The Neckar (Swabian: "Negger") is a 367 km long river in the South-West of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Rising in the Black Forest, it flows through a steep valley in the Odenwald hills and passes through the cities of Tübingen (University), Nürtingen, Esslingen, Stuttgart (capitol of Baden-Württemberg, and Heidelberg (University). In Mannheim the Neckar joins the river Rhine.