Twelve German Cities from Buxtehude to Lindau in Order of Recorded Latitude, North to South

Buxtehude lies furthest north on this path, at a recorded latitude of 53.476944. It is a Hanseatic city on the Este River in the district of Stade in Lower Saxony, the second largest municipality in that district, on the southern border of the Altes Land close to Hamburg and connected to the Hamburg S-Bahn network.

Celle is recorded at latitude 52.625556, on the river Aller in Lower Saxony. It was the official residence of the Luneburg branch of the dukes of Brunswick-Luneburg from 1378 to 1705, and its old town centre keeps a Renaissance and Baroque castle beside more than 400 timber-framed houses on the German Timber-Frame Road.

Hamelin sits at a recorded latitude of 52.103056, on the Weser River in Lower Saxony. It grew from a monastery founded around 851 AD into a chartered town by the 12th century, and is known worldwide for the Pied Piper legend, said to have occurred in 1284.

Detmold is recorded at latitude 51.937778, in North Rhine-Westphalia. It was the capital of the small Principality of Lippe from 1468 until 1918 and then of the Free State of Lippe until 1947, and it is today the administrative center of the district of Lippe.

Northeim lies at a recorded latitude of 51.706667, in Lower Saxony. It first appears in a document from around 800, gained town status in 1252 and belonged to the Hanseatic League from 1384 to 1554. After the railway from Hanover to Gottingen opened in 1854 it grew into a significant railway junction.

Korbach is recorded at latitude 51.271944, in northern Hesse. It is the district seat of Waldeck-Frankenberg and lies on the German Timber-Frame Road. It received town rights in 1188 from the Bishop of Paderborn and is the only town in Hesse to have been a member of the Hanseatic League.

Mittweida lies at a recorded latitude of 50.985556, on the Zschopau River in Saxony, 18 kilometers north of Chemnitz. First mentioned in 1209, it became one of Saxony's major textile-producing centers in the 20th century and today hosts a University of Applied Sciences.

Neustadt bei Coburg is recorded at latitude 50.328889, in northern Bavaria. It was founded in the second half of the 12th century with the building of a castle and received city rights in 1316. A 1919 referendum led the town and the Free State of Coburg to join Bavaria rather than Thuringia.

Forchheim lies at a recorded latitude of 49.719722, in Upper Franconia in northern Bavaria. A former royal city, it is sometimes called the Gateway to Franconian Switzerland and is known for its ten day Annafest beer and music festival, held each late July across 24 beer gardens on a wooded hillside.

Karlsruhe is recorded at latitude 49.016667, on the right bank of the Rhine in Baden-Wurttemberg. Margrave Charles III William founded the city in 1715, and its fan shaped plan has 32 streets radiating from the palace. Today it is home to the Federal Constitutional Court and the Federal Court of Justice.

Konstanz lies at a recorded latitude of 47.663333, where the Rhine flows through the western end of Upper Lake Constance and the city borders Switzerland. It hosted the Council of Constance from 1414 to 1418, and the University of Konstanz, founded in 1966, is counted among the elite universities of Germany.

Lindau ends the path at a recorded latitude of 47.545833, on the eastern side of Lake Constance in Bavaria. The historic town occupies a small island connected to the mainland by a road bridge and a railway causeway, and its coat of arms shows a linden tree.