Max Planck Institute for Astronomy

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 views 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 Altstadt, by the Heidelberger Bergbahn, a two section historic funicular railway that stops at Heidelberg Castle, located on the lower slopes of the Königstuhl, 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).

Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory (German: Landessternwarte Heidelberg-Königstuhl) is a historic astronomical observatory located near the summit of the Königstuhl hill in the city of Heidelberg in Germany. The predecessor of the current observatory was originally opened in 1774 in the nearby city of Mannheim but degradation of observational conditions there resulted in a relocation to the Königstuhl in 1898.The observatory forms part of the Center of Astronomy of the University of Heidelberg. The Max Planck Institute for Astronomy opened on an adjacent site in 1967. Prof. Dr. Andreas Quirrenbach is the observatory's director since 2005.

The Kleiner Odenwald (“Little Odenwald”) is the southern part of the central German hill range, the Odenwald, and is up to 567.8 m above sea level (NHN). It is also part of the natural region of Sandstein-Odenwald in the north of the state of Baden-Württemberg. Lying east-southeast of Heidelberg and south of the River Neckar, which separates the Kleiner Odenwald from the rest of the Odenwald, its landscape is shaped by the underlying sandstone that also dominates the northern Odenwald.

The Heidelberg Mountain Railway (German: Heidelberger Bergbahn) is a two-section funicular railway in the city of Heidelberg, Germany. The first section runs from a lower station at Kornmarkt in Heidelberg's Altstadt, via an intermediate station at Heidelberg Castle, to an upper station at Molkenkur. Here passengers may change to the second section, which runs up the Königstuhl, a nearby mountain with good views over the city and the River Neckar.The upper and lower sections of the funicular have different histories and are sometimes referred to separately by the names Königstuhlbahn and Molkenkurbahn respectively. These two sections present quite different appearances, with the upper section using wooden bodied cars of historic appearance, whilst the lower section uses modern style cars. Similarly the upper stations at Molkenkur and Königstuhl are to the original design, whilst those further down the hill at Kornmarkt and Heidelberg Castle present a more modern image.The Heidelberger Bergbahn is operated by the Heidelberger Straßen- und Bergbahn AG (HSB), the operator of buses and trams in Heidelberg. The funicular predominantly serves tourist traffic. The lower section runs every ten minutes throughout the day, whilst the connecting upper section runs every twenty minutes throughout the day. The services start at 9 a.m. and end at times that vary from summer to winter.

Heidelberger Schlossfestspiele is a theatre festival in Germany. The Heidelberger Schlossfestspiele are the best-known and most-attended open-air theater plays in Northern Baden Region. Every summer festival take place in the inner courtyard or in other areas of the Heidelberg Palace. It first opened in 2001.

The Hortus Palatinus, or Garden of the Palatinate, was a Baroque garden attached to Heidelberg Castle, Germany. The garden was commissioned by Frederick V, Elector Palatine in 1614 for his new wife, Elizabeth Stuart, and became famous across Europe during the 17th century for the landscaping and horticultural techniques involved in its design. At the time it was known as the 'Eighth Wonder of the World', and has since been termed 'Germany's greatest Renaissance garden.'

The Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik ("MPI for Nuclear Physics" or MPIK for short) is a research institute in Heidelberg, Germany. The institute is one of the 80 institutes of the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft (Max Planck Society), an independent, non-profit research organization. The Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics was founded in 1958 under the leadership of Wolfgang Gentner. Its precursor was the Institute for Physics at the MPI for Medical Research. Today, the institute's research areas are: crossroads of particle physics and astrophysics (astroparticle physics) and many-body dynamics of atoms and molecules (quantum dynamics). The research field of Astroparticle Physics, represented by the divisions of Jim Hinton, Werner Hofmann and Manfred Lindner, combines questions related to macrocosm and microcosm. Unconventional methods of observation for gamma rays and neutrinos open new windows to the universe. What lies behind “dark matter” and “dark energy” is theoretically investigated. The research field of Quantum Dynamics is represented by the divisions of Klaus Blaum, Christoph Keitel and Thomas Pfeifer. Using reaction microscopes, simple chemical reactions can be “filmed”. Storage rings and traps allow precision experiments almost under space conditions. The interaction of intense laser light with matter is investigated using quantum-theoretical methods. Further research fields are cosmic dust, atmospheric physics as well as fullerenes and other carbon molecules. Scientists at the MPIK collaborate with other research groups in Europe and all over the world and are involved in numerous international collaborations, partly in a leading role. Particularly close connections to some large-scale facilities like GSI (Darmstadt), DESY (Hamburg), CERN (Geneva), TRIUMF (Canada), and INFN-LNGS (Assergi L‘Aquila) exist. The institute has about 390 employees, as well as many diploma students and scientific guests. In the local region, the Institute cooperates closely with the University of Heidelberg, where the directors and further members of the Institute are teaching. Three International Max Planck Research Schools (IMPRS) and a graduate school serve to foster young scientists. The institute operates a cryogenic ion storage ring (CSR) dedicated to the study of molecular ions under interstellar space conditions. Several Penning ion traps are used to measure fundamental constants of nature, such as the atomic mass of the electron and of nuclei. A facility containing several electron beam ion traps (EBIT) that produce and store highly charged ions is dedicated to fundamental atomic structure as well as astrophysical investigations. Large cameras for gamma-ray telescopes (HESS, CTA), Dark Matter (XENON1t, DARWIN), and neutrino detectors are developed and tested on-site.

The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) is an intergovernmental organization dedicated to molecular biology research and is supported by 27 member states, two prospect states, and one associate member state. EMBL was created in 1974 and is funded by public research money from its member states. Research at EMBL is conducted by approximately 110 independent research and service groups and teams covering the spectrum of molecular biology and bioinformatics. The list of Groups and Teams at EMBL can be found at www.embl.org. The Laboratory operates from six sites: the main laboratory in Heidelberg, and sites in Hinxton (the European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI), in England), Grenoble (France), Hamburg (Germany), Rome (Italy) and Barcelona (Spain). EMBL groups and laboratories perform basic research in molecular biology and molecular medicine as well as train scientists, students, and visitors. The organization aids in the development of services, new instruments and methods, and technology in its member states. Israel is the only full member state located outside Europe.

Heidelberg-Altstadt station (also known as Karlstorbahnhof—"Karlstor station") is a station on the eastern edge of the old town of Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Until 13 December 2008, the station was called Heidelberg Karlstor.

Corps Rhenania Heidelberg is a member Corps of the Kösener Senioren-Convents-Verband, the oldest association of student fraternities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Corps Rhenania is "pflichtschlagend", which refers to the fact that it requires of its members, that they participate in several ritual, organised duels with members of other specific student fraternities. Eligible applicants are those students, both current and former, of the Ruprecht Karl University in Heidelberg, Germany. Members of Corps Rhenania are colloquially referred to as "Rhenane".

The Kornmarkt-Madonna ("Cornmarket Madonna") is a fountain sculpture in the Kornmarkt in the Altstadt of Heidelberg. It is also known as the Mariensäule (Mary column) and Muttergottesbrunnen (Mother of God fountain).

The Kornmarkt ("Corn market") is a square in the Altstadt of Heidelberg, near the Marktplatz. The north edge of the Kornmarkt is marked by the Hauptstrasse, the south by Ingrimstrasse and Karlstrasse. The Burgweg, which leads up to Heidelberg Castle, begins to the south of the Kornmarkt.