Geography

Geography

Main article: Geography of Stuttgart

Panorama of Stuttgart looking southeast. From the Neckar valley on the left the city rises to the city center, backed by high woods to the south (television tower). Stuttgart South and Stuttgart West are to the right.

Stuttgart lies in a fertile bowl-shaped valley about 900 feet (270 m) above sea level,^[132][h] an hour from the Black Forest and Swabian Jura^[28] on the banks of the Neckar river at 48°47′0″N 9°11′0″E 115 miles (185 km) to the west and north of Munich.^[133] The city is often described as being "zwischen Wald und Reben", or "between forest and vines" because of its viticulture and proximity to the nearby forests. Local residents refer to the basin as the Stuttgarter Kessel, or "Stuttgart cauldron," during the summer months because of its hot and humid climate that is frequently warmer than the surrounding countryside of Württemberg.
Stuttgart covers an area of 207.35 km² (80 sq mi) and sits at elevation ranging from 207 m (679 ft) above sea level by the Neckar river to 549 m (1,801 ft) on Bernhartshöhe hill – something rather unique in large German cities. The most prominent elevated locales in Stuttgart are the Birkenkopf (511 m (1,677 ft)) on the edge of the Stuttgart basin, the Württemberg (411 m (1,348 ft)) rising above the Neckar valley, and the Grüner Heiner (395 m (1,296 ft)) at the northeast end of the city.

Stuttgart Region with Centers

Stuttgart is one of 14 Regional centers in Baden-Württemberg and is naturally the primary center of the Stuttgart Region, making it the administrative center for a region of 3,700 square kilometres (1,400 sq mi) containing a total of 2.76 million people as of December 2014.^[134] In addition to this, Stuttgart serves as a Mittelzentrum for Esslingen District cities Leinfelden-Echterdingen and Filderstadt, and Ditzingen, and Gerlingen and Korntal-Münchingen in Ludwigsburg District. Stuttgart is also chief of the three centers Stuttgart Metropolitan Region, an area of 15,000 square kilometres (5,800 sq mi) containing 5.3 million persons.^[135]

Mittelzentrum / Middle-Stage centers of the Stuttgart Region
Backnang, Bietigheim-Bissingen / Besigheim, Böblingen / Sindelfingen, Esslingen am Neckar, Geislingen, Göppingen / Herrenberg, Kirchheim unter Teck, Leonberg, Ludwigsburg / Kornwestheim, Nürtingen,