This time we decided to head eastward and cross the border into Germany, visiting the city of Heidelberg about 2 hours by bus from Strasbourg. After arriving and exiting the bus we headed towards the city center which was about 15 minutes walk. Walking along the Hauptstraße, or main street, we passed several pretty buildings and entered the first church we encountered along the way, the Providenzkirche. Built during the 17th century it belongs to the Protestant church and as such it was rather empty inside and was actually even used as a bar/club by students. Walking further on we took a right on a side street and reached another church, the Peterskirche, which was unfortunately closed. Right nearby was the University of Heidelberg, Germany's oldest, dating to 1386. On the university square stand the two buildings of the old town campus, with the old university building dating to the 18th century on the northern side and the newer one dating to the 1930s at its southern end. Also nearby is the Jesuitenkirche, a baroque building dating to the 18th century and belonging to the catholic community. The interior was quite unadorned and white but featured a nicely decorated main altar. Through a door on the side a small museum featuring sacred art was also a nice addition and for free. After visiting the church we were back on the main street and not much later reached the Marktplatz, with the Heiliggeistkirche or Church of the Holy Spirit at its center. All around the square's perimeter are pretty houses, some of which have fully decorated front facades, and east of the church stands the Hercules Fountain and further east the Town Hall. We entered the church and visited its Gothic interior in red and white bricks and stone and then up the baroque bell tower (1 euro each) where we had a beautiful view over the surrounding old town, castle and river. Back down at street level we walked on passing the Kornmarkt, called so because it was where the corn market took place, and then started our ascent to the castle. We reached the castle gardens first and enjoyed an amazing view over the city with the sun still shining bright on this warm march day. After eating our lunch on a bench in the garden, with a funny duck trying to get some scraps from us we decided to visit the castle itself. Being destroyed several times during its history, particularly in the 17th century during the Thirty Years War, the castle is mostly in ruins. Towers, walls and other buildings that form it are still in state of ruin which shows its long dramatic history. After buying the entrance ticket (4 euro for entering plus 2,50 for the guided tour which was mandatory to see the interiors) we started our visit of the grounds. Passing through the tower gate, which was one of the few fully surviving elements, we entered the castle courtyard surrounded by buildings such as the Friedrichsbau, or Frederick the 4th's palace with its renaissance facade and the Ottheinrichsbau which hold the pharmacy museum. After joining the next guided tour we saw the interiors, which were filled with stuff from the castle's time but from other castles or residences as the original stuff had been destroyed or burned in the past. We then ended the tour with a visit to the Heidelber Tun, considered to be the world's largest wine barrel, constructed in 1751 it is able to hold up to 219 thousand liters of wine. It is so large we were even able to walk on top of it where they had built a platform which is occasionally even used for dancing. In front of it stands the barrel's guardian, Perkeo, a 17th century court jester which used to stand guard of the wine barrel. After the castle's visit we descended back down into town and reached the Old Bridge. Built in the 18th century it follows several bridges built int the same spot before it. At its southern end, facing the city stands a nice bridge gate and below it a sculpture of a monkey, which when stroked brings good luck. After crossing the bridge and the Neckar river, we walked up the hill on the other side and walked along the Philosophenweg or Philosophers' way, which had a great view over the city. We then walked back the same way, crossed the bridge again, walked through town and entered the Kurpfalzisches Museum, or Palatinate Museum. Containing everything from paintings, some of which had views of Heidelberg as well as Perkeo as the subject, to porcelain, furniture etc. After visiting the museum, it was time to go, so we headed to the bus station where we took our ride back to Strasbourg.
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Interior of the Church of the Holy Spirit |
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View from the bell tower |
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The Markplatz |
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View of the old town from the castle gardens |
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View of the castle courtyard |
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The world's largest wine barrel |
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View of the old town from the other side of the river |
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