Heidelberg University is Germany’s oldest university. It was founded in 1386.  This building is the oldest and is just one of many throughout the city.  

This building was donated by a former American student around 1900 because there hadn’t been a  “proper” lecture hall when he was in attendance.

At one time there was a student “jail” to curtail mischief.  Mark Twain came to Heidelberg as a student to learn German – somehow I suspect mischief.

This building is residence for a fraternity of ten. Nice frat house!

Heidelberg University has academic prestige with 56 Nobel Laureates.  Forty percent of the university’s students are international.  

There are lots of English speakers in Heidelberg because of the university and because so many Americans lived in the city.  Heidelberg was home to a US military base until 2011.

Heidelberg was once ruled by a series of Prince Electors.

Martin Luther first defended his thesis in Heidelberg and the reigning Prince Elector was so impressed that nearly the whole village became Lutheran.

Lutherans and Catholics shared the Heidelberg church for 300 years. 

There was a wall separating their activities for most of those years.

Heidelberg was left in ruins by the French under Louis XIV. The church and the hotel at the end of the street were the only buildings to survive the resulting fires because they were made of stone.

The city was rebuilt in the 18th century.

The ruins of Heidelberg Castle overlook the city.

The castle looked something like this in the year 1200.  

The castle was the home of the Palantine monarchy from the 13th to 18th centuries.  

Over the years, the castle expanded in a variety of architectural styles.

The castle was partially destroyed by fire caused by a lightning strike in the 17th century. 

It burned for a week.

The folklore of this footprint is that a knight jumped from the bedroom of his lover after the fire began.

This tower was once used to store gun powder.  The French blew it up during the Seven Year War out of spite because they couldn’t possess it.

The Heidelberg Castle, maintained as ruins, is the second most visited castle in Germany.   (The Neuschwanstein Castle, more commonly known as the “Disney Castle,“ is the most visited.)

Heidelberg also has the world’s largest wine barrel.  It is made of 130 oak trees and held 50,000 gallons of wine.  The area tax collector collected tax in the form of wine from local wineries. He mixed it all together.  Unfortunately, we did not get to try any tax wine.

Although Jews in Heidelberg certainly suffered in World War II, the city had minimal allied bombing during the war.

(We were in Heidelberg on September 4, 2023)

Next up:  We leave the Main River, cruise into the Rhine, and go to the Gutenberg Museum.