Rhine Neckar Area

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This article is about the greater Rhine Neckar area in Germany. See also the German district Rhein-Neckar-Kreis.

Region

Logo of the Rhein-Neckar-Triangle initiative

The Rhine Neckar Area, often referred to as Rhein-Neckar-Triangle is a metropolitan area located in south western Germany, between Frankfurt and Stuttgart. The area around the major cities Mannheim, Ludwigshafen and Heidelberg has a population of 2.4 million and encompasses three federal states: Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse.

Mannheim watertower

The region named after the rivers Rhine and Neckar is officially recognized as a European Metropolitan Area. It is a successor of the historical Kurpfalz county.

The famous city of Heidelberg with its castle and its ancient town is recognized on the World Heritage list. Its university is the oldest one in Germany. Mannheim, where Carl Benz invented his first automobile, is on the other hand one of the most important industrial centers of Southern Germany. Its twin city Ludwigshafen across the Rhine river is host of the largest chemical plant of the world, the headquarters of BASF.

The three major cities are surrounded by a diverse and culturally rich region, including the Palatinate, the second largest vine region of the country called Deutsche Weinstraße, the pittoresque Neckar valley and the ancient cities of Speyer and Worms.