Rheinstetten (; South Franconian: Rhoischdedde) is a town in the west of Baden-Württemberg on the border to Rhineland-Palatinate. It is situated to the south-west of Karlsruhe and belongs to the rural district of Karlsruhe. The city has fewer inhabitants than Bruchsal, Ettlingen, Bretten and Stutensee and is therefore the fifth largest city in the district of Karlsruhe. Since 2005 it has formed part of a regional organization for economy, science, culture and administration, the Technologieregion Karlsruhe. Rheinstetten was formed in 1975 by a merger of the former municipalities of Forchheim, Morsch and Neuburgweier. In 2000 it received town privileges and became a district seat on 1 January 2005. Geography The town is located in the Upper Rhine Plain, about 10 km southwest of Karlsruhe. The Black Forest is ten kilometers to the east. The Rhine forms the west border of the town and also marks the border to Rhineland-Palatinate. A small river, called the Federbach flows through the town. In the South the town borders on the municipality of Durmersheim. The federal highway 36 splits the city; to the west of the highway lies the city, to the south is agricultural land. Further to the east is a forest named Hardtwald. City Structure The urban area of Rheinstetten consists of the three districts of Mörsch, Forchheim and Neuburgweier. The district of Forchheim consists of the following villages: Forchheim, "Dammfeldsiedlung", Silberstreifen and includes the 19th century "Durmerheimer Landstraße" house and "Nußbaumäcker" estate. The abandoned village of "Derssloch" is also within the district area of Forchheim. The district of Mörsch consists of the village Mörsch and the gravel pit. Neuburgweier has no further land aside from the village itself. The abandoned villages of "Königsmörsch" and "Staudendorf" lie within Neuburgweier. In addition to Neuburgweier being a city district, it is also an "Ortschaft" (provincial town) of Baden-Württemberg, which means it has certain rights according to the Gemeindeordnung [council law). Neighboring Cities The neighboring cities of Rheinstetten are on one side of the Rhine:Karlsruhe, Ettlingen (in Karlsruhe (district)), Durmersheim and Au am Rhein(in Rastatt (district)) and, on the other side of the Rhine in Rhineland-Palatinate the city Neuburg am Rhein (in Germersheim (district)). History Rheinstetten was founded on 1 January 1975, in the course of the reformation of municipalities in Baden-Württemberg. Three communities, Forchheim, Mörsch and Neuburgweier merged to form the district of Rheinstetten. By 1993 Rheinstetten had 23,000 inhabitants. It was thus the