With about 500,000 inhabitants and an area of 186.5 square kilometres, Nuremberg is Franconia's biggest city. The city area extends on both sides of the River Pegnitz which divides the city into a northern and a southern half.
Nuremberg's surroundings are characterized by attractive landscapes: in the east, the Franconian Mountains (Fränkische Alb), in the north the Franconian Jura (Fränkische Schweiz), and in the south west the Franconian Lake District. The city is mainly built on sandstone, and this determines its vegetation and agriculture.
For centuries, the "Reichswald" (Imperial Forest) within and outside the city is a forest area under special protection – in the former days of old Imperial Nuremberg as a an irreplaceable reservoir for timber, today as a leisure space and the city's "Green Lung". North of the city, the "Knoblauchsland" is the largest vegetable growing area in Bavaria, making a considerable contribution to the supply of fresh vegetables to the population.
