Heidelberg castle

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Heidelberg

Surrounded by forest, Germany’s oldest and most famous university town is renowned for its baroque Altstadt, beautiful riverside setting and evocative half-ruined hilltop castle, which draw 11.9 million visitors a year. They follow in the footsteps of the late 18th- and early 19th-century romantics, most notably the poet Goethe and Britain’s William Turner, who was inspired by Heidelberg to paint some of his greatest landscapes.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Heidelberg castle

    Schloss Heidelberg

    Heidelberg

    Towering over the Altstadt, Heidelberg’s ruined Renaissance castle cuts a romantic figure, especially across the Neckar River when illuminated at night…

  • Ruprecht-Karls-Universität

    Ruprecht-Karls-Universität

    Heidelberg

    Established in 1386 by Count Palatinate Ruprecht I, Germany’s oldest and most prestigious university comprises 12 faculties with 30,000 German and…

  • Kurpfälzisches Museum

    Kurpfälzisches Museum

    Heidelberg

    The city-run Palatinate Museum chronicles Heidelberg’s eventful past, particularly the Roman period – exhibits include original wood beams from a 3rd…

  • Universitätsmuseum

    Universitätsmuseum

    Heidelberg

    The three-room University Museum, inside the Alte Universität building of Ruprecht-Karls-Universität, has paintings, portraits, documents and photos from…

  • Heiliggeistkirche

    Heiliggeistkirche

    Heidelberg

    For bird’s-eye views, climb the 208 stairs to the top of the tower of Heidelberg's famous church, constructed between 1398 and 1441. It was shared by…

  • Philosophenweg

    Philosophenweg

    Heidelberg

    Winding past monuments, towers, ruins, a beer garden, and an enormous Thingstätte (amphitheatre) built by the Nazis in 1935, the 2.5km-long Philosophers’…

  • Alte Brücke

    Alte Brücke

    Heidelberg

    Heidelberg's 200m-long ‘old bridge’, built in 1786, connects the Altstadt with the river’s right bank and the Schlangenweg (Snake Path), whose switchbacks…

  • Studentenkarzer

    Studentenkarzer

    Heidelberg

    From 1823 to 1914, students convicted of misdeeds such as public inebriation, loud nocturnal singing, freeing the local pigs or duelling were sent to this…

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