Heidelberg through the centuries
Overlooking the University City of Heidelberg is the Castle of Kings, Heidelberg Castle. The original fort was built above the current location, in the 13th century. This was struck by lightening in the 15th century and some remnants can still be found. The current building was constructed in the mid 1400’s. The Castle continued to grow and went through many architectural periods from Medieval and Gothic to Renaissance which is prevalent throughout.
In the 17th century, sculpter Sebastian Götz along with architect Johannes Schoch, created the amazing regal sculptures on the Friedrich building. The top sculptures are the fathers of the Wittelsbach family and includes Charlemagne and Otto von Wittelsbach. Below them are Emperors and Kings descended from the family of Wittelsbach. Underneath them are members from the Wittelsbach family, the first to live along the Rhine. This included the founder of the University, Prince-Elector Ruprecht I. Friedrich IV, who built the building, is in the lower row along with his father, grandfather and uncle.
The original sculptures were taken down at the beginning of the 20th century and replaced with replicas. The originals are now safely stored inside the building.
There are many sculptures around the castle. In 1615, Elector Frederick V had an arch built, with beautiful sculptures, for his wife, Elisabeth Stuart, daughter of King James I of England.
Aside from the sculptures, there is much to see on the castle grounds. Spend some time walking through the Apothekenmuseum, a 2000 year history of pharmacy and medical science. Or visit the largest wine barrel in the world. Built in 1751, it is 7 metres high and eight and half metres wide and holds 220,000 litres of wine. I think that would do me for the year. Pretty impressive.
Walking around the grounds is humbling, looking at the ruins realizing that there was life here so many centuries ago.
When you are done, wandering around, take some time to admire the spectacular views from different angles. No words are required, simply click on the photos below to expand.
After spending several hours at the castle, we headed down to the city for a walk-about. Heidelberg is a University town but during the summer, the streets were filled with mostly tourists, a lot of tourists. European streets are all so quaint with their cobbled sidewalks and a lot of pedestrian walkways. So different from the typical North American mall.
Every European town appears to have a town square which is always buzzing with activity and is always a great place to stop and have a coffee or beer and just people watch.
In the town centre, also known as Market Square, is the most famous church of Heidelberg, The Church of the Holy Spirit. Three churches have actually sat on this site, the earliest being built back in the 13th century and the current structure built in the 18th century. It was great to see it from the Castle and also up close.
A visit to Heidelberg is not complete without a visit to the Old Bridge, actually named the Karl Theodor Bridge. A beautiful arch bridge, rebuilt several times but the current bridge was built in 1788. At the entrance to the bridge on the old city side, stands a bronze monkey statue. The monkey originated back in the 16th century and was housed in the tower building in the market square. The monkey was touching his backside and facing towards Mainz on the opposite side of the river and was meant to signify that Heidelberg did not listen to the Bishops of Mainz. HIs front side greeted visitors. The new statue is very different and actually shows the sign of the horns meant to ward off the evil eye. Tourists flock to the monkey to touch various parts of the body as they have different meanings: wealth, blessed with children or return travel to Heidelberg. No matter what you desire, it is a cool place to visit and a great way to complete our visit in Heidelberg.
