Introduction
Wolfsburg has slightly macabre beginnings: founded in 1938 to house the workers of the nearby Volkswagen factories, the workforce consisted of either concentration camp prisoners or foreign workers who were here against their will. Despite this the town began to prosper in the 1950s, and the manufacture of automotives continues to be its main industry. Today the industry has contributed to the city's 2013 status of being Germany's richest with per capital income at Euro 92,600; its closest rival was Frankfurt at Euro 82,700.Visitors to Wolfsburg will find a sporty town, with facilities for ice hockey, water skiing and sailing. The Autostadt theme park and the Car Museum pay homage to Wolfsburg’s thriving economy, and the Zaha Hadid-designed Phaeno is a splendid interactive science and technology museum. This may be a town in its infancy, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t historical sites to be explored, from the Altes Brauhaus, a charming brewery housed within an 18th century castle building, to the medieval Castle Neuhaus surrounded by a picturesque lake.
