Eberhardbrucke over the Neckar River in Tübingen (Germany)

On the willowy Neckar
and on the Rhine
All think
Nowhere would be better to live.

Friedrich Holderlin

Bridge over the moat of the Hohentubingen Castle in Tubingen (Germany)

Still und öde steht der Väter Feste,

Schwarz und moosbewachsen Pfort' und Turm,

Durch der Felsenwände trübe Reste

Saust um Mitternacht der Wintersturm,

Dieser schaurigen Gemache Trümmer,

Heischen sich umsonst ein Siegesmal,

Und des Schlachtgerätes Heiligtümer

schummern Todesschla im Wafensaal.

Beginning of Tubingen Burg

Friedrich Holderlin

Eberhardbrucke over the river Neckar in Tübingen (Germany)

Quiet is the moonlight;

Quiet the twigs of the trees;

Quiet the "tune-sellers" of the vale;

Quiet the "green-robed" of the hills.

Nature is inebriated,

Asleep in the lap of the night.

Such magic has silence wrought

That even the ramble of the Neckar is motionless.

Quiet is the caravan of the stars—

A caravan that moves without the tinkle of the bells.

Quiet are hill, river and dale:

Nature, you might say, is in obeisance.

O my (beating) heart! Thou too be quiet;

Hug thy melancholy and sleep.

On the banks of the Neckar

Muhammad Iqbal

Alleenbrück spanning the Neckar in Tübingen (Germany)

Vers vous, îles! m’emportera peut-être un jour
Le dieu qui m’est propice, mais fidèle jusque là-bas,
La pensée m’accompagnera de mon Neckar
Avec ses prés charmants et les saules des rives.

From a poem to the Neckar

Friedrich Holderlin