Königstuhl (Odenwald)

Königstuhl
Old town of Heidelberg, Heidelberg Castle and Königstuhl
Highest point
Elevation	567.8 m (1,863 ft)
Naming
English translation	King's seat
Language of name	German
Geography
Königstuhl The location within Baden-Württemberg
Location	Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Parent range	Odenwald

The Königstuhl (German pronunciation: [ˈkøːnɪçˌʃtuːl]), is a 567.8 metres (1,863 ft) high hill in the Odenwald Mountains and in the city of Heidelberg, in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. The Königstuhl summit allows visitors a spectacular view of the city of Heidelberg and the Neckar river. 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 Bergbahn, a two section historic funicular railway that stops at the Heidelberg Castle, 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 Astronomy is located near the summit of the Königstuhl, as is the historic Landessternwarte Heidelberg-Königstuhl astronomical observatory, established in 1898. Between 1912 and 1957, Karl Wilhelm Reinmuth discovered almost 400 asteroids whilst working from this observatory.

Several telecommunications facilities are located on the Königstuhl, including the Fernsehturm Heidelberg (Digital TV (DVB-T), Radio and Microwave), the Telecom Telecommunication Tower Heidelberg (Microwave and FM) and the now inactive Telecommunication Tower of US-Forces Heidelberg (Microwave).

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  Approaching the Königstuhl funicular station
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  Heidelberg from the Königstuhl