Heidelberg is located on theNeckar River, at the point where it leaves its narrow valley between theOden Forest and theLittle Oden Forest, and enters the wideUpper Rhine Plain. The old town lies in the valley, the end of which is flanked by theKönigstuhl in the south and theHeiligenberg in the north. The majority of the population lives in the districts west of the mountains in the Upper Rhine Plain, into which the city has expanded over time.
Heidelberg is located on the eastern edge of theUpper Rhine Plain (German:Oberrheinebene), at the place where the riverNeckar leaves its narrow valley through theOdenwald mountains and begins the last leg of its journey across the plain towardsMannheim, where it merges into theRhine about 20 kilometers downstream.
Heidelberg is among the warmest regions of Germany, and plants atypical of thecentral-European climate flourish there, includingalmond andfig trees, and many kinds ofpalm trees andolive trees. Alongside thePhilosophenweg(Philosophers' Walk) on the opposite side of the Old Town,winegrowing was restarted in 2000.[7]
This region consists of the southern part of theState ofHessen, the southern part of the State ofRhineland-Palatinate (Vorderpfalz), the administrative districts ofMannheim and Heidelberg, and the municipalities of theRhein-Neckar-Kreis. The Rhein-Neckar Triangle became a Europeanmetropolitan area in 2005.
Heidelberg consists of 15 districts distributed in six sectors of the town. In the central area are Altstadt (the Old Town),Bergheim and Weststadt; in the north, Neuenheim and Handschuhsheim; in the east,Ziegelhausen and Schlierbach; in the south,Südstadt, Rohrbach, Emmertsgrund, and Boxberg; in the southwest,Kirchheim; in the west, Pfaffengrund, Wieblingen, and a new district, namedBahnstadt, is built on land in Weststadt and Wieblingen. The new district will have approximately 5,000–6,000 residents and employment for 7,000. Further, new residential space for 10,000–15,000 residents was made available in Patrick Henry Village following the departure of the US Armed Forces.[9]
Heidelberg has anoceanic climate (Köppen climate classificationCfb), defined by the protected valley between the Pfälzerwald and the Odenwald. The almost year round warm temperatures are usually determined byAtlantic air masses in the winter and increased influence from the westernMediterranean in summer.In contrast to the nearbyUpper Rhine Plain, Heidelberg's position in the valley leads to more frequent easterly winds than average. The hillsides of the Odenwald favor clouding and precipitation.
Spring starts earlier than the average in Germany (usually mid February in the recent years). While the weather in spring is typically warm, it is also known to change far more often than in the summer.
Summer starts typically in June and stays until September. In this time the weather is typically stable, with single thunderstorms marking the only precipitation. Day temperatures of around 30 °C are typical, but can reach up to 40 °C during heat waves.
Autumn starts warm in September and cools down to typical winter temperatures for the region by the end of November. Precipitation levels begin to increase and, due to the decreasing sunlight, the region is affected by fog more frequently from the second part of October onwards.
Winters are mostly mild, though light nighttime frosts do occur in the coldest months. Snow is a rare event, and precipitation normally falls as rain. Winters are the wettest time of the year, with frequent western winds blowing from the Atlantic. Storms ("Orkane") can create severe damage, and the Neckar is often affected by floods.[citation needed]
Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago,[citation needed] "Heidelberg Man" died at nearbyMauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907. Scientific dating determined his remains as the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, aCeltic fortress of refuge and place of worship were built on theHeiligenberg, or "Holy Mountain". Both places can still be identified. In 40 AD, a fort was built and occupied by the 24th Roman cohort and the 2ndCyrenaican cohort (CCG XXIIII and CCH II CYR). The late Roman EmperorValentinian I, in 369 AD, built new and maintained oldercastra (permanent camps) and a signal tower on the bank of theNeckar. They built a wooden bridge based on stone pillars across it. The camp protected the first civilian settlements and was eventually captured byGermanic tribes. The local administrative centre in Roman times was the nearby city of Lopodunum, today known asLadenburg.
Modern Heidelberg can trace its beginnings to the fifth century. The villageBergheim(Mountain Home) is first mentioned for that period in documents dated to 769 AD.Bergheim now lies in the middle of modern Heidelberg. The people gradually converted to Christianity. In 870 AD, themonastery ofSt. Michael was founded on theHeiligenberg inside the double rampart of the Celtic fortress. Around 1130, the Neuburg Monastery was founded in the Neckar valley. At the same time, thebishopric ofWorms extended its influence into the valley, foundingSchönau Abbey in 1142. Modern Heidelberg can trace its roots to this 12th-century monastery. The first reference to Heidelberg can be found in a document in Schönau Abbey dated to 1196. This is considered to be the town's founding date. In 1156, Heidelberg castle and its neighboring settlement were taken over by the house ofHohenstaufen.Conrad of Hohenstaufen becameCount Palatine of the Rhine (German:Pfalzgraf bei Rhein). In 1195, theElectorate of the Palatinate passed to theHouse of Welf through marriage. In 1214,Ludwig I, Duke of Bavaria acquired the Palatinate, as a consequence of which the castle came under his control. By 1303, another castle had been constructed for defense. In 1356, the Counts Palatine were granted far-reaching rights in theGolden Bull, in addition to becomingElectors. In 1386,Heidelberg University was founded byRupert I, Elector Palatine.[17]
Heidelberg's library, founded in 1421, is the oldest existing public library in Germany.[18]
In 1537, the castle located higher up the mountain was destroyed by a gunpowder explosion. The duke's palace was built at the site of the lower castle.[clarification needed]
The siege of Heidelberg 1622
Elector Frederick III, sovereign of theElectoral Palatinate from 1559 to 1576, commissioned the composition of a newCatechism for his territory. While the catechism's introduction credits the "entire theological faculty here" (at theUniversity of Heidelberg) and "all the superintendents and prominent servants of the church" for the composition of the Catechism,Zacharius Ursinus is commonly regarded as the catechism's principal author.Caspar Olevianus (1536–1587) was formerly asserted as a co-author of the document, though this theory has been largely discarded by modern scholarship.Johann Sylvan,Adam Neuser, Johannes Willing,Thomas Erastus, Michael Diller, Johannes Brunner, Tilemann Mumius, Petrus Macheropoeus, Johannes Eisenmenger,Immanuel Tremellius, andPierre Boquin are all likely to have contributed to the Catechism in some way. Frederick himself wrote the preface to the Catechism and closely oversaw its composition and publication. Frederick, who was officially Lutheran but had strong Reformed leanings, wanted to even out the religious situation of his highly Lutheran territory within the primarily CatholicHoly Roman Empire. TheCouncil of Trent had just concluded with its conclusions and decrees against the Protestant faiths, and thePeace of Augsburg had only granted toleration forLutheranism within the empire where the ruler was Lutheran. One of the aims of the catechism was to counteract the teachings of theRoman Catholic Church as well asAnabaptists and "strict"Gnesio-Lutherans likeTilemann Heshusius andMatthias Flacius, who were resisting Frederick's Reformed influences, particularly on the matter of Eucharist (the Lord's Supper). The Catechism-based each of its statements on biblicalproof-texts, and Frederick himself would defend it as biblical, not reformed, at the 1566Diet of Augsburg when he was called to answer to charges of violating the Peace of Augsburg. This was theHeidelberg Catechism, officially called the ″Catechism, or Christian Instruction, according to the Usages of the Churches and Schools of the ElectoralPalatinate.″
Hotel zum Ritter St. GeorgOld Bridge, Konrad Linck, 1788
In late 1634, after the Swedish army had conquered Heidelberg, imperial forces attempted to recapture the city. They quickly took the city, but were unable to take the castle. As they prepared to blow up its fortifications with gunpowder the French army arrived, 30,000 men strong, led byUrbain de Maillé-Brézé, who had fought in many battles and participated in theSiege of La Rochelle (1627–1628), andJacques-Nompar de Caumont, duc de La Force. They broke the siege and drove off the Imperial forces.[19]
In 1648, at the end of the war, Frederick V's sonCharles I Louis, Elector Palatine, was able to recover his titles and lands. To strengthen his dynasty, Charles I Louis arranged the marriage of his daughterLiselotte toPhilip I, Duke of Orléans, brother ofLouis XIV, King of France. In 1685, after the death of Charles Louis' son, ElectorCharles II, King Louis XIV laid claim to his sister-in-law's inheritance. The Germans rejected the claim, in part because of religious differences between local Protestants and the French Catholics, as theProtestant Reformation had divided the peoples of Europe. TheWar of the Grand Alliance ensued. In 1689, French troops took the town and castle, bringing nearly total destruction to the area in 1693. As a result of the destruction due to repeated French invasions related to theWar of the Palatinate Succession coupled with severe winters, thousands of German Calvinist Palatines emigrated in the early 18th century. They fled to other European cities and especially to London (where the refugees were called "the poor Palatines"). In sympathy for the Protestants, in 1709–1710,Queen Anne's government arranged transport for nearly 6,000 Palatines to New York. Others were transported toPennsylvania, and toSouth Carolina. They worked their passage and later settled in the English colonies there.
In 1720, after assigning a major church for exclusively Catholic use, religious conflicts with the mostly Protestant inhabitants of Heidelberg caused the Roman Catholic Prince-ElectorCharles III Philip to transfer his court to nearbyMannheim. The court remained there until the ElectorCharles Theodore becameElector of Bavaria in 1777 and established his court inMunich. In 1742, Elector Charles Theodore began rebuilding the Palace. In 1764, a lightning bolt destroyed other palace buildings during reconstruction, causing the work to be discontinued.
Heidelberg fell to theGrand Duchy of Baden in 1803.Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Baden, re-founded the university, named "Ruperto-Carola" after its two founders. Notable scholars soon earned it a reputation as a "royal residence of the intellect". In the 18th century, the town was rebuilt in the Baroque style on the old medieval layout.
In 1810 theFrench Revolution refugee Count Charles Graimberg began to preserve the palaceruins and establish a historical collection. In 1815, the Emperor ofAustria, the Emperor of Russia and the King ofPrussia formed the "Holy Alliance" in Heidelberg. In 1848, the German National Assembly was held there. In 1849, during the Palatinate-Baden rebellion of the1848 Revolutions, Heidelberg was the headquarters of a revolutionary army. It was defeated by a Prussian army near Waghaeusel. The city was occupied by Prussian troops until 1850. Between 1920 and 1933, Heidelberg University became a center of notable physicians Czerny, Erb, and Krehl; and humanists Rohde, Weber, and Gundolf.[20]
During the Nazi period (1933–1945), Heidelberg was a stronghold of theNSDAP/Nazi party (the National Socialist German Workers' Party), the strongest party in the elections before 1933 (the NSDAP obtained 30% at the communal elections of 1930[21]). The NSDAP received 45.9% of the votes in theGerman federal election of March 1933 (the national average was 43.9%).[22]In 1934 and 1935 theReichsarbeitsdienst(State Labor Service) and Heidelberg University students built the hugeThingstätte amphitheatre on theHeiligenberg north of the town, forNazi Party andSS events. A few months later, the inauguration of the huge Ehrenfriedhof memorial cemetery completed the second and last NSDAP project in Heidelberg. This cemetery is on the southern side of the old part of town, a little south of theKönigstuhl hilltop, and faces west towards France. During World War II and after,Wehrmacht soldiers were buried there.
Memorial stone marking the site of the synagogue in the Lauerstrasse
During theKristallnacht on 9 November 1938, Nazis burned down synagogues at two locations in the city. The next day, they started the systematic deportation of Jews, sending 150 toDachau concentration camp. On 22 October 1940, during the "Wagner Buerckel event", the Nazis deported 6000 local Jews, including 281 from Heidelberg, toCamp Gurs concentration camp in France. Within a few months, as many as 1000 of them (201 from Heidelberg) died of hunger and disease.[23] Among the deportees from Heidelberg, the poetAlfred Mombert (1872–1942) left theconcentration camp in April 1941 thanks to the Swiss poet Hans Reinhart but died shortly thereafter due to illness he contracted while held prisoner.[24] From 1942, the deportees who had survived internment in Gurs were deported to Eastern Europe, where most of them were murdered.
The U.S.44th Infantry Division took part in combat in Western Europe throughout 1944 and early 1945, and the division's artillery commander, Brigadier GeneralWilliam A. Beiderlinden, became the subject of international headlines in March 1945, when he helped save Heidelberg from bombing by persuading Nazi troops to withdraw.[25] When his command was ordered to shell the city, Beiderlinden took the initiative to contact theburgomaster and attempt to persuade Nazi soldiers to abandon their positions.[25] Though burgomasters were forbidden from conducting such talks, Heidelberg's burgomaster ignored warnings from the local Nazigauleiter and discussed the matter with Beiderlinden.[25] The negotiations focused on the importance of sparingHeidelberg University and other historic and culturally significant sites.[25] Beiderlinden and the burgomaster agreed to terms, and the Nazis spared the city by evacuating.[25]
On 29 March 1945, German troops left the city after destroying three arches of the old bridge, Heidelberg's treasured river crossing. They also destroyed the more modern bridge downstream. The U.S. Army (63rd Infantry, 7th Army) entered the town on 30 March 1945. The civilian population surrendered without resistance.[26]
Heidelberg, unlike most German cities and towns, was spared from Allied bombing raids during the war. A popular belief is that Heidelberg escaped bombing because the U.S. Army wanted to use the city as a garrison after the war, but, as Heidelberg was neither an industrial center nor a transport hub, it did not present a tactical or strategic target. Other notable university towns, such asTübingen andGöttingen, were spared bombing as well. Allied air raids focused extensively on the nearby industrial cities ofMannheim andLudwigshafen.
The U.S. Army may have chosen Heidelberg as a garrison base because of its excellent infrastructure, including the Heidelberg–MannheimAutobahn (motorway), which connected to the Mannheim–Darmstadt–Frankfurt Autobahn, and the U.S. Army installations inMannheim andFrankfurt. The intact rail infrastructure was more important in the late 1940s and early 1950s when most heavy loads were still carried by train, not by truck. Heidelberg had the untouched Wehrmacht barracks, the "Grossdeutschland Kaserne" which the US Army occupied soon after, renaming it theCampbell Barracks.
In 1945, the university was reopened relatively quickly on the initiative of a small group of professors, among whom were the anti-Nazi economistAlfred Weber and the philosopherKarl Jaspers.[27] The surgeon Karl Heinrich Bauer was nominated rector.
On 9 December 1945, US Army GeneralGeorge S. Patton was involved in a car accident in the adjacent city ofMannheim and died in the Heidelberg US Army hospital on 21 December 1945. His funeral ceremony was held at the Heidelberg-WeststadtChristuskirche(Christ Church), and he was buried in the 3rd Army cemetery inLuxembourg.[28]
During the post-warmilitary occupation, theU.S. Army used theThingstätte for cultural and religious events. Civilian use started in the early to mid-1980s for occasional concerts and other cultural events. Today, the celebrations onHexennacht (German for 'Witches' Night'), also calledWalpurgis Night, the night of 30 April, are a regular "underground" fixture at theThingstätte. Thousands of mostly young people congregate there to drum, to breathe fire, and to juggle. The event has gained fame throughout the region, as well as a certain notoriety due to the amount of litter left behind. Officially, this event is forbidden due to security concerns. The City declares it will fence the Thingstätte and prosecute any trespassers.[29]
The population of the city of Heidelberg exceeded 100,000 for the first time in 1946. It is a city with an international population, including one of the largest American communities outside North America, but this is not analysed in the Heidelberg population statistics. At the end of December 2011, the city had 149,633 inhabitants with an official primary residence in Heidelberg (not including the soldiers and employees of the U.S. Army and their dependents, a total of about 20,000 people), a historic high.[31]
The following table shows the number of inhabitants within the boundaries of the city at the time. To 1833 they are mostly estimates, then census results or official updates of the statistical offices of the time or the city administration. The data refer from 1843 to the "local population", from 1925 to the resident population and since 1987 the "population at the site of their main dwelling." Prior to 1843 the population was determined by non-uniform collection procedures.
Heidelberg currently has a population of about 160,000 and is the 5th largest city inBaden-Württemberg. About 37,000 (24% of the population) are students, which makes Heidelberg one of the largest university cities in Germany. Heidelberg's population has grown since 1945 (after WWII) and has almost never declined due to the popularity of this city, where many workers, students, and entrepreneurs have moved to Heidelberg.
Since 2006, theOberbürgermeister(lord mayor) of Heidelberg has been the independent Eckart Würzner. From 1990 to 2006, the mayor was Beate Weber (SPD).
The council consists of 48 members with the mayor as chairman. The council is directly elected for a term of five years. The task of the council is to decide all the affairs of the city, with the mayor presiding. The council controls the city administration and oversees the enforcement of its decisions.
Heidelberg has always been a stronghold ofThe Greens. For the municipal elections in 2009, they split into the Green Alternative List and Alliance 90/The Greens and each ran their own lists. Together they gained 10 seats to become the strongest force for the first time. In September 2011, two members of the GAL Group joined the Alliance 90/The Greens, so that together with the members of generation.hd, they formed the largest group in the council.
The Heidelberg city council governs the city alongside the Mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 9 June 2024, and the results were as follows:
The "old town" (German:Altstadt), on the south bank of theNeckar, is long and narrow. It is dominated by the ruins ofHeidelberg Castle, 80 metres above the Neckar on the steep wooded slopes of theKönigstuhl(King's chair or throne) hill.
The Main Street (Hauptstrasse), a mile-long pedestrian street, running the length of the old town.
Theold stone bridge was erected 1786–1788. A medieval bridge gate is on the side of the old town, and was originally part of the town wall. Baroque tower helmets were added as part of the erection of the stone bridge in 1788.
The Karls' gate (Karlstor) is a triumphal arch in honour of the Prince Elector Karl Theodor, located at Heidelberg's east side. It was built 1775–1781 and designed by Nicolas de Pigage.
The houseZum Ritter Sankt Georg(Knight St. George) is one of the few buildings to survive the War of Succession. Standing across from the Church of the Holy Spirit, it was built in the style of the lateRenaissance. It is named after the sculpture at the top.
TheMarstall(Stables), a 16th-century building on the Neckar that has served several purposes through its history. It is now a cafeteria for the university.
The castle is a mix of styles fromGothic toRenaissance. Prince Elector Ruprecht III (1398–1410) erected the first building in the inner courtyard as a royal residence. The building was divided into a ground floor made of stone and framework upper levels. Another royal building is located opposite the Ruprecht Building: the Fountain Hall. Prince Elector Philipp (1476–1508) is said to have arranged the transfer of the hall's columns from a decayed palace ofCharlemagne fromIngelheim to Heidelberg.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Prince Electors added two palace buildings and turned the fortress into a castle. The two dominant buildings at the eastern and northern side of the courtyard were erected during the rule of Ottheinrich (1556–1559) and Friedrich IV (1583–1610). Under Friedrich V (1613–1619), the main building of the west side was erected, the so-called "English Building".
The castle and its garden were destroyed several times during theThirty Years' War and the Palatine War of Succession. As Prince Elector Karl Theodor tried to restore the castle, lightning struck in 1764, and ended all attempts at rebuilding. Later on, the castle was misused as a quarry; stones from the castle were taken to build new houses in Heidelberg. This was stopped in 1800 by Count Charles de Graimberg, who then began the process of preserving the castle.
Although the interior is in Gothic style, the King's Hall was not built until 1934. Today, the hall is used for festivities, e.g. dinner banquets, balls and theatre performances. During the Heidelberg Castle Festival in the summer, the courtyard is the site of open air musicals, operas, theatre performances, and classical concerts performed by the Heidelberg Philharmonics.
The castle is surrounded by a park, where the famous poetJohann von Goethe once walked. TheHeidelberger Bergbahnfunicular railway runs from Kornmakt to the summit of the Königstuhl via the castle.
The castle looks over the entire city of Heidelberg and the Neckar Valley.[34]
On the northern side of the Neckar is located the Heiligenberg (Saints' Mountain), along the side of which runs the Philosophers' Walk (German:Philosophenweg), with scenic views of the old town and castle. Traditionally, Heidelberg's philosophers and university professors would walk and talk along the pathway. Farther up the mountain lie the ruined 11th-centuryMonastery of St. Michael, the smaller Monastery of St. Stephen, a Nazi-era amphitheater, the so-called Pagan's hole and the remains of an earthenCeltichill fort from the 4th century BC.
View from the so-called "Philosophers' Walk" (German:Philosophenweg) towards the Old Town, withHeidelberg Castle,Heiliggeist Church and the Old Bridge
There are many historical churches in Heidelberg and its surroundings. TheChurch of the Holy Spirit has been shared over the centuries since theProtestant Reformation by both Catholics and Protestants. It is one of the few buildings to survive the many wars during the past centuries. It was rebuilt after the French set fire to it in 1709 during theWar of the Palatinian Succession. The church has remains of the tombs and epitaphs of the past Palatinate electors. This Church stands in theMarktplatz next to the seat of local government. In 1720, Karl III Philip, Elector Palatine came into conflict with the town's Protestants as a result of giving the Church of the Holy Spirit exclusively to the Catholics for their use. It had previously been split by a partition and used by both congregations. Due to pressure by the mostly Protestant powers of Prussia, Holland, and Sweden, Prince Karl III Philip gave way and repartitioned the church for joint use. In 1936 the separating wall was removed. The church is now exclusively used by Protestants. Furthermore, there is the Catholic Church of the Jesuits. Its construction began in 1712. It was completed with the addition of a bell tower from 1866 to 1872. The church is also home to the Museum für sakrale Kunst und Liturgie (Museum ofEcclesiastical Arts). The oldest church in Heidelberg is the St. Peter's Church (nowLutheran). It was built some time during the 12th century.
From left: Jesuit Church, Providence Church andChurch of the Holy Spirit in Heidelberg's Old Town on the Neckar River
Heidelberg is known for its institutions of higher education. The most famous of those isHeidelberg University. Founded in 1386, it is one of Europe's oldest institutions. In fact, Heidelberg is the oldestuniversity town of today's Germany. Among the prominent thinkers associated with the institution areGeorg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel,Karl Jaspers,Hans-Georg Gadamer,Jürgen Habermas,Karl-Otto Apel, andHannah Arendt. The campus is situated in two urban areas and several buildings. In numerous historical buildings in the old town there are the Faculties of theHumanities, theSocial Science, and the Faculty ofLaw. The school of applied sciences is located in theScience Tower in Wieblingen. The Faculties of Medicine andNatural Science are settled on the Neuenheimer Feld Campus.
The campus of Heidelberg University has a total undergraduate enrollment of 30,898 as of 2014. The enrollment rate of this university is 16.3 percent. Less than 20 percent of the total student body is international. This university has many areas of study for national students such as; theology, law, philosophy, modern languages, economics, and social sciences. The university does not charge students for tuition. The school's academic calendar is semester based, and the majority of the language for instruction is in German. For international students the academic calendar is based on a block schedule. The international students attend in block periods of 5 weeks. The University or "Uni" is spread across three campuses each containing different fields of study.
Old university hall
Since 1904 there has been a College of Educational Science, thePädagogische Hochschule Heidelberg; since 1979 there has been a college of Jewish Studies, theHochschule für Jüdische Studien Heidelberg. It comprises nine branches specializing in both religion andJewish culture. TheSchiller International University, a private American university is also represented with a campus in Heidelberg offering several undergraduate and graduate programs in the fields of International Business and International Relations and Diplomacy.
SRH Hochschule Heidelberg is one of the oldest and largest private universities in Germany.
Heidelberg is home to 23 elementary schools. There are several institutions of secondary education, both public and private, representing all levels of theGerman school system. There are 14Gymnasiums, with six of them private. With 52% of secondary students attending a Gymnasium, Heidelberg sits above the German average, perhaps because a large number of academics live in Heidelberg and its environs.
In 2004, 81.8% of people worked for service industries, including tourism. As a relic of the period of Romanticism, Heidelberg has been labeled a "Romantic town". This is used to attract more than11.9 million visitors every year. Many events are organized to attract visitors. One of the biggest tourist attractions is the Christmas market during the winter time.
Only 18% of employment is provided by industry. Printing and publishing are important enterprises; nearbyWalldorf is a center of the IT industry andSAP World Headquarters. Noted pen manufacturerLamy has its headquarters and factory in Heidelberg-Wieblingen.Heidelberger Druckmaschinen has its headquarters here; its factory is located in Walldorf. Soft-drink company Wild-Werke, manufacturer of theCapri-Sonne (Capri-Sun in the U.S.) is located nearby in Eppelheim. Heidelberg is also home to the headquarters ofHeidelbergCement, the world's second largest cement producer. The company has its roots in the suburb of Leimen where one of its cement plants is still located. With its long Hauptstraße, Heidelberg is a shopping destination for people from the surrounding smaller towns.
TheA 5 autobahn runs through the western outskirts of Heidelberg, connecting the region toFrankfurt am Main in the north andKarlsruhe to the south. TheA 656 commences just west of the city, connecting Heidelberg withMannheim. Both highways meet at Heidelberg autobahn intersection in the city of Heidelberg, and the A 656 connects to theA 6 at the Mannheim autobahn intersection, which connects to the east towardsStuttgart.
Furthermore, theB 3 (Frankfurt–Karlsruhe) runs north–south through the town, and the B 37 (Mannheim–Eberbach) runs east–west. Both meet in the city center at the Bismarckplatz. TheB 535 begin in the south of Heidelberg and runs to Schwetzingen.
The main transport hub of Heidelberg is the Bismarckplatz. Several main thoroughfares of the city intersect here and one of the longest pedestrian streets in Europe, the Hauptstraße (main street) runs from here through the entire old town of Heidelberg. Heidelberg Central Station was nearby for many years, which was a combined terminal and through station. In 1955, it was moved about 1.5 km further to the west, which removed the necessity for trains continuing north or south to reverse. The new central station became the second major transport hub of Heidelberg.
Heidelberg has had a public transport service since 1883, when horse-drawn trams were established. Due to the rapidly rising patronage it was decided on 20 December 1901 to convert theHeidelberg tramway network to electrical operation. On 16 March 1902, the first electric tram ran on Rohrbacher Straße, sharing use of the suburban tracks built by theDeutsche Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft in 1901 between Heidelberg andWiesloch. Until the 1950s, the tram network was expanded a bit at a time. The rapidly growing popularity of car transport presented the operator of the trams with increasingly difficult problems and the tram network was gradually dismantled. It was not until 10 December 2006 that the network was extended again with the opening of a new tram line fromKirchheim. Tram and bus services are now operated byRhein-Neckar-Verkehr (RNV). Since 1989, all fares are set under a uniform scheme by theVerkehrsverbund Rhein-Neckar (Rhine-Neckar Transport Association, VRN).Carsharing increasingly provides a complement to public transport. More than 50 car-sharing stations are available to users in 12 of the 14 districts of Heidelberg offering a total of more than 100 cars.
Trams in Heidelberg
Since 14 December 2003, Heidelberg has been connected to the network of theRhine-Neckar S-Bahn, which opens up the entire Rhine-Neckar region, with lines connecting with thePalatinate, theSaarland, and southernHesse.
TheHeidelberger Bergbahn (Heidelberg Mountain Railway) has run since 2005 with new cars on the lower part from Kornmarkt to Molkenkur and historic cars built in 1907 on the upper section of thefunicular from Molkenkur toKönigstuhl. It is one of the most popular means to reachHeidelberg Castle. The first plans for the funicular were drawn up in 1873. Due to a lack of funds, the first section of the funicular was not opened until 1890. In 2004, the upper section of the funicular was listed as part of the heritage of the state of Baden-Württemberg.
During World War II, Heidelberg was one of the few major cities in Germany not significantly damaged by Allied bombing. Situated in theAmerican Zone of Germany, Heidelberg became the headquarters of the American forces in Europe. The main military facilities wereCampbell Barracks, the former Wehrmacht Grossdeutschland-Kaserne, which housed the US Army, Europe (USAREUR) andNATO's Component Command-Land Headquarters. (Until 2004, this was designated Joint Headquarters Centre, and before that, LANDCENT).
Campbell Barracks andMark Twain Village were both in Südstadt; Patton Barracks was in nearby Kirchheim. Nachrichten Kaserne in Rohrbach was home to the former Heidelberg Army Hospital, later designated the Heidelberg Health Center.Patrick Henry Village, the largest U.S. military housing area in the Heidelberg area, was west of Kirchheim. These installations, including Tompkins Barracks and Kilbourne Kaserne in nearby Schwetzingen, plus the Germersheim Depot, made up the U.S. Army Garrison Heidelberg. Tompkins Barracks was home toU.S. Army Installation Management Command Europe RegionArchived 12 December 2012 atarchive.today. The Heidelberg U.S. Army Air Field (Heidelberg AAF) was converted to an heliport (mostly Blackhawk Helicopters) after theNATOKosovo campaign.
The New city district of Heidelberg,Bahnstadt, is one of the biggestpassive house settlements in the world.
The children ofUnited States Department of Defense employees based in Heidelberg attended on-base schools operated by the DODDS-E (Department of Defense Dependents Schools – Europe). There were three schools of this kind:Heidelberg High School in Mark Twain Village (Mark Twain Elementary School closed at the completion of the 2010–2011 school year), andHeidelberg Middle School and Patrick Henry Elementary in Patrick Henry Village.[37]
On 19 October 2009, the U.S. Army announced that it would be building new headquarters for USAREUR inWiesbaden. The move from Heidelberg took place in 2012 and 2013, and was completed in 2014.[38] By 2015 all United States forces had left Heidelberg. The barracks and the housing areas were returned to the German state for conversion to civilian use.
Several festivals and events hosted and organized in Heidelberg throughout the year. In February, theBall der Vampire(Ball of the Vampires)[39] is arranged andFasching, the equivalent of Mardi Gras or Carnival in some German regions, with a giant vampire-themed costume party at the local castle or city hall is celebrated. In March or April theHeidelberger Frühling, the Classic Music Festival and the international Easter egg market are conducted. During the last weekend of April there is an annually organized half marathon. In the summertime there are theFrühlingsmesse on the Messeplatz (May) and Illumination of the castle and bridge with lights and fireworks take place. In September, on the last Saturday theOld Town Autumn Festival is held.[40] It includes a Medieval Market, an arts and crafts market, a flea market, and music from Samba to Rock. During October or November there are theHeidelberger Theater Days and theEnjoy Jazz festival. Every year in November theInternational Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg take place in the city, too. The festival presents arthouse films of international newcomer directors and is held jointly by both of the cities.[41] During Christmas there is a Christmas market throughout the oldest part of the city. A famous gift is the chocolate called HeidelbergerStudentenkuss(student kiss).
The nationwide trend of cinema closures hit Heidelberg harder than many other places in Germany.[42][43][44]
Recent years saw the low-point of this development, when in this city of over 150,000 people there were just three small cinemas left, with a total capacity of under 450 seats.[45] The situation has slightly improved since late 2017, when Heidelberg got a new multiplex adjacent to the new Bahnstadt development, the "Luxor Filmpalast".
Luxor shows mainlyBlockbuster movies in German, but some showings in English are on offer for selected films.[46]
The small 2-screen cinema "Gloria/Gloriette" (Old Town), together with the affiliated "Kamera" (Neuenheim) offers arthouse and independent films, with some showings being offered in the films original language, usually with German subtitles.[47]
The non-profit "Karlstorkino" (at the far eastern edge of the Old Town, next to the river) offers international arthouse fare and the occasional documentary. The vast majority of non-German films at this cinema are shown in their original language with either English or German subtitles, depending on the film.[48]
Among the most prominent museums of Heidelberg are for instance the Carl Bosch Museum which shows life and work of chemist and Nobel Prize-winnerCarl Bosch. Then there is theDocumentation and Culture Centre of German Sinti and Roma (Dokumentations- und Kulturzentrum Deutscher Sini und Roma) describing the Nazi genocide of theSinti andRoma peoples. The German Packing Museum (Deutsches Verpackungsmuseum) gives an overview of the history of packing and wrapping goods, whereas the German Pharmacy Museum (Deutsches Apothekenmuseum) which is located in the castle illustrates the history of Pharmacy in Germany. TheKurpfälzisches Museum(Palatinate Museum) offers a great art collection and some Roman archeological artifacts from the region. In honour ofFriedrich Ebert thePresident Friedrich Ebert Memorial, which commemorates the life of Germany's first democratic head of state, was established. Besides, there are guided tours in most of the historical monuments of Heidelberg, as well as organized tourist tours through the city available in several languages.
TheRomantik epoch of German philosophy and literature, was described as a movement against classical and realistic theories of literature, a contrast to the rationality of theAge of Enlightenment. It elevatedmedievalism and elements of art and narrative perceived to be from the medieval period. It also emphasized folk art, nature, and an epistemology based on nature, which included human activity conditioned by nature in the form of language, custom and usage.
The 1925 song "I Lost My Heart in Heidelberg" composed byFred Raymond was a major hit and inspired a stage musical and two films. It remains the theme song of Heidelberg.
Rugby League Deutschland has two teams based in Heidelberg, Heidelberg Sharks formed in 2005 and Rohrbach Hornets formed in 2007.
Academics Heidelberg huddle in January 2023.
The city is also home to theUSC Heidelberg (Academics Heidelberg), which won 9German Basketball Championships and remains the second most successful team in the history of German professional basketball. Today, the club plays in Germany's second divisionProA. It is primarily known for its youth department which developed several members ofGermany's senior national basketball team.
They also hosted the 2019 WU24 Championships from 13 to 20 July. It was the fifth edition of this world championship and marked the third time Germany has hosted anultimate frisbee tournament.[49]
Germany's oldest tennis club, which was founded in the year 1890, is located in Heidelberg.
In theWatchmen TV series which serves as alternate direct sequels to the originalWatchmen graphic novel, Dr. Manhattan aka Jonathan "Jon" Osterman aka Calvin "Cal" Abar (né Jelani), is said to be born in Heidelberg, Germany and immigrates to the US along with his father.
Heidelberg also is he setting of some German crime novels, for example byWolfgang Burger (protagonist: Detective Gerlach) orCarlo Schäfer (protagonist: Detective Theurer).
Frederick V (1596–1632), Count Palatine and Elector of the Palatinate 1610-1623 and King of Bohemia (asFrederickI), 1619-1620 fought theSiege of Heidelberg in 1622.[68]
^Its latest overall ranking positions range from 5th to 18th in Europe; the peer review scores, reflecting academic esteem, are usually higher. It was never ranked outside Europe's top 20 by any major university ranking. Seerankings.
^Heike Hawicks / Ingo Runde: Heidelberg and the Holy See – from the Late Medieval Reform Councils to the Reformation in the Electoral Palatinate, in: 1517. Le università e la Riforma protestante. Studi e ricerche nel quinto anniversario delle tesi luterane (Studi e ricerche sull'università), ed. Simona Negruzzo, Bologna 2018, S. 33–54.
^"Junius, Franz" .Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 559; see para (2) Franz Junius (1589–1677), son of the above, was born at Heidelberg,....
Cser, Andreas (2007).Kleine Geschichte der Stadt Heidelberg und ihrer Universität [Short history of the city of Heidelberg and its University] (in German). Karlsruhe: Verlag G. Braun.ISBN978-3-7650-8337-2.
Remy, Steven P. (2002).The Heidelberg Myth: The Nazification and Denazification of a German University. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.ISBN0-674-00933-9.
"Heidelberg",The Rhine from Rotterdam to Constance, Leipsic: Karl Baedeker, 1882,OCLC7416969
"Heidelberg",The Rhine, including the Black Forest & the Vosges, Leipzig: Karl Baedeker, 1911,OCLC21888483
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