We have inverted fundamental mode Rayleigh waveforms in the frequency range from 20 to 100 s to obtain a three-dimensional S velocity distribution beneath central and southern Germany. The data come from 27 teleseismic events recorded at 17 broadband stations in Germany and adjacent areas. This results in 56 paths between pairs of stations, each pair lying on the same great circle with an epicenter. The phase differences between the waveforms recorded at a pair of stations have been inverted directly for the path-averaged S velocity perturbation between the two stations. All path models were then combined into a single three-dimensional model. The most prominent features of the obtained model are (1) low velocities beneath the Eger Graben, which are an expression of the deep-reaching rift structure, (2) high velocities between 40 and 120 km depth beneath northern Bavaria, caused by an apparent thickening of the lithosphere toward the south, (3) high velocities in the uppermost mantle beneath the southern Rhine Graben area (presently inactive with respect to rifting), suggesting the absence of present upwelling hot mantle material, and (4) low velocities beneath the presently experiencing rifting northern branch of the central European rift system, including the northern part of the Rhine Graben and the Rhenish Massif west of the river Rhine with the volcanic fields of the Eifel. These reduced velocities indicate a broad updoming of the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary. Our model suggests a strong correlation between upper mantle S wave structure at depths down to 200 km and tectonic surface expressions. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1996