Overview
There has been a settlement of some sort on this spot since prehistoric times, as attested by the discovery of the jawbone of « homo Heidelbergensis », some half a million years old and, until recently the oldest human remains ever found in Europe. The Romans built a signal tower on the Heiligenberg, to protect a nearby fortress and bridge, but the first official mention of a town called « Heidelberch » dates from 1196, and by 1225 a fortress had been constructed on or above the present site of the castle.
In 1155 Friedrich Barbarossa bestowed the title ‘Earl Palatine’ on his half brother Konrad von Hohenstaufen, but in 1214 Friedrich II gave the territory to Ludwig I of Bavaria, thus installing the Wittelsbach family in Heidelberg.
In 1359 a further dignity was bestowed on the Palatine Princes when they were accorded the title of Elector (Kurfurst). This meant that they cast their vote in the election of the Holy Roman Emperor and thus wielded considerable influence on the international stage. In addition to their increased status, the Princes suddenly found themselves in a position to supplement their finances by accepting hefty bribes from those who wished to influence the outcome of the election.
In 1386 Ruprecht founded the University, which was an immediate success and numbered 500 students in its first year. There are now 27,000 of them, (one fifth of the population) as you can tell from the number of bicycles! There are nine faculties and fourteen University hospitals; the University library contains 2.2 million books and 9,000 people are listed on the payroll. The modern University has an impressive scientific reputation having produced seven Nobel Prizewinners in this century alone. It is world famous for its Cancer Research Centre, the Max Planck Institute of Astronomy and its International Law Department amongst others.
Heidelberg is quintessentially a university town and still caught up in antiquated student traditions. Many students still belong to « societies » – identified by the different caps they wear, and involving oaths of brotherhood, drinking together and so on. These associations have a long tradition and in the past frequently led to riotous behaviour. The students were privileged and clever and considered themselves a cut above everybody else. Late nights at the inn often resulted in quarrels between the different clubs, which were settled by duels at dawn. Some student inns still exist – the Roter Ochsen and Zum Sepp’l for example, with messages and names carved into the tables. Another legacy is the Student Gaol, near the Jesuit church, where the most undisciplined ones were locked up for a few days to cool down. They employed their time in creating graffiti on the walls and it became generally accepted that any student worth his salt would be shut up at least once – thus rather defeating the object! You can still visit the gaol. Today the more colourful traditions have disappeared but you may see students sporting the caps of their respective societies.
Twenty odd years after the foundation of the University, in 1400, Ruprecht II started work on the oldest surviving part of the castle, and building continued for the next two hundred years as each ruler added on a bit in the latest style. In the mid 1500’s the Elector Otto Heinrich introduced the Reformation to the Palatinate and his successor Friedrich IV became the leader of the Protestant Alliance. The Wittelsbachs were again to loom large on the international scene, but this time with disastrous results for Heidelberg.
In 1610 Friedrich V married Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of James I of England and in 1619 was invited to become King of Bohemia by the Bohemian Princes, who did not wish to find themselves lumbered with the Habsburg Emperor Ferdinand. Elizabeth was all for it, saying that she would rather eat sauerkraut with a king than chicken with an Elector, but Friedrich hesitated, knowing that his acceptance of the throne would inevitably lead him into war with the Emperor. Eventually he agreed however, banking on the support of James and the English, and set off for Bohemia, much to the dismay of his Palatine subjects. The adventure proved to be a disaster: he had only been a few months in Bohemia when the first conflicts of what was to become the Thirty Years War erupted. Friedrich was defeated in the Battle of the White Mountain, his father-in-law having declined to come to his assistance, and was forced into exile in Holland. Meanwhile the Emperor declared him unfit to hold the title of Kurfurst and gave the Palatinate to Maximilian of Bavaria, head of the Catholic League. The Thirty Years War was particularly catastrophic in the area and three quarters of the population died.
In 1649 the Treaty of Westphalia confirmed the Bavarian ownership of the Palatinate, and Karl Ludwig set about restoring the castle and refounding the Library, most of which had been stolen and shipped off to Rome during the war. In the following decades the territory was resettled by Flemings, Walloons, Hugenots and Swiss. However, disaster was soon to strike again as the result of a marriage.
In 1671 Karl Ludwig’s daughter married the Duke of Orleans, brother of Louis XIV. Liselotte caused quite a stir at Versailles, where she was considered a vulgar chatterbox, but later Louis decided to assert a claim to her inheritance on behalf of his late brother and so justify a murderous French war against the Palatinate. The French were ultimately unsuccessful in their claim, but not before they had almost totally destroyed the town and castle in their two campaigns of 1689 and 1693.
The end was in sight for Heidelberg Castle. In 1720 Karl Philipp, plagued by religious controversy, moved his court from Heidelberg to Mannheim. Although Karl Theodor (who built the Karl Theodor Brücke) undertook restoration work between 1749 and 1799, this was finally broken off after a series of disasters and lightning strikes. The castle fell into decay. Today it is one of the most magnificent and romantic ruins in Germany. It was restored in the early 19th century and became a focus for the German Romantic Movement.
The Castle
The earliest parts of the castle date from the 14th century, and though much of it is now in ruins, you can still see quite clearly the different architectural styles of the various parts, each built by a different member of the ruling Wittelsbach family.
Walk the group from the bus park through the Archway (1) and turn immediately left. Follow the castle wall to the Rondell (2) from where you get an excellent view of the Altstadt (the old town). Look out for two large churches. The one to the left is the Jesuitenkirche with, grouped around it, the old Jesuit college and seminary buildings. Behind these are the University buildings and the old Student’s Gaol. This is still an area where many of the students live, although accommodation in the old town is of course expensive.
The other church, on the right, is the Heiliggeistkirche (Church of the Holy Spirit), which has an interesting history, reflecting the changing fortunes of the Palatinate. This was the burial church of the Palatine Princes, although only one tomb now remains after the mindless destruction of the French soldiers. During the Reformation the church constantly changed hands between the Catholics and Protestants according to who had the upper hand. Finally a compromise was reached and a partition was built dividing the choir from the nave, so that each faction could worship in peace. This solution did not suit Karl Philipp however and he claimed the church as a whole for himself and the Catholics. Feelings ran so high that riots and worse appeared imminent and Karl Philipp was forced to back down. It was partly for this reason that he removed his court in a huff to Mannheim. The partition was only finally removed in 1936, when the Protestants bought out the Catholics.
Around the church you can see the Marktplatz with its fountain and, spanning the river, the attractive Karl Theodore Bridge or Old Bridge. The base of the towers were once part of the city’s medieval fortifications and their dungeons were later used as prison cells. Those convicted of lesser crimes — debtors for example — were confined in the upper parts of the structure and enjoyed pleasant views of the river and the castle. The narrow streets of the Altstadt are still set out in their original medieval plan in spite of the destruction caused by the French invasion of 1693. The townspeople immediately set about rebuilding their houses, without waiting for a more modern city plan to be drawn up, and you will notice, when you are in the old town, that almost all the houses date from the 18th century. A notable exception is the Renaissance Haus zum Ritter at the end of the Hauptstrasse, which escaped the flames.
Move on past the Dicker Turm (3), literally “Fat Tower,” which was again half-destroyed by the French, to the Moat (4) which is wide and very deep. You can talk about the good defensive position of the castle, which they will appreciate better from the terrace, and castle building in general. This moat was only filled with water in times of danger; otherwise it was used as a stag enclosure. This side of the castle was impressively fortified. The Gate Tower (7), through which you will be passing in a moment, is 52 m high and almost undamaged. The former castle dungeons occupy its lower storeys whilst the upper floors housed the Tower Guards. The entrance was protected by four gates, a portcullis and a drawbridge. You can depict the castle under attack with the portcullis raised and surrounded by its moat like an impregnable island. The defenders rained arrows down from the battlements and poured burning pitch and molten lead on the attackers as they tried to scale the walls.
However, all you have to do is buy tickets! Before you do so, tell them to have a look at the Elisabethentor (5) — an interesting solution to the problem of what to give the woman who has everything. It was built in 1615 in a single night by Friedrich V as a birthday present for his wife Elizabeth Stuart.
Buy the tickets and walk the group across the bridge. Above the gateway you can see an empty space guarded by two lions. This used to be filled by a solid silver coat of arms, presumably stolen by the French. In the gateway itself is a great wooden door, with a much smaller one cut into it. The handle to this smaller door takes the form of a thick iron ring with a small nick in it. Legend has it that whoever could bite through the ring would inherit the castle and all it contained — probably started by a local dentist! Many people tried and failed until finally a witch came along and managed to make a faint mark in it — which you can still see if you look carefully. But exasperated at her failure she evaporated in a puff of smoke.
As you pass under the arch look out for the teeth of the portcullis, which is still in place. There is a hole in the ceiling which now has a lantern dangling from it. This was used to draw the defenders up to safety at the very last moment.
Walk the group into the courtyard. The first building on the left is the Ruprecht Building (8). This is the oldest part of the castle, begun in 1400. Above the doorway are two angels holding a wreath which encloses the symbols of the builder’s trade. There’s another story behind this one. During the construction the master-builder took his twin children to work. He became so involved in supervising his workers that he didn’t notice that they were playing on the scaffolding and tragically they fell to their deaths. The builder was overcome with grief and used to visit the cemetery every day to place a beautiful wreath on their grave. One night he dreamed that the twins returned as angels carrying the wreath with them. He awoke to find the wreath lying on the end of his bed; hence the angels over the doorway.
Behind you is the Well House (9). The monolithic granite columns were brought from one of Charlemagne’s palaces and are probably Roman in origin. The well is over 60 ft deep and was vital to the castle in times of siege.
Walk on into the centre of the courtyard. All the buildings around you date from different periods as each prince strove to outdo his predecessors. Next to the Ruprecht Building and set slightly back is the façade of the Library (10) with one remaining oriel window. The Wittelsbachs were the founders and patrons of Heidelberg University and the Palatine library was famous — so life in the castle was not all wine, women and song.
The most elaborate façade is that of the Friedrich Wing (11), which was built in the early 17th century by the same Friedrich who built the arch for Elizabeth Stuart. It is adorned with statues of all the Prince Electors. The top row represents the earliest legendary and historical ancestors of the Wittelsbach family including Charlemagne; the second, more recent emperors and kings; and the third and fourth the Kurfürsten or Palatine Prince-Electors, with Friedrich himself in the bottom row. The only non-royal person here is to be found in the bottom right-hand corner. Johann Kasimir, the builder, slipped a portrait of himself on the end of this distinguished collection of personnages. The roofless building to its right is the Mirror Room Wing (12), built in the early 1500s and destroyed by a fire which raged for three days and four nights. Its name comes from the ballroom on the first floor which used to be hung with mirrors of precious Venetian glass.
Over to the right is the Otto Heinrich Building (13), which is unfortunately now only a shell owing to its having been struck by lightning. It was built about fifty years before the Friedrich Wing and was said at the time to be the finest Renaissance building north of the Alps. The magnificent portal takes the form of a triumphal arch, whilst above the cross-mullioned windows are copies of Roman coins from Otto Heinrich’s collection, framed by cherubs playing musical instruments. The statues represent, from the bottom up: Joshua, Hercules and David, then five virtues — Strength, Faith, Charity, Hope and Justice (obviously no room for Chastity and Abstinence)! Above these are gods of antiquity — Saturn, Mars, Venus, Diana — and at the top, the sun and moon. The German Pharmaceutical Museum is housed in the cellars.
Walk toward the archway leading to the terrace and turn left down the slope to the Grosse Fass (14), the biggest wine barrel in the world. It took 130 oak trunks to build and has a capacity of 221,726 litres (55,345 gallons). It is 8.5 m long and 7 m high and they say that twelve dancing couples can whirl around together on the platform on top. The most famous overseer of the cellars was the dwarf Perkeo who was court jester to prince Karl Theodor, builder of the Old Bridge and the Great Vat. He was invited up to Heidelberg from his home in the Süd Tirol to entertain revellers with his outrageous sense of humour. He is supposed to have had an iron constitution, and must have needed one to put away the eighteen bottles of wine a day that were his average ration. He finally passed away when someone slipped him a glass of water instead of the usual beverage. His system revolted and he died on the spot. Look out for his statue beside the Vat and the clock that offers a reminder of his sense of humour. Get someone to pull the ring underneath.
The castle cellars had a combined capacity of 700,000 litres (over 160,000 gallons!) and the average consumption was 2,000 litres a day. Above Perkeo, you can see the giant tools used in the construction of the vat, and part of the plumbing through which the wine was piped directly into the halls of the castle.
Now lead them out onto the Altan (15) or Great Terrace for an impressive view over the Neckar Valley. The river flows into the Rhine at Mannheim 15 miles west of Heidelberg. You can point out the lock which carries shipping past the weir. From here you can clearly see the Philosophenweg or philosopher’s walk winding its way up the hillside opposite. Intellectuals used to go up there to think deep thoughts and be inspired by the view of the castle. Then they would come back to town and write them down. The name of the hill is the Heiligenberg or Holy Mountain. On the mountain are traces of a Celtic settlement probably dating from 500–100 BC, and the ruins of the 11th-century monastery of St Stephen. The mountain gets its name from another monastery and church dating from the 9th century, the foundations of which still exist, which was re-dedicated to All Saints in the 11th century. Hitler had an amphitheatre built up there in 1935 to be used for celebrations on the lines of ancient Germanic cult worship.
Look out for the footprint in the flagstones at the back of the terrace. Legend has it that a knight in shining armour, despairing at the unrequited passion he felt for one of the ladies of the court, jumped from the roof of the castle to his death. If your group are not convinced by this, get them to make up their own legend!
That’s it. If you have time to spare you might like to explore the gardens to the left as you leave the Gate Tower, which used to be formal, like Versailles and awash with fountains. They are much less impressive now, but pleasant for strolling. By the ticket office and on the way back to the bus there are various places for refreshments and souvenirs.