Germany’s Heidelberg Castle: A Monument to Past Greatness

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A panoramic view of the town and castle of Heidelberg. The beautiful medieval town and the Neckar River are on the right. On the left, set on a hill 330 feet above the river, is Heidelberg Castle. From its lofty position, the castle has dominated the old town’s skyline for more than eight centuries. DaLiu/Shutterstock

Heidelberg Castle rises high above the medieval town of Heidelberg, Germany. First mentioned in 1214 as a fortified medieval castle, it later served as a royal residence for the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire. Different architectural styles are present throughout the complex.

The Ruprecht’s Wing, the oldest castle, is an example of Gothic architecture with its ribbed vaults and keystones. The Ottheinrich’s Wing epitomizes the ideal German Renaissance palace with its decorated façade, which features sculptures of figures from antiquity.

Heidelberg Castle expanded into a Renaissance-style castle throughout the 16th- and 17th centuries. Its most notable structures include the Friedrich’s Wing (Friedrichsbau), the Ottheinrich’s Wing (Ottheinrichsbau), the Glass Wing (Gläserner Saalbau), and the English Wing (Englischer Bau), some of the best examples of German Renaissance architecture. The Garden of the Palatinate (Hortus Palatinus)—a landscape garden—has long been celebrated as the eighth wonder of the world.

Years of war and natural disasters wreaked havoc on the castle and, in 1764, a lightning strike set fire to large portions of its structure. The castle fell to ruin and was abandoned, and nearly forgotten.

Its decayed Gothic and Renaissance structures appealed to 19th-century Romantic artists, becoming a symbol of the German Romanticism movement. Artists and writers such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Victor Hugo, J.M.W. Turner, and Mark Twain rediscovered the castle. In poems and works of art, they immortalized the castle and, from then on, awareness grew to preserve the historic castle.

In about 1900, experts decided to leave the castle as a “preserved” ruin. Only the Friedrich’s Wing was refurnished and reconstructed in the Historicism style (rebuilding a historic style), while the other structures remained untouched.

The ruins of Heidelberg Castle are set against the green forest of Königstuhl Hill. The façade of the complex features red sandstone from the Neckar Valley. The castle has a collection of buildings in partial disrepair, with the most notable ones being examples of Renaissance architecture.  1989 studio/Shutterstock

Visitors entering the main courtyard of Heidelberg Castle will notice the eye-catching Friedrich Wing. The building was restored in the 1900s, and both the exterior and interior are close to the original look, in the Renaissance Revival style. The exterior features a black-gabled roof and a sandstone-elevated façade, richly decorated with Renaissance-style windows and sculptures. Friedrich IV displayed his power and his family’s heritage through carved sculptures of his ancestors, prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire. Khirman Vladimir/Shutterstock

The top of Friedrichsbau’s façade is adorned with stone sculptures of the Wittelsbach family that were designed by architect Johannes Soch and sculptor Sebastian Goetz. The highest sculptures depict the “fathers” of the Wittelsbach line: Charlemagne and Otto von Wittelsbach. Just below are sculptures of select representatives of the Wittelsbach family, such as Prince-Elector Ruprecht I and Prince-Elector Ottheinrich. The third row represents emperors and kings descending from the House of Wittelsbach. The sculptures on the façade are replicas from about 1900; the original ones are found inside Friedrich’s Wing. Fabian Junge/Shutterstock

The Ottheinrich building, a roofless structure located on the right side of the courtyard, is one of the most beautiful structures of the German Renaissance. Its red sandstone façade is decorated with stone figures by sculptor Alexander Colin. These figures depict Roman rulers and ancient heroes characteristic of Renaissance architecture, which was inspired by a return to antiquity. Other decorations are preserved inside the building. Oleg Senkov/Shutterstock

One of the oldest structures in the castle complex is the Ruprecht building, located near the great gate tower. With its red sandstone façade featuring a turret, a small tower, round arches, and few windows, it's one of the rare examples of medieval architecture in the complex. tilialucida/Shutterstock

While walking through the landscape garden, one can see the ruins of the English Wing. In 1612, Prince-Elector Friedrich V commissioned it as the last structure of the castle. Its design is based on the work of Italian architect Andrea Palladio. Next to the more sculpturally decorated Friedrich’s Wing, the English Wing presents an austere and unadorned façade. As with many other ruins, the building doesn’t have a roof. Diego Grandi/Shutterstock

Leaving the main court of the castle, visitors pass through the Elizabeth Gate, a small entrance allegedly built overnight in 1615 as a present of Prince-Elector Friedrich V to his wife Elizabeth Stuart. The adorned Renaissance gate features carved sculptures and columns with natural motifs.  EWY Media/Shutterstock