Erlangen, Middle Franconia, Bavaria, Germany

🇩🇪 Erlangen is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt, and it is the smallest of the eight major cities ("de: Großstadt“) in Bavaria. Together with Nuremberg, Fürth, and Schwabach, Erlangen forms one of the three metropoles in Bavaria. With the surrounding area, these cities form the European Metropolitan Region of Nuremberg, one of 11 metropolitan areas in Germany. The cities of Nuremberg, Fürth, and Erlangen also form a triangle on a map, which represents the heartland of the Nuremberg conurbation. An element of the city that goes back a long way in history, but is still noticeable, is the settlement of Huguenots after the withdrawal of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. Today, many aspects of daily life in the city are dominated by the Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg and the Siemens technology group.

Economy In 2016, Erlangen, within the city limits, achieved a gross domestic product (GDP) of €10.003 billion and thus occupied 36th place in the ranking of German cities according to economic performance. The GDP per capita in the same year was 91,531 € (Bavaria: 44,215 €/ Germany 38,180 €) and was the fourth highest of all independent cities in Germany. In 2016 there were about 113,200 persons employed in the city. The unemployment rate was 3.4% in December 2018 and thus above the Bavarian average of 2.7%.

The economy in Erlangen is essentially shaped by the activities of Siemens AG and its affiliated companies, as well as by the Friedrich-Alexander-University. As a business location, the city is one of the most attractive in Germany. In an analysis of the competitiveness of all 402 German independent cities and districts conducted by the Swiss company Prognos in 2016, the city ranked 6th (2013: 3rd). The city achieved far above-average values, particularly in terms of growth.

Promotion of business start-ups and innovative technologies The promotion of progress and innovation and the creation of an investment-friendly environment have a long tradition in Erlangen. Thus, the Innovations- und Gründerzentrum Nürnberg-Fürth-Erlangen GmbH (IGZ) (Innovation and Start-up Centre Nuremberg-Fürth-Erlangen) was founded in Tennenlohe in 1985/86 together with the cities of Fürth and Nuremberg. New companies emerged from this start-up centre, which set new impulses for economic life and were later successfully placed on the stock exchange. These include WaveLight AG and November AG.

In 2003, the IGZ was supplemented by the Medical Technology Innovation Center (IZMP), which supports in particular start-ups and innovative companies in the fields of medical technology, pharmaceutical research and biotechnology and genetic engineering. In March 2006 the foundation stone for a first extension of the IZMP was laid.

Furthermore, the "Erlangen AG" was founded as a union of science and economy with the aim of systematically and consistently developing new knowledge resources, showing ways into new markets and internationally marketing the positive differentiating features of the location.

As a result of many years of efforts to promote new, innovative technologies, Erlangen was the first Bavarian city to be awarded the title of most business-friendly municipality by the Bavarian state government in 1998.

Medicine and medical technology A competence centre for medicine, medical technology and the pharmaceutical industry was formed as a cooperation between the Friedrich-Alexander-University, the Waldkrankenhaus, the Klinikum am Europakanal, the Siemens Healthcare Division and over 100 medium-sized companies. Nearly one in four employees works in the medical technology and healthcare sectors. This locational advantage is to be further expanded in the future. The city has set itself the goal of becoming the German capital of medical research, production and services. In order to include the surrounding region in these efforts, the Medical Valley European Metropolitan Region Nuremberg was founded.