Cityscape

The old town

• The “old town” (German: Altstadt), located at the southern side of the Neckar, is long and narrow. It is dominated by the ruins of the Heidelberg Castle, 80 metres above the Neckar on the steep, wooded side of the Königstuhl (English: King’s chair or throne) hill.
• The old stone bridge was erected 1786-1788. A medieval bridge gate is on the side of the old town, and was
• originally part of the town wall. Baroque tower helmets were added as part of the erection of the stone bridge in 1788.
• The Karls‘ gate (Karlstor) is a triumphal arch in honour of the PrinceElector Karl Theodor, located at Heidelberg’s east side. It was built 1775-1781 and designed by Nicolas de Pigage.
• The house Zum Ritter Sankt Georg (Knight St. George) is one of the few buildings to survive the War of
• Succession. Standing across from the Church of the Holy Spirit, it was built in the style of the late Renaissance. It is named after the sculpture at the top.
• The Marstall was an arsenal of the Heidelberg Castle in which several different goods were stored. The 19th-century building was built in a neo-classical style. Since 1971, the Marstall has housed lecture halls of the university.

Heidelberg Castle

The castle is a mix of styles from Gothic to Renaissance. Prince Elector Ruprecht III (1398–1410) erected the first building in the inner courtyard as a royal residence. The building was divided into a ground floor made of stone and framework upper levels. Another royal building is located opposite the Ruprecht Building: the Fountain Hall. Prince Elector Philipp (1476–1508) is said to have arranged the transfer of the hall’s columns from a decayed palace of Charlemagne from Ingelheim to Heidelberg.

In the 16th and 17th century, the Prince Electors added two palace buildings and turned the fortress into a castle. The two dominant buildings at the eastern and northern side of the courtyard were erected during the rule of Ottheinrich (1556–1559) and Friedrich IV (1583–1610). Under Friedrich V (1613–1619), the main building of the west side was erected, the so called “English Building”.

The castle and its garden were destroyed several times (during the 30 Years’ War and the Palatine War of Succession). As Prince Elector Karl Theodor tried to restore the castle, lightning struck in 1764 and ended all attempts at rebuilding. Later on, the castle was misused as a quarry; castle stones were taken to build new houses in Heidelberg. This was stopped in 1800 by Count Charles de Graimberg who then began the preservation of the Heidelberg Castle.

Although the interior is in Gothic style, the King’s Hall was not built until 1934. Today, the hall is used for festivities, e.g. dinner banquets, balls and theatre performances. During the Heidelberg Castle Festival in the summer, the courtyard is the site of open air musicals, operas, theatre performances, and classical concerts performed by the Heidelberg Philharmonics.

The castle is surrounded by a park, where the famous poet Johann von Goethe once walked. The Heidelberger Bergbahn funicular railway runs from Heidelberg’s Kornmakt to the summit of the Königstuhl via the castle.

Philosophers’ Walk

On the northern side of the Neckar is located the Heiligenberg, with the remains of the Celtic fortress and the Philosophers’ Walk (German: Philosophenweg). Its name comes from the practice of Heidelberg’s philosophers and university professors of walking and talking here. It has excellent views of the old town and castle.

Heidelberg churches

There are many historical churches in Heidelberg and its environs. The Church of the Holy Spirit has been shared over the centuries since the Protestant Reformation by both Catholics and Protestants. It is one of the few buildings to survive the many wars during the past centuries. It was rebuilt after the French set fire to it in 1709 during the War of the Palatinian Succession. The church has remains of the tombs and epitaphs of the past Palatinate electors. This Church stands in the Marktplatz next to the seat of local government. In 1720, Karl III Philip, Elector Palatine came into conflict with the town’s Protestants as a result of giving the Church of the Holy Spirit exclusively to the Catholics for their use. It had previously been split by a partition and used by both congregations. Due to pressure by the mostly Protestant powers of Prussia, Holland, and Sweden, Prince Karl III Philip gave way and repartitioned the church for joint use. In 1936 the separating wall was removed. The church is now exclusively used by Protestants. Furthermore there is the Catholic Church of the Jesuits. Its construction began in 1712. It was completed with the addition of a bell tower from 1866 – 1872. The church is also home to the Museum für sakrale Kunst und Liturgie (Museum of Ecclesiastical Arts). The oldest church in Heidelberg is the St. Peter’s Church (now Lutheran). It was built by early Christians (Catholics) sometime during the 12th century, although there is no exact documentation of the date.

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  Church of the Holy Spirit

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  The Church of the Jesuits

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  St. Peter’s Church

Education

Universities and academia

Heidelberg is known for its institutions of higher education. The most famous of those is the University of Heidelberg. Founded in 1386, it is one of Europe’s oldest institutions. In fact, Heidelberg is the oldest university town of today’s Germany. Among the prominent thinkers associated with the institution are Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Karl Jaspers, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Jürgen Habermas, Karl-Otto Apel and Hannah Arendt. The campus is situated in two urban areas and several own buildings. In numerous historical buildings in the Old town there are the Faculties of the Humanities, the Social Science and the Faculty of Law. The Faculties of Medicine and Natural Science are settled on the Neuenheimer Feld Campus.

Since 1904 there is a College of Educational Science, the Pädagogische Hochschule Heidelberg; since 1979 there is a college of Jewish Studies, the Hochschule für Jüdische Studien Heidelberg. It comprises nine branches specializing on both religion and Jewish culture. The University of Applied Sciences in Heidelberg, the SRH Hochschule Heidelberg was founded in 1992, is accredited by the German state and is situated in the Science Tower in Wieblingen. The Schiller International University, a private American university is also represented with a campus in Heidelberg offering several undergraduate and graduate programs in the fields of International Business und International Relations and Diplomacy.

Research

In addtition to the research centers and institutes of the university, there are numerous research institutions situated in the city of Heidelberg. Among them are the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO), the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law.

Schools

Heidelberg is home to 23 elementary schools. There are several institutions of secondary education — both public and private — in Heidelberg representing all levels of the German school system. There are fourteen Gymnasium with six of them being private. With 52% of the secondary students visiting a Gymnasium, Heidelberg has an above-average percentage compared to the German standard. The reason might be that there is a very high number of academics residing in Heidelberg and its environs. Some of those are the Bunsen-Gymnasium, the Helmholtz-Gymnasium, the Hölderlin-Gymnasium and the Elisabeth-von-Thadden-Schule. Then there are seven Realschule, ten Hauptschule and nine vocational schools (the so-called Berufsschule). In addition, there are several folk high schools with different specialisations.^[15]

Culture

Events

Throughout the year there are different regular festivals and events hosted and organized in Heidelberg. In February, the Ball der Vampire (Ball of the Vampires)^[18] is arranged and Fasching, the equivalent of Mardis Gras or Carnival in some German region, with a giant vampire-themed costume party at the local castle or city hall is celebrated. In March or April the Heidelberger Frühling (Heidelberg Spring), the Classic Music Festival and the international Easter egg market are conducted. During the last weekend of April there a annually organized half marathon. In the sommer time there are the Frühlingsmesse on the Messeplatz (May) and Illumination of the castle and bridge with lights and fireworks take place. In September, each last Saturday the Old Town Autumn Festival is hold.^[19] It includes a Medieval Market, an arts and crafts market, a flea market, and music from Samba to Rock. During October or November there are the Heidelberger Theater Days and a jazz festival. Every year in November the International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg take place in the city, too. The festival presents arthouse films of international newcomer directors and is held jointly by both of the cities.^[20] During Christmas there is a Christmas market throughout the oldest part of the city. A famous gift is the chocolate called Heidelberger Studentenkuss (student kiss).

Museums and exhibitions

Among the most prominent museums of Heidelberg are for instance the Carl Bosch Museum which shows life and work of chemist and Nobel Prize-winner Carl Bosch. Then there is the Documentation and Culture Centre of German Sinti and Roma (Dokumentations- und Kulturzentrum Deutscher Sini und Roma) describing the Nazi genocide of the Sinti and Roma peoples. The German Packing Museum (Deutsches Verpackungsmuseum) gives an overview on the history of packing and wrapping goods whereas the German Pharmacy Museum (Deutsches Apothekenmuseum) which is located in the castle illustrates the story of Pharmacy in Germany. The Palatinate Museum (Kurpfälzisches Museum) offers a great art collection and some Roman archeological artifacts from the region. In the honour of Friedrich Ebert one established the President Friedrich Ebert Memorial which remembers the life of Germany’s first democratic head of state. Besides, there are guided tours in most of the historical monuments of Heidelberg, as well as organized tourist tours through the city available in several languages.

Romanticism of Heidelberg

Heidelberg was the centre of the epoch of Romantik (Romanticism) in Germany. There was a famous circle of poets, such as Joseph von Eichendorff, Johann Joseph von Görres, Arnim, and Clemens Brentano. A relic of Romanticism is the Philosophers’ Walk (German: Philosophenweg), a scenic walking path on the nearby Heiligenberg, overlooking Heidelberg.

The Romantik epoch of German philosophy and literature, was described as a movement against classical and realistic theories of literature, a contrast to the rationality of the Age of Enlightenment. It elevated medievalism and elements of art and narrative perceived to be from the medieval period. It also emphasized folk art, nature and an epistemology based on nature, which included human activity conditioned by nature in the form of language, custom and usage.

Sport

Heidelberg is one of the centres of Rugby union in Germany, along with Hannover. In 2008-09, four out of nine clubs in the Rugby-Bundesliga were from Heidelberg, these being RG Heidelberg, SC Neuenheim, Heidelberger RK and TSV Handschuhsheim. Additionally, Heidelberger TV also has a rugby department.

Rugby League Deutschland has two teams based in Heidelberg, Heidelberg Sharks formed in 2005 and Rohrbach Hornets formed in 2007.

HEIDELBERG PRESENTATION VIDEO