation upon my arrival in Germany gave me the opportunity to experience Mannheim before deciding where I wanted to establish a home. The Welcome Center not only made my initial transition to Germany simple, but it structured an environment where I could also entertain my own long-term objectives.

Jason Eichorst, post-doc, Political Economy of Reforms, from the USA / Photo credit: Anna Logue

Contact

Uwe Fruth

Uwe Fruth (he/him)

Guesthouse Administrator
University of Mannheim
Division II – Student Affairs
International Office / Welcome Center
L 2, 2–4 – Room 001
68161 Mannheim
Phone: +49 621 181-3222
Fax: +49 621 181-3226
E-mail: guesthousemail-uni-mannheim.de