Königstuhl, Mountain summit in Heidelberg, Germany

Königstuhl is a 567.8-metre hill in the Odenwald, the highest point of the Kleiner Odenwald and of the Bergstraße, rising directly above Heidelberg's Altstadt. Its broad, forested massif climbs to a rounded, tree-lined summit crowned by two thin antenna masts, with the red roofs and church spire of the town below in the Neckar valley. The Heidelberger Bergbahn funicular runs from the Altstadt to the summit region.

An astronomical observatory was founded at this location in the late 1800s and became a center for celestial research. The site gained renown when researchers discovered numerous celestial bodies from here over the following decades.

The name Königstuhl means "King's Chair". The summit is home to the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy and the Landessternwarte Heidelberg-Königstuhl observatory, founded in 1898. Between 1912 and 1957, Karl Wilhelm Reinmuth discovered almost 400 asteroids from this observatory.

The Heidelberger Bergbahn funicular, in two sections since 1907, climbs from the Old Town to the summit, stopping at Heidelberg Castle and the Molkenkur hotel-restaurant on the way. At the top are walking paths, a restaurant and a children's play park. The summit is 567.8 m high, so expect colder, wetter weather than in the valley.

The summit hosts several radio and television transmission towers that shape the hilltop landscape. These technical installations remain visible across the entire region and form part of the everyday character of the mountain.