Sights in Heidelberg
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Brass Monkey
On the Altstadt, at the entrance to the bridge side, is a statue of a Brass Monkey holding a mirror and surrounded by mice: touch the mirror for wealth, the outstretched fingers to ensure you return to Heidelberg and the mice to ensure you have many children.
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Deutsches Apotheken-Museum
The surprisingly interesting German Pharmacy Museum, off the Schlosshof, illustrates the history of Western pharmacology, in which Germany played a central role. Exhibits include pharmacies from the early 1700s and the Napoleonic era. Kids can use a mortar and a pestle to blend their own herbal tea (details available at the entrance). Most signs are in English.
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Studentenkarzer
From 1823 to 1914, students convicted of misdeeds such as public inebriation, loud nocturnal singing, freeing the local pigs or duelling were sent to the Student Jail, where they were ‘inkarzerated’ for at least 24 hours and, for the first two days, fed only bread and water. Delinquents were let out to attend lectures or take exams. In certain circles, a stint in the Karzer was de rigueur to prove one’s manhood. Judging by the inventive graffiti and creative inscriptions, some found their stay highly entertaining.
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Ruprecht-Karls-Universität
Despite witty observations about student duels and boisterous public drunkenness, Mark Twain points out that ‘idle students are not the rule’ in Heidelberg in his 1880 travelogue A Tramp Abroad. Indeed, Germany’s oldest university, established in 1386 by Count Palatinate Ruprecht I, has plenty of gravitas, with a student hall of fame that ranges from Chancellor Helmut Kohl (history and political science, 1956) to composer Robert Schumann (law, 1829) to Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels (PhD, 1921). Today it comprises 12 faculties with over 29,000 students from 80 nations. Fifty-five winners of the Nobel Prize have been in some way connected to Heidelberg University.
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Schloss
Sticking up above the Altstadt like a picture-book pop-up against a theatrical backdrop of wooded hills, the partly ruined, red sandstone Schloss is Heidelberg's heart-stealer. Palatinate princes, stampeding Swedes, Protestant reformers, raging fires and lightning bolts - this Gothic-Renaissance fortress has seen the lot. Its tumultuous history, story-book looks and changing moods have inspired the pens of Mark Twain and Victor Hugo as well as Turner's prolific paintbrush.
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Jesuitenviertel
Just east of Universitätsplatz is the Jesuitenviertel, an attractive little square dominated by the city's recently renovated former Jesuitenkirche (Jesuit church), built of red sandstone between 1712 and 1750. On the façade are statues of Christ, Faith (on the rooftop), St Ignatius Loyola and St Francis Xavier. The Schatzkammer (treasury) displays precious religious objects.
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Kurpfälzisches Museum
The city-run Palatinate Museum has well-presented exhibits on Heidelberg’s eventful history and is especially strong on the Roman period – exhibits include original wood beams from a 3rd-century bridge. To learn about really ancient local life, check out the replica of the 600,000-year-old jawbone of Homo heidelbergensis (Heidelberg Man), unearthed about 18km southeast of here in 1907 (the original is stored across the river at the university’s palaeontology institute).
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Heiliggeistkirche
Heidelberg’s most famous church, the Gothic-style Church of the Holy Spirit, was built from 1398 to 1441. Starting in 1706 it was used by both Catholics and Protestants, with a wall separating the two congregations; since 1936 it’s been Protestant. See if you can spot the late-medieval markings on the facade, used to ensure that pretzels were of the requisite shape and size. For a bird’s-eye view of Heidelberg, climb 208 stairs to the top of the spire.
Heiliggeistkirche is often used for concerts, including half-hour organ concerts held every summer evening, except possibly Saturday. Stop by at 12.30pm from Monday to Saturday (except in winter) for 10 minutes of…
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Königstuhl
The upper section of the Bergbahn (funicular railway) uses rail cars dating from 1907. From the Schloss, it continues up to the Königstuhl (altitude 550m - over 400m above the Altstadt), where there's a view and a TV tower. The return fare includes a stop at the Schloss.
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Botanischer Garten der Universität
Orchids, ferns and Madagascan succulents thrive in the verdant University Botanical Garden, part of the university’s right-bank Neuenheimer Feld campus. Situated 2.5km northwest of Bismarckplatz; served by trams 4 and 5.
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Bergbahn
To get up to the Schloss you can either take the Bergbahn, with its spanking new cars, from the Kornmarkt station on Zwingerstrasse; or walk up the steep, cobbled Burgweg (about 10 minutes), right next to the Bergbahn station.
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Universitätsbibliothek
The University Library was built in massive Wilhelmian style from 1901 to 1905. Upstairs you can see rare books and prints from its superb collections in the corner Ausstellungsraum (exhibition room).
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Märchenparadies
Children adore the kitschy cuteness of Märchenparadies, a mini-theme park with gentle rides, play areas and fairy-tale characters from Snow White to Rumpelstiltskin.
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Karl-Theodor-Statue
Up on the bridge, through the tower, is the Karl-Theodor-Statue, which makes reference to the local legend that the prince fathered almost 200 illegitimate children.
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Thingstätte
Up atop the Heiligenberg is the Thingstätte, a Nazi-era amphitheatre. There are several ruins and countless other hiking options in the surrounding hills.
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Alte Aula
A ticket to the Studentenkarzer gets you into the Alte Aula and an exhibition on the university's history, inside the Alte Universität.
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Hercules Fountain
In the centre of Marktplatz is the Hercules fountain; in medieval times petty criminals were chained to it and left to face the populace.
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Zoo Heidelberg
The delightful Zoo Heidelberg, just off the Neckar a bit west of the botanical garden, features animals from five continents.
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Schlossgarten
The grassy, flowery Castle Garden, on the hillside south and east of the Schloss, is a lovely spot for a stroll or a picnic. The cracked Pulver Turm (Gunpowder Tower) was damaged by French forces in 1693.
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Schatzkammer
The Schatzkammer displays precious religious artefacts.
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Universitäts Museum
The three-room University Museum, inside the Alte Universität building, has paintings, portraits, documents and photos documenting the university’s mostly-illustrious history. Only the signs on the Third Reich period are in English but the admission fee includes an English audioguide.
You can visit the adjacent Alte Aula, a neo-Renaissance hall whose rich decoration dates from 1886.
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Schlosshof
The Schloss’s central courtyard is surrounded by Gothic and Renaissance buildings so elaborate they often elicit gasps from visitors, as do the breathtaking views of the Altstadt and the Neckar Valley from the terrace (through the archway at the bottom of the courtyard). The terrace’s benches are perfect for a picnic.
The only way to see the less-than-scintillating interior of the Friedrichsbau, rebuilt (or, more accurately, built) a century ago, is on a guided tour. Psalm 118 is inscribed on the façade in Hebrew and Latin.
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Schloss
Sticking up above the Altstadt like a picture-book pop-up, Heidelberg’s ruined Schloss is one of the most romantic spots in Germany. Palatinate princes, stampeding Swedes, rampaging French, Protestant reformers and lightning strikes – this Renaissance castle has seen the lot. Its tumultuous history, lonely beauty and changing moods helped inspire the German Romantic movement two centuries ago.
To reach the red-sandstone castle, perched about 80m above the Altstadt, you can either hoof it up the steep, cobbled Burgweg in about 10 minutes, or take the Bergbahn, opened in 1890, from the Kornmarkt station. Schloss tickets include travel on the Bergbahn – or, to put it…
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Neue Universität
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Neuenheim River Bank
The grassy Neckar’s northern bank between Theodor-Heuss-Brücke and Ernst-Walz-Brücke, whose eastern end is about 500m northwest of Bismarckplatz, is a favourite student hang-out when the weather is warm. Small cafes sell snacks, drinks and beer.
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