Last Saturday, January 15th, we were visited by a close friend from Fort Leonard Wood. Cari drove a couple hours from Hohenfels, GE, where she is stationed, to Hiedelberg and we set out to see the Castle. We all hopped into her car, since we don't have ours yet, and followed the signs for Schloss (german for castle). When we got to the bridge we were in the wrong lane and ended up crossing to the opposite side of the Neckar River. We drove up it a little ways, thinking we would find a bridge to cross, but ended up turning around. In the meantime I snapped a few photos.
Here is the castle from across the Neckar on an overcast winter day.
The Karl-Theodor Brucke (Alte Bruke)/ Carl Theodor Bridge (Old Bridge).
The bridge gate once formed a part of the Old Town Wall. It is considered one of Heidelbergs outstanding architectural landmarks. On it there is a statue of Carl Theodor, the goddess of wisdom Passa Athena, and a monkey put back up in the 70's. When the weather gets warmer we plan to take a foot trip and take more photos.
History has taught us that the best castles sit high up on a hill allowing for the better defense. This holds true with the Hiedelberg Castle which overlooks the Neckar River and the city it was named for. Today there are 4 ways to get to the castle. 1.) Take the Burgweg (castle path) - a long, steep, cobblestone path. 2.)use the stairs - there are over 300. 3.) The Funikular Railway - travels 489 meters at a 43% grade slope. 4.) drive the narrow, winding road to the top - we drove.
The oldest parts of the castle date back to the 12th Century. It was built in stages over a span of about 300 years. It had expanded into 2 castles at one point, but a lightning bolt destroyed the upper one in 1537. The castle was under attack for the first time during the Thirty Years War in the 1600's, which ended any further construction and started it's destruction. This is a drawing of what the castle looked like before it was reduced to ruin by fires caused by lightning, the Thirty Years War,&the Nine Years War.
Here are some pictures of the castle from the grounds outside.
The view from the top.
The hole where the Fat Tower used to be. The French blew it out during the Nine Years War on March 2, 1689.
During my research of the castle history, I found a quote by Mark Twain from a travel book he once wrote. You could tell he was impressed by the scale and beauty of the ruins and I couldn't agree with him more. This is the sight he saw and was inspired to write about(minus the tree leaves and summer flowers):
"A ruin must be rightly situated, to be effective. This one could not have been better placed. It stands upon a commanding elevation, it is buried in green woods, there is no level ground about it, but, on the contrary, there are wooded terraces upon terraces, and one looks down through shining leaves into profound chasms and abysses where twilight reigns and the sun cannot intrude. Nature knows how to garnish a ruin to get the best effect. One of these old towers is split down the middle, and one half has tumbled aside. It tumbled in such a way as to establish itself in a picturesque attitude. Then all it lacked was a fitting drapery, and Nature has furnished that; she has robed the rugged mass in flowers and verdure, and made it a charm to the eye. The standing half exposes its arched and cavernous rooms to you, like open, toothless mouths; there, too, the vines and flowers have done their work of grace. The rear portion of the tower has not been neglected, either, but is clothed with a clinging garment of polished ivy which hides the wounds and stains of time. Even the top is not left bare, but is crowned with a flourishing group of trees & shrubs. Misfortune has done for this old tower what it has done for the human character sometimes−improved it." - Mark Twain
The entrace and castle guards. Maddox and Ben are standing underneath and the massive size of these walls, towers, and sculptures just amaze me.
Maddox and I inside the castle courtyard in front of the Fredrich Building.
The Otteinrichsbau - which, in my opinion,was the most captivating section of the castle (a little history below).
The Ottheinrichsbau (“Otto Heinrich’s Building”) was built under Prince Elector Otto Heinrich in 1556-1559 and one of several struck by lightning in 1764 and never rebuilt. Today it appears as a skeleton, but a beautiful one as you can see. Heinrich conceived this structure as a monument to himself. Its design follows traditional rules, with each of the floors less high than the one below to create the illusion of even more height, and divided into five fields each. On its walls are 16 statues: representations of the qualities needed of a leader~ on the lower level, the symbols of political power: Joshua, Samson, Hercules and David~ on the second level, the virtues needed to rule wisely and well: Strength, Faith, Love, Hope and Justice~ on the third level, the bodies of the Solar System which control destiny (or so Heinrich would have believed: Saturn, Mars, Venus, Mercury and the Moon~ and on top of the wall the most powerful of these heavenly bodies: the Sun and Jupiter
The Friedrichsbau or Friedrich Building was built during the reign of Friedrich IV (1592-1610). It is the only building to have been rebuilt after the destruction of the 18th century. Its facade is adorned with sixteen statues of princes - a stone gallery of ancestral portraits. These are in fact copies; the originals were being destroyed by pollution so were removed and are displayed inside the building. The gold accents are drain pipes with gold gargoyles on them.
The back of the Friedrich Building
Maddox and Cari :)
The Castle Garden Fountain.
The castle gardens, constructed between 1616 and 1619 by garden architect Salomon de Caus, were commissioned by Prince Elector Friedrich V for his wife Elizabeth. Before being destroyed during the War of the Palatine Succession in 1693, the gardens were regarded as a masterpiece of their time
Maddox making a pose.
House above the gardens....the house I would love to own.
The next blog will include Heidelberg Castle legends and stories about a wine barrel, dwarf, and witches bite....stay tuned.....
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