Königstuhl (Odenwald) in the context of "Odenwald"

Heidelberg (/ˈhaɪdəlbɜːrɡ/; German: [ˈhaɪdl̩bɛʁk] ; Palatine German: Heidlberg) is the fifth-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of students, it is Germany's 51st-largest city. Located about 78 km (48 mi) south of Frankfurt, Heidelberg is part of the densely populated Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region which has its centre in Mannheim.

Heidelberg is located on the Neckar River, at the point where it leaves its narrow valley between the Oden Forest and the Little Oden Forest, and enters the wide Upper Rhine Plain. The old town lies in the valley, the end of which is flanked by the Königstuhl in the south and the Heiligenberg in the north. The majority of the population lives in the districts west of the mountains in the Upper Rhine Plain, into which the city has expanded over time.

The Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, MPIA) is a research institute of the Max Planck Society (MPG). It is located in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany near the top of the Königstuhl, adjacent to the historic Landessternwarte Heidelberg-Königstuhl astronomical observatory. The institute primarily conducts basic research in the natural sciences in the field of astronomy.

In addition to its own astronomical observations and astronomical research, the Institute is also actively involved in the development of observation instruments. The instruments or parts of them are manufactured in the institute's own workshops.