The
Neckar is a 367 km (228 mi) long
riverA river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
, mainly flowing through the southwestern
stateGermany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
of
Baden-WürttembergBaden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
, but also a short section through
HesseHesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
, in
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. The Neckar is a major right tributary of the
River Rhine. Rising in the
Black ForestThe Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....
near
Villingen-SchwenningenVillingen-Schwenningen is a city in the Schwarzwald-Baar district in southern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It has 80,941 inhabitants .-History:...
in the conservation area
Schwenninger Moos at a height of 706 m (2,316.3 ft) above sea level, it passes through
RottweilRottweil is a town in the south west of Germany and is the oldest town in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg.Located between the Black Forest and the Swabian Alb hills, Rottweil has about 25,000 inhabitants...
,
Rottenburg am NeckarRottenburg am Neckar is a medium-sized town in the administrative district of Tübingen in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It rests about 50 km southwest of the provincial capital Stuttgart and about 12 km southwest of the district town Tübingen...
,
KilchbergKilchberg is a village within the administrative district of Tübingen. Kilchberg is located 2.6 miles south west of the city center, and is situated along the south bank of the Neckar River in Baden-Württemberg, Germany...
,
TübingenTübingen is a traditional university town in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, on a ridge between the Neckar and Ammer rivers.-Geography:...
,
WernauWernau is a town in the district of Esslingen in Baden-Württemberg southwestern Germany. It is situated on the Neckar river, 25 km southeast of Stuttgart.- History :...
,
NürtingenNürtingen is a town in the district of Esslingen in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is located on the river Neckar.-History:The following events occurred, by year:*1046 : First mention of Niuritingin in the document of Speyer...
,
Plochingen,
EsslingenEsslingen am Neckar is a city in the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany, capital of the District of Esslingen as well as the largest city in the district....
,
StuttgartStuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
,
LudwigsburgLudwigsburg is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg urban district with about 87,000 inhabitants...
,
MarbachMarbach am Neckar is a town on the river Neckar in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The nearest larger cities are Ludwigsburg and Stuttgart ....
,
HeilbronnHeilbronn is a city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is completely surrounded by Heilbronn County and with approximately 123.000 residents, it is the sixth-largest city in the state....
and
Heidelberg-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
, before discharging into the Rhine at
MannheimMannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
(at 95 m (311.7 ft) above sea level).
From Plochingen to Stuttgart, the Neckar valley is densely populated and covered with industrial areas, including several well-known companies, e.g. Daimler AG, the maker of
Mercedes BenzMercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
cars, and
Mahle GmbHMahle GmbH is one of the 30 largest automotive suppliers worldwide. As the leading manufacturer of components and systems for combustion engines and its periphery, the Mahle Group is among the top three systems suppliers worldwide for piston systems, cylinder components, valve train systems, air...
. Between Stuttgart and Lauffen, the Neckar cuts a scenic meandering and in many places steep-sided valley into
fossilFossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
iferous
TriassicThe Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...
limestones and
PleistoceneThe Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
travertineTravertine is a form of limestone deposited by mineral springs, especially hot springs. Travertine often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, and cream-colored varieties. It is formed by a process of rapid precipitation of calcium carbonate, often at the mouth of a hot...
. Along the Neckar's valley in the
OdenwaldThe Odenwald is a low mountain range in Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in Germany.- Location :The Odenwald lies between the Upper Rhine Rift Valley with the Bergstraße and the Hessisches Ried in the west, the Main and the Bauland in the east, the Hanau-Seligenstadt Basin – a subbasin of...
hills, many castles can be found, like
Burg HornbergBurg Hornberg is a partially ruined castle located on a steep outcrop above the Neckar valley above the village Neckarzimmern, between Bad Wimpfen and Mosbach...
and Burg Guttenberg in
HaßmersheimHaßmersheim is a town in the district of Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.-Administration:Haßmersheim consists of three subdivisions:*Haßmersheim, population 3649*Hochhausen, population 730*Neckarmühlbach, population 532-References:...
, but also the closed
Obrigheim Nuclear Power PlantThe shut down Nuclear power station Obrigheim lies in Obrigheim in Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis . It operated one pressurized water reactor unit.-History:-Planning:...
and the active
Neckarwestheim Nuclear Power PlantNeckarwestheim Nuclear Power Station is a nuclear power plant in Neckarwestheim, Germany. It is sometimes abbreviated GKN . It is operated by EnBW Kernkraft GmbH.-GKN 1:...
. After passing Heidelberg, the Neckar discharges on average 145 m3/s of water into the Rhine, which makes the Neckar its 4th largest tributary, and the 10th largest river in Germany.
The name
Neckar was derived from
Nicarus and
Neccarus from
CelticThe Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
Nikros, meaning
wild water or
wild fellow. Since about 1100, Black Forest wood was transported by
timber raftingTimber rafting is a log transportation method in which logs are tied together into rafts and drifted or pulled across a water body or down a flatter river. It is arguably the second cheapest method of transportation of timber, next after log driving...
, e.g. to Holland for the use in
shipyardShipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...
s.
During the 19th century, traditional
horse-drawn boatA horse-drawn boat or tow-boat is a historic boat operating on a canal, pulled by a horse walking on a special road along the canal, the towpath.-United Kingdom:...
s were replaced by
steam boatsA steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
that used a 155 km (96.3 mi) long chain in the river to pull themselves upstream. The railway made it possible to transport
timberLumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
to the port of Heilbronn, limiting timber rafting to the lower part of the Neckar after 1899. Thanks to the construction of 11
locksA lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is...
, ships up to 1500t could travel to Heilbronn in 1935.
By 1968, the last of 27 locks, at
DeizisauDeizisau is a town in the district of Esslingen in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. Deizisau is located in between the towns of Plochingen and Esslingen. The river Neckar is flowing through this town.-Transportation:...
, was completed, making the Neckar navigable for
cargo shipA cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
s about 200 km upstream from Mannheim up to the river
portA port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
of
Plochingen, where the
FilsThe Fils river is a 63 km long river in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, a right tributary of the Neckar.Its source is in the Swabian Alb hills near Wiesensteig. It flows through Geislingen and Göppingen to join the Neckar in Plochingen, east of Stuttgart. Due to the contribution of the Fils, the...
joins, and where the Neckar bends, taking a Northwestern instead of a Northeastern direction. Other important ports include
StuttgartStuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
,
HeilbronnHeilbronn is a city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is completely surrounded by Heilbronn County and with approximately 123.000 residents, it is the sixth-largest city in the state....
and
MannheimMannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
.
The river's course provides a popular route for
cyclistsCycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
, especially during the summer months. Its steep valley sides are used as
vineyardA vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...
s, to cultivate mainly
TrollingerTrollinger is a light-red, late-maturing wine grape variety that was originally cultivated in the wine regions of South Tyrol and Trentino.It probably reached the southern regions of Germany during Roman times...
.
The name "Neckar" was also given to the world's first
motorboatA motorboat is a boat which is powered by an engine. Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the internal combustion engine, the gearbox and the propeller in one portable unit.An inboard/outboard contains a hybrid of a...
made during the summer of 1886 by
Gottlieb DaimlerGottlieb Daimler was an engineer, industrial designer and industrialist born in Schorndorf , in what is now Germany. He was a pioneer of internal-combustion engines and automobile development...
and
Wilhelm MaybachWilhelm Maybach was an early German engine designer and industrialist. During the 1890s he was hailed in France, then the world centre for car production, as the "King of constructors"....
when their
Standuhr (Grandfather Clock)
petrol engineA petrol engine is an internal combustion engine with spark-ignition, designed to run on petrol and similar volatile fuels....
was tested on the river near Bad Cannstatt.
Towns along the Neckar
From its source to its confluence with the Rhine:
- Villingen-Schwenningen
Villingen-Schwenningen is a city in the Schwarzwald-Baar district in southern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It has 80,941 inhabitants .-History:...
- Rottweil
Rottweil is a town in the south west of Germany and is the oldest town in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg.Located between the Black Forest and the Swabian Alb hills, Rottweil has about 25,000 inhabitants...
- Oberndorf am Neckar
Oberndorf am Neckar is a town in the district of Rottweil, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the river Neckar, 15 km north of Rottweil.-Geography:...
- Sulz am Neckar
Sulz am Neckar is a town in the district of Rottweil, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the river Neckar, 22 km north of Rottweil, and 19 km southeast of Freudenstadt....
- Horb am Neckar
Horb am Neckar is a town in the southwest of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river, between Offenburg to the west and Tübingen to the east . It has around 25,000 inhabitants, of whom about 6,000 live in the main town of Horb, and the remainder in 18 associated...
- Rottenburg am Neckar
Rottenburg am Neckar is a medium-sized town in the administrative district of Tübingen in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It rests about 50 km southwest of the provincial capital Stuttgart and about 12 km southwest of the district town Tübingen...
- Kilchberg
Kilchberg is a village within the administrative district of Tübingen. Kilchberg is located 2.6 miles south west of the city center, and is situated along the south bank of the Neckar River in Baden-Württemberg, Germany...
- Tübingen
Tübingen is a traditional university town in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, on a ridge between the Neckar and Ammer rivers.-Geography:...
- Nürtingen
Nürtingen is a town in the district of Esslingen in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is located on the river Neckar.-History:The following events occurred, by year:*1046 : First mention of Niuritingin in the document of Speyer...
- Wendlingen
Wendlingen is a town in the district of Esslingen in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is situated on the Neckar and Lauter rivers, 27 km southeast of Stuttgart.-International relations:...
- Wernau
Wernau is a town in the district of Esslingen in Baden-Württemberg southwestern Germany. It is situated on the Neckar river, 25 km southeast of Stuttgart.- History :...
- Plochingen
- Esslingen (am Neckar)
Esslingen am Neckar is a city in the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany, capital of the District of Esslingen as well as the largest city in the district....
- Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
- Remseck
Remseck am Neckar is a town in the district of Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated at the confluence of the rivers Rems and Neckar, about 12 km northeast of Stuttgart, and 7 km southeast of Ludwigsburg.-History:...
- Ludwigsburg
Ludwigsburg is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg urban district with about 87,000 inhabitants...
- Marbach am Neckar
Marbach am Neckar is a town on the river Neckar in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The nearest larger cities are Ludwigsburg and Stuttgart ....
- Benningen am Neckar
Benningen is a municipality in the district of Ludwigsburg in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.- History :By 85 AD, the Neckar-Odenwald line was the frontier of the Roman Empire. The Romans built the Limes Germanicus to secure this border. Along the border they built fortifications in regular...
- Freiberg am Neckar
Freiberg am Neckar is a town in the district of Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the left bank of the Neckar, 18 km north of Stuttgart, and 4 km north of Ludwigsburg....
- Besigheim
Besigheim is a municipality in the district of Ludwigsburg in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany.It is situated 13 km north of Ludwigsburg at the confluence of the Neckar and Enz rivers. The town has many old buildings and a town hall that dates back to 1459...
- Lauffen am Neckar
- Heilbronn
Heilbronn is a city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is completely surrounded by Heilbronn County and with approximately 123.000 residents, it is the sixth-largest city in the state....
- Neckarsulm
Neckarsulm is a city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, near Stuttgart, and part of the district Heilbronn. As of 2004, Neckarsulm had 27,296 inhabitants....
- Bad Wimpfen
Bad Wimpfen is an historic spa town in the district of Heilbronn in the Baden-Württemberg region of southern Germany. It lies north of the city of Heilbronn, on the river Neckar.-Geography:...
- Mosbach
Mosbach is the capital of the Neckar-Odenwald district in the north of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about 58 km east of Heidelberg. Its geographical position is 49.21'N 9.9'E....
- Eberbach
Eberbach is a town in Germany, in northern Baden-Württemberg, located 33 km east of Heidelberg. It belongs to the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis. Its sister city is Ephrata, United States.- Location :...
- Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
- Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
Main tributaries
- Eschach (left side, at Rottweil
Rottweil is a town in the south west of Germany and is the oldest town in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg.Located between the Black Forest and the Swabian Alb hills, Rottweil has about 25,000 inhabitants...
-Bühlingen)
- Ammer
Ammer can refer to:*the upper course of the river Amper in Bavaria, Germany*Ammer , a small river in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, tributary of the Neckar...
(left side, at Tübingen-LustnauLustnau is a subdivision of Tübingen. It became a part of Tübingen in 1934. Its present population is around 10,000 and the area is 1.43 km² and is the largest subdivision in Tübingen.Lustnau has four kindergartens, a Grundschule and a Hauptschule....
)* LauterLauter may refer to:In towns:*Lauter, Saxony, town in the district of Aue-Schwarzenberg, Saxony, Germany*Lauter, Bavaria, village in the district of Bamberg, Bavaria, GermanyIn rivers:*Lauter , tributary to the Baunach, Germany...
(right side, at WendlingenWendlingen is a town in the district of Esslingen in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is situated on the Neckar and Lauter rivers, 27 km southeast of Stuttgart.-International relations:...
)
- Fils
The Fils river is a 63 km long river in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, a right tributary of the Neckar.Its source is in the Swabian Alb hills near Wiesensteig. It flows through Geislingen and Göppingen to join the Neckar in Plochingen, east of Stuttgart. Due to the contribution of the Fils, the...
(right side, at Plochingen)
- Körsch
Körsch is a river of Baden-Württemberg, Germany.-See also:*List of rivers of Baden-Württemberg...
(left side, at the border of Esslingen to Deizisau)
- Nesenbach
The Nesenbach is a stream in Stuttgart, the capital of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, a tributary of the Neckar.It has its source in the city's southwestern district of Vaihingen...
(left side, at StuttgartStuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
-Ost)
- Rems
The Rems is a right tributary of the Neckar in eastern Baden-Württemberg. It is 78 km long. Its source is in Essingen, near Aalen. It flows generally west through the towns Böbingen an der Rems, Schwäbisch Gmünd, Plüderhausen, Schorndorf, Remshalden and Waiblingen. At Remseck the Rems flows...
(right side, at RemseckRemseck am Neckar is a town in the district of Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated at the confluence of the rivers Rems and Neckar, about 12 km northeast of Stuttgart, and 7 km southeast of Ludwigsburg.-History:...
)
- Murr (right side, at Marbach
Marbach am Neckar is a town on the river Neckar in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The nearest larger cities are Ludwigsburg and Stuttgart ....
)
- Enz
The Enz is a left tributary of the Neckar in Baden-Württemberg.It is 112 km long.Its headstreams – the Little Enz and the Big Enz – rise in the northern Black Forest, the latter at Enzklösterle. In Calmbach , the Little Enz and the Big Enz join to form the Enz. The river passes through...
(left side, at BesigheimBesigheim is a municipality in the district of Ludwigsburg in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany.It is situated 13 km north of Ludwigsburg at the confluence of the Neckar and Enz rivers. The town has many old buildings and a town hall that dates back to 1459...
)
- Zaber
The Zaber is a minor tributary of the River Neckar in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is some 22 km in length and joins the Neckar from the west at Lauffen am Neckar...
(left side, at LauffenLauffen am Neckar is a town in the district of Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the river Neckar, 9 km southwest of Heilbronn...
)
- Sulm
The Sulm is an unnavigable right tributary of the Neckar in the Heilbronn district of Baden-Wuerttemberg. It arises in the Löwensteiner Mountains and after 25.3 km and 315 meters of elevation flows into the Neckar in Untereisesheim, near Neckarsulm.- Geography :The Sulm flows south from the city...
(right side, at NeckarsulmNeckarsulm is a city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, near Stuttgart, and part of the district Heilbronn. As of 2004, Neckarsulm had 27,296 inhabitants....
)
- Kocher
The Kocher is a 168 km long right tributary of the Neckar in the north-eastern part of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The name "Kocher" originates from its Celtic name "cochan" and probably means winding, meandering river. The Kocher rises in the eastern foothills of the Swabian Alb from two karst...
(right side, at Bad FriedrichshallBad Friedrichshall is a town in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is situated at the confluence of the Jagst and the Kocher into the Neckar, 10 km north of Heilbronn...
)
- Jagst
The Jagst is a right tributary of the Neckar in northern Baden-Württemberg. It is 189 km long. Its source is in the hills east of Ellwangen, close to the Bavarian border. It winds through the towns Ellwangen, Crailsheim, Kirchberg an der Jagst, Langenburg, Krautheim, Möckmühl and Neudenau...
(right side, at Bad WimpfenBad Wimpfen is an historic spa town in the district of Heilbronn in the Baden-Württemberg region of southern Germany. It lies north of the city of Heilbronn, on the river Neckar.-Geography:...
)
- Elz
The Elz is a small river in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, a right tributary of the Neckar. It rises in the Odenwald. The Elz flows through Mudau, Limbach and Mosbach before reaching the Neckar in Neckarelz, a borough of Mosbach. Its length is 34 kilometres....
(right side, at MosbachMosbach is the capital of the Neckar-Odenwald district in the north of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about 58 km east of Heidelberg. Its geographical position is 49.21'N 9.9'E....
-Neckarelz)
External links