In our WO SONST magazine, we research and tell stories for the locals just as much as for tourists, for insiders and for travellers from far and wide—on behalf of the Verband Region Rhein-Neckar (VRRN) public corporation, which comprises seven districts (Landkreise), eight urban districts (kreisfreie Städte) and 290 municipalities (Kommunen) and makes up one of the eleven European Metropolitan Regions in Germany. To demonstrate the various facets that the region has to offer, we produce unique texts, films and pictures you don’t get to see elsewhere, because we take our time to carry out extensive research and lend the vivid portraits we paint their due space. Right from the beginning in 2015 with the first WO SONST article being published online, we knew that we wanted to tell stories about the special places and people that make this region so extraordinary and worthwhile to live in. To achieve this, our authors and photographers from the region are always on the move throughout the region to explore insider tips and gain unfamiliar insights into world-famous attractions.
WO SONST-Projektleiterin
Daniela Hirsch
Daniela Hirsch grew up in the Hessian Odenwald, just next to the border of the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region. Today, she lives with her family in the south of Mannheim and, as VRRN project manager, she oversees (not only) the extensive network of the Region, but also the next great story.
Autorin, Redakteurin
Annika Wind
Annika Wind contributes to the intra- and international understanding every day—riding her bike crossing bridges from Ludwigshafen to Mannheim, from where she coordinates WO SONST from her office. She is the editor-in-chief of the kultur.west magazine and was awarded the Pfalz media award in 2015.
Sarah Weik has lived in Mannheim since 2009. Out of necessity at the beginning. With conviction from then onwards. This freelance journalist has found her home in the Freischwimmer editorial office and preferably likes to portray local distinctive characters in her texts.
Fotograf, Filmer
Sebastian Weindel
Sebastian Weindel came to Mannheim to study, and has stayed here ever since. As a photographer, he loves documenting stories—the little ones as much as the big ones. When you can’t reach him, it’s probably because he’s taking a cycling tour through the Metropolitan Region.
Fotograf, Filmer
Christian Buck
Christian Buck was born and bred in Heidelberg and is deeply rooted in the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region. He goes on tour between the Palatinate and the Odenwald for his jobs, his most recent one being a portrait of 108 Heidelberg heroes of the COVID era for a book with Nicola Walter.
Fotograf, Filmer
Julian Beekmann
Julian Beekmann grew up in Heidelberg. Having spent some time in Vienna he was attracted back to the “city of the poets and thinkers and philosophers.” As a freelance photographer he has been capturing life around him for the last 10 years.
Autor
Fabian Busch
Fabian Busch came to Heidelberg in 2003 to study political science and has since then stayed nearby—as a freelance journalist in Mannheim. This native of Westphalia has never ceased to be amazed at the region’s lush natural environment and ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
Autorin
Anne-Kathrin Jeschke
Anne Jeschke came to Mannheim in 2010. Before this, she had studied in Siegen. A famous German joke goes: “Only Siegen (literally: winning)
is worse than losing.” A joke that has proved wrong— there are lots of underestimated stories waiting for you in Siegen, Mannheim and Ludwigshafen.
Autorin
Agnes Polewka
Agnes Polewka grew up in the Palatinate with the awareness that no place is quite like the Palatinate where you feel at home. She studied in Heidelberg and lives in Mannheim. The journalist is committed to everything that is going on in our society and that inspires people to do something special.
Newsletter
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