Schloss

Lonely Planet review

Dominating the Altstadt from on high, the partly ruined, red-sandstone Schloss is one of Germany's finest Gothic-Renaissance fortresses. Begun in the 13th century, the oldest surviving bits date from 1400.

The Renaissance Schlosshof (courtyard) is so elaborately decorated it often elicits a gasp from visitors. The terrace affords superb views of the town and the Neckar. The only way to see the less-than-scintillating interior is to join a guided tour. An audioguide of the Schloss costs extra.

Mark Twain, A Tramp Abroad (1880): 'Heidelberg Castle must have been very beautiful before the French battered and bruised and scorched it two hundred years ago. The stone is brown, with a pinkish tint, and does not seem to stain easily. The dainty and elaborate ornamentation upon its two chief fronts is as delicately carved as if it had been intended for the interior of a drawing-room rather than for the outside of a house. Many fruit and flower clusters, human heads and grim projecting lions' heads are still as perfect in every detail as if they were new. But the statues which are ranked between the windows have suffered. These are life-size statues of old-time emperors, electors, and similar grandees, clad in mail and bearing ponderous swords. Some have lost an arm, some a head, and one poor fellow is chopped off at the middle.'

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.