CHAPTER IV. 



THE SWABIAN JURA AND THE VALLEY OF THE NECKAR. 



(WUrttembeug and Hohenzollern.)* 



General Aspects, Mountains, and Rivers. 



HE basin of the Neckar, though tributary to the Rhine, yet forms a 

 distinct region, as far as concerns its upper portion, bounded as it 

 is in the west by the ranges of the Black Forest and Odenwald. 

 Geographical features thus justify the formation of a separate 

 kingdom, of which the old castle of Wirtineberg, near the site now 

 occupied by the city of Stuttgart, became the natural nucleus. The boundaries of 

 Wiirttemberg, as drawn in accordance with treaties, present, no doubt, a few 

 anomalies, the districts on the Upper Danube and to the north of the Lake of 

 Constanz lying outside the valley of the Neckar ; but upon the whole Wiirttemberg 

 forms a world apart, quite able to lead a life of its own. A map showing the 

 density of the population proves this very plainly. The valley of the Neckar 

 stands prominently forth upon it as a great centre of population, separated from 

 Baden, Switzerland, and Bavaria by thinly peopled tracts of countr3^ 



The western boundary of this, one of the wealthiest and most active countries 

 of Germany, is formed by the Black Forest, or Schwarzwald, whose southern 

 extremity strikes the Svvabian Jura at an acute angle. The elevation of the hills 

 near the point of contact is comparatively small, and easy passes lead across them 

 into the valley of the Danube, and thence into that of the Rhine. This facility of 

 communication has enabled Wiirttemberg to extend its political boundaries in that 

 direction as far as the shores of the Bodensee. 



The Jurassic formation gradually increases in width as we travel eastward 

 from the Rhine. The highest summits of the Swabian Jura rise to the west of 

 the Danube, on the plateau of the Heuberg, the most considerable amongst them 

 attaining an elevation of 3,320 feet. On its summit the vast amphitheatre formed 

 by the Black Forest and the Alps lies spread out before us, and through a gap in 

 the former we are able even to catch a glimpse of the Vosges. 



* Wiirttemberg 

 HohenzoUcrn 



