Pforzheim, Germany

Pforzheim sits where the Enz and Nagold rivers meet in Baden-Württemberg, at the gateway to the Black Forest, and is home to roughly 130,000 residents. In 1767 Margrave Karl Friedrich brought about fifty French watchmakers to the town, founding a jewellery industry that still produces around 70% of German jewellery and earned Pforzheim the nickname "Goldstadt." The Schmuckmuseum, opened in 1877, holds 5,000 pieces dating from 3000 BC onward and remains the world's only museum dedicated solely to jewellery, while the 1860 Technical University of Industrial Design continues to train goldsmiths. A 1945 bombing destroyed roughly 80% of the city, which was then rebuilt as a modern industrial centre.