Rhein-Neckar

The Rhein-Neckar metropolitan area of Deutschland¹ has 1.5 million residents and is centered on three cities: Mannheim, Ludwigshafen and Heidelberg, none of which have even 500 thousand citizens. Other cities are Worms and Speyer. Heidelberg is upstream on the Neckar, Mannheim between the Neckar and the Rhein² at their confluence and Ludwigshafen on the left bank of the Rhein, opposite Mannheim. Mannheim's symbol is the 19th century Mannheim Water Tower;³ another tower, the Communications Tower,⁴ has an observation deck. Heidelberg is best known for its carefully preserved, ruined castle. Ludwigshafen's tallest building is the BASF Hochhaus E 100, a 102 meter high office building. Speyer (Spires) has a Romanesque cathedral, the Kaiserdom, built mostly in the 10th and 11th centuries, with a 1560 liter stone font outside the building. The cathedral is a World Heritage Site. The Gedächtniskirche is that city's tallest. Worms also has a Romanesque cathedral; the Rhein's right bank can be reached from Worms via the Niebelungen Bridge. In the town of Lorsch is another World Heritage Site: the Lorsch Abbey and nearby structures, dating from Carolingian times.

Heidelberg Castle ruins

Speyer Cathedral

Historical maps

Footnotes

1. Germany in English.
2. Rhine in English.
3. Mannheimer Wasserturm.
4. Mannheimer Fernmeldeturm.