Heidelberg

Today we toured Heidelberg Castle, an imposing ruin overlooking the city of Heidelberg.

We split into two groups to get there. My group took a bus to the funicular, which is a type of tram that goes straight up the mountain on which the castle is situated. Our fantastic tour guide was Julian. Heidelberg Castle was originally built by King Rupert, but other kings added on to it over the years.

The latest addition was made in the 1600s. It was destroyed by King Louis XIV of France in the 17th century. He also destroyed the city, which was rebuilt in the 18th century. In the early 19th century, during a revival of romanticism, there was a renewed interest in Heidelberg and in preserving its history, and it became even more famous. This is the King's Hall, which was used for banquets and small forms of entertainment. Heidelberg had an elective monarchy, not a hereditary monarchy. The seven states of Germany would choose a new king whenever the old king died. The electors were not above taking bribes to choose a certain person as king. The King's Hall was originally all stone. The wood was added during the Nazi regime. Hitler gave speeches here before WW2.

This area is called Friedrich's Building. It was reconstructed during the 19th century when tourism picked up in the area. The statues are those of electors of Heidelberg. The statues on the facade are reproductions. We learned later in the tour that the originals are inside. Friedrich was the king who originally built this section of the palace. He died at age 36 of alcohol intoxication. We were not supposed to take photos inside Friedrich's Building. Our tour guide did allow us to take a few, but asked that we not post them in a public forum, so unfortunately I can’t show you how beautiful it is. If it’s any consolation, the interior is all reproductions. We later went to the Rathaus, or city hall, and learned about the E-Team project. This is an environmental partnership between the city government, the schools, and various other organizations. So far 20 out of the 36 city schools participate in the project. There are two goals of the program: 1)To raise awareness for climate protection and motivate young perople to behave in an environmentally conscious manner, and 2) To save enery in schools and reduce CO2 emissions. The project focuses on changing behavior rather than making building changes. The program operates with financial, material, and education support that the city provides to the schools. We had some free time before dinner so I did some souvenir shopping in the lovely section of Heidelberg called Old Town.



Julian.  Next to him is Karin, one of our Goethe tour guides.