Bergstraße (route)

The Bergstraße ("Mountain Road") is an 80-kilometre-long (50 mi) ancient trade route in the south-west of Germany.

Between the cities of Heidelberg and Weinheim the Upper Rhine Railway Company (OEG) tram route runs alongside.

The route goes almost straight from north to south at the spot where the Rhine lowlands meet the western edge of the Odenwald.

The Bergstraße travels through the following towns (from north to south): The countryside directly along the route is also named after the road.

Because of the mild climate, Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor (1765–1790), pausing at the Bergstraße on a trip back from Frankfurt am Main, is said to have exclaimed "This is where Germany starts to become Italy".

As part of the conurbation at the point where the Rhine, Main and Neckar rivers meet, the Bergstraße is highly developed and industrialised.

An extraordinary sight in the immediate vicinity of the Bergstraße is the Carolingian-era entrance hall of the one-time Lorsch monastery, designated by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage site.