<p><b>Heidelberg</b> is a town situated on the <a href="/pages/w/112273705451714">River Neckar</a> in south-west <a href="/pages/w/108100019211318">Germany</a>. The fifth-largest town in the <a href="/pages/w/132613483445197">State</a> of <a href="/pages/w/112445535439262">Baden-Württemberg</a> after <a href="/pages/w/108031939218618">Stuttgart</a>, <a href="/pages/w/108192192542848">Karlsruhe</a>, <a href="/pages/w/112351382113988">Mannheim</a> and <a href="/pages/w/105590906140084">Freiburg im Breisgau</a>, Heidelberg is part of the densely populated <a href="/pages/w/104331286268770">Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region</a>. In 2011, over 149,000 people lived in the city.</p><p>A former residence of the <a href="/pages/w/217894061647115">Electorate of the Palatinate</a>, Heidelberg is the location of <a href="/pages/w/110577515631107">Heidelberg University</a>, well known far beyond Germany's borders. Heidelberg is a popular <a href="/pages/w/109742775710179">tourist destination</a> due to its <a href="/pages/w/108344025859794">romantic</a> and picturesque cityscape, including <a href="/pages/w/112414038769736">Heidelberg Castle</a> and the <a href="/pages/w/112297422115141">baroque style</a> Old Town.</p><h2>Geography</h2><p>Heidelberg is in the <a href="/pages/w/141936965819414">Rhine Rift Valley</a>, on the left bank of the lower part of the River Neckar in a steep valley in the <a href="/pages/w/112526882093953">Odenwald</a>. It is bordered by the <a href="/pages/w/134877229879588">Königsstuhl</a> (568 m) and the <a href="/pages/w/234573429896107">Gaisberg</a> (375 m) mountains. The River Neckar here flows in an east-west direction. On the right bank of the river, the Heiligenberg mountain rises to a height of (445 m). The River Neckar flows into the <a href="/pages/w/108114265889147">River Rhine</a> approximately 22 kilometres north-west in <a href="/pages/w/112351382113988">Mannheim</a>. Villages incorporated during the 20th century stretch from the Neckar Valley along the Bergstraße, a road running through the <a href="/pages/w/112526882093953">Odenwald</a> hills.</p>