The
Königstuhl , translated "Kings seat", is a 567
metreThe metre or meter is the basic unit of length in the International System of Units . Historically, the metre was defined by the French Academy of Sciences as the length between two marks on a platinum-iridium bar, which was designed to represent one ten-millionth of the distance from the Equator...
high hill in the
OdenwaldThe Odenwald is a low mountain range in Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in Germany.- Location :The Odenwald lies between the Rhine rift with the Bergstraße and the Hessisches Ried in the west, the Main and the Bauland in the east, the Rhine-Main Plain of the Rhine rift near Darmstadt in...
Mountains and near
HeidelbergHeidelberg is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. As of 2008, over 145,000 people live within the city's area. Heidelberg is a unitary authority...
, in the
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
state of
Baden-WürttembergBaden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine—but one which has some of its major cities straddling the banks of the Neckar River...
. The Königstuhl summit allows visitors a spectacular view of the city of Heidelberg and the
River NeckarThe Neckar is a long river, mainly flowing through the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, but also a short section through Hesse in Germany, a major right tributary of the River Rhine, which it joins at Mannheim...
as well as the Rhine Valley. On days with good conditions the view extends to the Pfaelzerwald (Palatinate Forest), which is roughly 40–50 km away.
The hill is linked to Kornmarkt, in Heidelberg's Altstadt, by the
Heidelberger BergbahnThe Heidelberger Bergbahn, or Heidelberg Mountain Railway, is a two section funicular railway in the city of Heidelberg, Germany. The first section runs from a lower station at Kornmakt in Heidelberg's Altstadt, via an intermediate station at Heidelberg Castle, to an upper station at Molkenkur...
, a two section historic
funicularA funicular, also known as a funicular railway, incline, inclined railway, inclined plane, or cliff railway, is a cable railway in which a cable attached to a pair of tram-like vehicles on rails moves them up and down a steep slope, the ascending and descending vehicles counterbalancing each...
railway that stops at the
Heidelberg CastleThe Heidelberg Castle is a famous ruin in Germany and landmark of Heidelberg. The castle ruins are among the most important Renaissance structures north of the Alps....
, located on the lower slopes of the Königstuhl, and the Molkenkur restaurant/hotel and the ultimate stop at the mountain top which host a restaurant, an entertainment park for kids and various walking paths.
The
Max Planck Institute for AstronomyThe Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie is a research institute of the Max Planck Society. It is located in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany near the top of the Koenigstuhl, adjacent to the historic Landessternwarte Heidelberg-Königstuhl astronomical observatory.The institute was founded in...
is located near the summit of the Königstuhl, as is the historic
Landessternwarte Heidelberg-KönigstuhlThe Landessternwarte Heidelberg-Königstuhl, or Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory, is a historic astronomical observatory located near the summit of the Königstuhl hill, in the city of Heidelberg in Germany...
astronomical observatory, established in 1898.
The
Königstuhl , translated "Kings seat", is a 567
metreThe metre or meter is the basic unit of length in the International System of Units . Historically, the metre was defined by the French Academy of Sciences as the length between two marks on a platinum-iridium bar, which was designed to represent one ten-millionth of the distance from the Equator...
high hill in the
OdenwaldThe Odenwald is a low mountain range in Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in Germany.- Location :The Odenwald lies between the Rhine rift with the Bergstraße and the Hessisches Ried in the west, the Main and the Bauland in the east, the Rhine-Main Plain of the Rhine rift near Darmstadt in...
Mountains and near
HeidelbergHeidelberg is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. As of 2008, over 145,000 people live within the city's area. Heidelberg is a unitary authority...
, in the
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
state of
Baden-WürttembergBaden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine—but one which has some of its major cities straddling the banks of the Neckar River...
. The Königstuhl summit allows visitors a spectacular view of the city of Heidelberg and the
River NeckarThe Neckar is a long river, mainly flowing through the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, but also a short section through Hesse in Germany, a major right tributary of the River Rhine, which it joins at Mannheim...
as well as the Rhine Valley. On days with good conditions the view extends to the Pfaelzerwald (Palatinate Forest), which is roughly 40–50 km away.
The hill is linked to Kornmarkt, in Heidelberg's Altstadt, by the
Heidelberger BergbahnThe Heidelberger Bergbahn, or Heidelberg Mountain Railway, is a two section funicular railway in the city of Heidelberg, Germany. The first section runs from a lower station at Kornmakt in Heidelberg's Altstadt, via an intermediate station at Heidelberg Castle, to an upper station at Molkenkur...
, a two section historic
funicularA funicular, also known as a funicular railway, incline, inclined railway, inclined plane, or cliff railway, is a cable railway in which a cable attached to a pair of tram-like vehicles on rails moves them up and down a steep slope, the ascending and descending vehicles counterbalancing each...
railway that stops at the
Heidelberg CastleThe Heidelberg Castle is a famous ruin in Germany and landmark of Heidelberg. The castle ruins are among the most important Renaissance structures north of the Alps....
, located on the lower slopes of the Königstuhl, and the Molkenkur restaurant/hotel and the ultimate stop at the mountain top which host a restaurant, an entertainment park for kids and various walking paths.
The
Max Planck Institute for AstronomyThe Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie is a research institute of the Max Planck Society. It is located in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany near the top of the Koenigstuhl, adjacent to the historic Landessternwarte Heidelberg-Königstuhl astronomical observatory.The institute was founded in...
is located near the summit of the Königstuhl, as is the historic
Landessternwarte Heidelberg-KönigstuhlThe Landessternwarte Heidelberg-Königstuhl, or Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory, is a historic astronomical observatory located near the summit of the Königstuhl hill, in the city of Heidelberg in Germany...
astronomical observatory, established in 1898. Between 1912 and 1957,
Karl Wilhelm ReinmuthKarl Wilhelm Reinmuth was a German astronomer.He was a prolific discoverer of asteroids , beginning with 796 Sarita in 1914, working at the Landessternwarte Heidelberg-Königstuhl astronomical observatory on the Königstuhl hill above Heidelberg, Germany from 1912 to 1957.His most notable...
discovered almost 400
asteroidthumb|260px|right|[[253 Mathilde]], a [[C-type asteroid]] measuring about across. Photograph taken in 1997 by the [[NEAR Shoemaker]] probe.Asteroids, sometimes called minor planets or planetoids, are small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun, especially in the inner Solar System; they are...
s whilst working from this observatory.
Several telecommunications facilities are located on the Königstuhl, including the
Fernsehturm HeidelbergThe Fernsehturm Heidelberg is a transmission tower for FM and DVB-T on the Königstuhl hill of Heidelberg at . It was the property of the City of Heidelberg and sold to the SWR...
(TV, Radio and Microwave)), the
Telecom Telecommunication Tower HeidelbergTelecom Telecommunication Tower Heidelberg is a 102 meter tall telecommunication tower built of reinforced concrete in the late 1950s at on the mountain Königsstuhl near Heidelberg, Germany. Close to it, there is Fernsehturm Heidelberg and Telecommunication Tower of US-Forces Heidelberg...
(Microwave and FM) and the now inactive
Telecommunication Tower of US-Forces HeidelbergTelecommunication Tower of US-Forces Heidelberg is an 80 meter tall telecommunication tower of the US-Army in Europe on the mountain Königsstuhl which is part of the City of Heidelberg at . The Telecommunication Tower of US-Army in Europe is one of the few military communication towers built of...
(Microwave).