Welcome to the famous landmark of Heidelberg -- the Heidelberg Castle.
Very little is known about the construction of this charming castle.
All that certain is that the construction on the castle began in early 14th century.
However, because each successive heir to the throne invariably chose to alter the design
plans of the preceding monarch, the project was never really completed.
Heidelberg and its castle in particular, have had a long and troublesome history.
This is why we only can see a part of the castle's former glory today.
The construction was halted in the 17th century with the outbreak of the Thirty Years War
and in the coming centuries, the castle would be subject to destruction rather than construction.
The castle was under its first attack in 1622, when the Holy Roman Empire commander General
Tilly captured it.
Eleven years later, Swedes siege the castle and open fired on it, in which General Tilly
handed the castle over and later retook it 1635.
In 1688, French troops marched into Heidelberg and took the castle without a fight.
When the French withdrew one year later, they had a tactic of destroying the enemy fortifications
before leaving, in hope to prevent future attacks.
Thus, the castle was set on fire and the front of the largest tower, also known as "Fat Tower",
was blown up.
Immediately as the French left, the walls and towers were rebuilt.
When the French attack again two years later, they failed to take the castle.
The French then changed their tactics and destroyed parts of the town of Heidelberg
instead, to cut of the supply line for the castle.
This in turn forced a surrender of the castle in 1693.
This time the French finished off the work the started earlier and blew up the remaining
walls and towers.
To put things simple; the castle had some rough times.
And it didn't stop there.
After the peace treaty was signed in 1697, peace was finally brought to the town and
its castle.
As the castle was so damaged, plans were to pull down the castle and reuse the parts for
a new palace in the valley.
When difficulties with this plan became apparent, the castle was instead patched up.
When the elector of Palatine at the time, Karl Theodor, wished to his court into the
castle, disaster struck again.
On Jun 23rd 1764, the day before Karl Theodor would move into the castle, lightning struck
the court building.
Not once, but twice, which once again set the castle on fire.
Karl Theodor saw this as a sign from above and quickly changed his moving-in plans.
In 1777, Karl Theodor became ruler of Bavaria in addition to the Palatinate and removed
his court from Mannheim to Munich.
Thus, Heidelberg Castle receded even further from his thoughts.
During this time, the castle became misused as a source of building materials and even
as early as 1767, the south wall was quarried for stone to build Schwetzingen Castle -- the
summer residence of Karl Theodor.
The castle was also looted on material by the townsfolk who used it for their houses.
This was stopped in 1800 by the French Count Charles de Graimberg who made any effort he
could to preserve the Heidelberg Castle.
In the late 19th century, there was a debate whether or not to completely restore the whole
castle.
In the end, this was considered not possible.
It was however decided that it would be possible to preserve the castle in its current condition.
Only the Friedrich Building, whose interiors were fire damaged but not ruined, would be
restored.
This decision was maybe lucky for us, as many visitors find the mixture of beautiful buildings
and ruins very charming.
One must-go place when visiting the castle is its garden.
When you are in the castle garden, spend some time and explore its hidden beauties.
In the garden you can find big grottos on the upper terrace, the little benches with
their history and many beautiful statues and fountains.
The most prominent statue is Father Rhine, symbolizing the most important river of Germany.
The statue rests on a stone bed, surround by water.
He is not that hard to recognize; there is not too many white statues of a half naked
man with a long beard around.
I'm sure you'll find him.
Standing on the terrace, you will have a great view of Heidelberg.
From here, you can see all the roofs of old Heidelberg city, the maze of its little cobbled
streets, the churches and the Neckar River with the Old Bridge.
Another charming place is the wine cellar.
When entering the cellar, you will be greeted by the cellar master and court jester Perkeo.
He works 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
He is also made of bronze and rather small, but nonetheless welcoming.
The cellar also house one of the biggest wine kegs in the world --The Great Vat.
It has a capacity of 220,000 liters, or 58,000 gallons, and was long the largest wine barrel
in the world.
The Great Vat was installed in 1751 with a direct connection by pump to the main banqueting
hall.
There were never any reports of wine shortage on the Heidelberg Castle banquet.
One last mention goes to the triumphal arch known as Elisabeth's Gate, located near the
entrance.
Tradition says the gate was built in a single night by Prince Elector Friedrich V in 1615
as a birthday present for his English princess, Elisabeth Stuart.
The charming little gate was severely weather warn and was partly restored in 1949.
The unique pillars are noteworthy with their leaf work and artistic flowered capitols.
I recommend you pay it a visit.
Today, the castle ruins are among the most important Renaissance structures north of
the Alps and the castle is visited by many of tourists each year - not only because of
the beautiful structures and statues, but also a due to the beauty of destruction and
its rich history.