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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.