Heidelberg
From World travel guide
Heidelberg is a city in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg in the Federal Republic of Germany.
Contents |
A Short Summery
It is not a secret that Heidelberg is a jewel among German travel destinations. Located in the Neckar river valley right where the dark Odenwald (Odin's Forest) opens up towards the plains of the Rhine valley, Heidelberg is home to the oldest university of Germany (est. 1386). With 28000 students, the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität (or Ruperto Carola, as the university calls itself in Latin), is one of Germany's larger academic institutions and boasts the full spectrum of an ancient academy, from Aegyptian Studies to Computer Linguistics. Especially the faculties for Medicine, Law and Natural Sciences are considered to be among the best in Germany. The university fostered the settlement of several other world class research institutions such as the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ), the European Molecular Biological Laboratory (EMBL), Center for Molecular Biology (ZMBH), Max-Planck-Institutes for Medicine, Astronomy, Nuclear Physics and others. In a nutshell, Heidelberg is an academic city and shows many similarities to cities like Cambridge or Oxford (Heidelberg and Cambridge, UK are twinned).
During the second world war, the city was nearly completely spared by allied bombings which destroyed most of Germany's larger inner cities. Thanks to this, Heidelberg could conserve its baroque charm of narrow streets, picturesque houses and of course the world-famous castle. After the war, the United States Armed Forces built large barracks on the southern end of the city. Therefore, Heidelberg's 130.000 inhabitants include not only the 28.000 students of the university, but also nearly 30.000 American citizens, almost all soldiers and their families. Together with the hundreds of thousands of annual visitors, this makes the city a very international place, despite its small size.
During most of its History, Heidelberg attracted artists, intellectuals and academics from all over Europe and has sometimes been called a secret intellectual capital of Germany. People who lived and worked in the city include the poets Joseph von Eichendorff, Jean Paul and Goethe, scientists as Bunsen and Kirchhoff, philosophers as the founder of the "illuminati" order von-Knigge, atheist Ludwig Feuerbach, existentialist Karl Jaspers, political theorist Hannah Arendt and many more. Mark Twain wrote in "a tramp abroad":
- ...Out of a billowy upheaval of vivid green foliage ...rises Heidelberg Castle, with empty window arches , ivy-mailed battlements, moldering towers -- the Lear of inanimate nature, -- deserted, discrowned, beaten by the storms, but royal still, and beautiful.
Get in
By plane
Frankfurt is the biggest Airport close by Heidelberg and Lufthansa provides a Shuttle bus service from Frankfurt Airport to Heidelberg on an hourly basis.
By train
The main train station lies in the western part of the city, opposite the poshy glass cube of the Print Media Academy. This impressive building is a representative headquarters of Heidelberg Druckmaschinen AG, which is the world's leading producer of printing presses and the second largest employer in the city, after the university.
Get around
The city runs a small rather effective system of trams and busses. The two most important nodal points are the main station and Bismarckplatz. A mountain railway runs between four stations (including the castle), linking the old city on the level of the river with the summit of the Königstuhl Mountain, about 400 metres above the city.
See
- The whole old town
- The Castle
- The Philosophenweg which can be found on the northern side of the city. It provides a wonderful view across the oldest part of the city. Here can also be found the Meridan Stich which is a popular illustration of Heidelberg
- The Heiligenberg mountain which boasts a wonderful view over the old town, the somewhat depressing
- Thingstätte on top of Heiligenberg (an open-air theatre built by the Nazi regime in 1934 to host propaganda events), the old university on
- Universitätsplatz in the old city and the adjacent old armoury which is now a student cafeteria (but also open to the public).
- The Heiliggeistkirche city cathedral is only one of many large and small churches, but definitely the one with the most interesting history. During the dark ages, it was the shelter of the Bibliotheka Palatina, Germany's oldest library. The Bibliotheka was stolen and brought to Rome but eventually returned in pieces. Today, parts of it can be visited in the University Library (also the oldest and probably the most valuable of its kind in Germany), which is situated close to the old university.
View of cathedral from Heidelberg Castle
You can get a great view of the Heiliggeistkirche, Old Town, and the Neckar river bridge from the castle (Schloss Heidelberge).
Do
The city boasts more than twelve cinemas, over eight theaters, including
- Stadttheater the large state-run theater, and
- Zimmertheater on Hauptstrasse, Germany's oldest private theater
There are also many progressive culture centers, including the famous Karlstorbahnhof in the east-end of the old city.
Buy
Don't miss out the exquisitely stocked record shop Vinyl Only on the university square.
Eat
- Snacks: at the beginning of the Haupstrasse you can buy some freshly backed “Brezel” Pretzel as well as further along the road. Kaufhof in Haupstrasse has a nice collection of delicatessen stalls called “Markthallen” and you can eat everything on the spot. Special recommendation would be the butcher Zeiss among those as well as the fresh pasta from the opposite stall.
- Big eat: Haupstrasse is full of Restaurants and they are worthwhile visiting, although they are very touristic and locals tend to avoid them. Food is generally of good quality. You can find something for almost every taste including Japanese, Indian, Italian, German, Bavarian and a lot more restaurants. McD, Döner shops cater for the lower budget.
- The Chinese restaurant close to the Alte Brucke is best avoided, because it is a tourist trap.
- Beware of any of the restaurants with outdoor seating in the area of Heiliggeistkirche as they are tourist traps with generally poor service and higher prices that restaurants just a bit down the Hauptstrasse.
Drink
More than 300 bars, pubs, clubs, discotheques and the like, from Bavarian style tourist restaurants with deer antlers on the walls (remember that Heidelberg lies in the Electoral Palatinate, not in Bavaria. Therefore, everything which calls itself "Bavarian" or has the word "Bier" in its name can be considered a tourist trap and expensive) to extremely left-wing student bars which reserve the right to refuse policemen entry to the bar. You name it. Find your place and enjoy yourself. Heidelberg knows no curfew. Most bars close at 1am, but especially the students bars are often open until the early morning. Although the locals -- even the police officers -- are used to drunken tourists as well as to drunken students, please be calm on your way home and do not riot. As a remnant of the student revolts, Heidelberg has the largest ratio of policemen per capita and you may find yourself in the arms of an officer much faster than you think.
If you are a young person and happen to discover one of the student parties (which are quite numerous but advertised mostly by word-of-mouth), you scored the jackpot. Get inside, get a beer and have fun. But try and avoid being recognised as a tourist. No party ends before 3am and many run until 6 or 7am.
- Wines are produced around Heidelberg, but it is difficult to get hold of them. Always a safe bet is a Riesling from Pfalz instead, or try any of the numerous wines from other German wine regions.
- Next to the Old Bridge, there are two small breweries: The Kulturbrauerei in the Leyergasse and Vetter's Brauhaus in the Steingasse. Vetter's is famous for one of the strongest beers in world (Vetter 33).
- If you want to mix with the locals, try the Untere Strasse which runs between the Hauptstrasse and the river, parallel to both. It is packed with the student bars, including the crowded
- Großer Mohr and the small but highly recommended
- Sonderbar. The latter boasts a huge collection of whiskeys and whiskys, as well as a very distinctive atmosphere.
- The Trinidad cocktail bar at the edge of the Old Town is small, but famous for its drinks and continuously receives praise in local restaurant guides.
Sleep
Hotel Restaurant Scheid is a nice, quiet, reasonably priced hotel in the suburb of Schriesheim, a short train ride north of Heidelberg. Schriesheim is built on a hill so if you are hitting the clubs, don't forget about the late night walk up the hill from the train station to Hotel Scheid. Phone 06203 6050.
Get out
- Darmstadt
- Frankfurt
- Heilbronn
- Karlsruhe
- Mannheim
- Weinheim - A small city betreen Darmstadt and Heidelberg
External links
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