Living in Germany for 3 years gave me ample opportunity to explore all of the amazing castles that have been dominating cliff-sides for many centuries. One of my favorites we had the pleasure of roaming around was the Heidelberg Castle.
Here’s the Romantic Renaissance of Schloss Heidelberg in Germany:
About the Heidelberg Castle
Based in a university town, the Heidelberg Castle has been standing since the late 1100s and is a monstrosity at the tippy-top of the Königstuhl hill. After 800 years of wars, lightning strikes, and fires threatening the existence of the castle, Schloss Heidelberg still remains as a top tourist attraction, magnetizing over a million visitors a year. Germany is full of amazing castles, about 20,000 to be exact, but Heidelberg’s beautiful fortress gives the rest a run for their money.
Heidelberg is open to the public for self-guiding tours 364 days of the year, from 10 AM to 6 PM, hours varying per season. If you prefer a guided tour in German or English for an additional fee, those embark every hour, with the last beginning at 4 PM. Check out more info for admission and pricing here.
A Romantic Setting for a Castle
Schloss Heidelberg sits atop the town of Heidelberg, where it can be seen from miles away on a clear day. Taking a walk around the entirety of the castle, visitors can see the high brick walls surrounding the castle grounds, bath houses and old meeting rooms, intricate details of doorways and sculpted fountains.
A Stunning Fortress
The setting alone around the Heidelberg Castle make it a stunning sight. That deep red-bricked ruins of the fortress majestically decorate the tree-lined hills. Surrounding the castle, views off in to the distance show rust-colored roofed houses separated by the river below.
The Courtyard of Heidelberg Castle
Many of the castles we’ve visited in Germany lack statement entrances and courtyards inside the fortress but Schloss Heidelberg has the largest, most beautiful inner plaza.
The architecture in this area remarkably stands out as one of the most stunning pieces of Renaissance era work. The façades enhance the courtyard’s majestic outline, adorned with golden sculptures of past emperors and kings.
I would’ve loved to see how the entirety of the castle operated back in its prime.
Interesting Facts About the Heidelberg Castle
Speaking of Heidelberg in its prime, there are a few interesting facts about the castle. First, there’s a wine cellar here that houses the biggest wine barrel in the world, Heidelberg Tun.
Another interesting fact is that in the mid to late 1800s, Mark Twain visited the Heidelberg castle. During his stay, he lodged at the Schloss hotel, overlooking the castle and the Neckar River down below. At the time, Twain was in the middle of writing The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and described how he had arrived to Heidelberg at a time where he was having writer’s block. He ended up taking a boat trip down the Neckar River and credits it as his inspiration for a specific chapter of that novel.
The German Apothecary Museum
At the pinnacle of its days, Heidelberg castle was a self-sustaining town. When walking around inside of the castle, sets of stairs lead further down into the cellars where visitors can see 800 year old laboratories, Apotheken (pharmacies), storage rooms for every type of prescription used by doctors back in those times and antique equipment.
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Stunning photos! I like the frog prince 🙂
Thank you! That was probably my favorite little detail of the entire place 🙂
I love the beautiful photos in this post 🙂 I have to agree with the comment above mine that the frog prince is brilliant!
The views from there are spectacular as well, I have a thing for old castles as I like imagining how life was back then, that plaza is beautiful, my camera like yours would have been in overdrive 🙂
x
Thank you so much! I really couldn’t pick which pictures to show on here so I may have went a little overboard but I thought it was totally necessary! If you’re into old castles, this is definitely one of my favorites I’ve ever been to. I love thinking about how it operated back then, like an entire little city inside this amazing plaza. Thanks for checking it out!
This is great, I love seeing all the pictures and it brings me back to eating lunch in that courtyard. Such a magical experience and we have those memories for life.
My lovely Sierra! Andy and I were just having a heart-to-heart about how much we miss the ‘ole Deutschland. I say we let the boys go do what they need to do so all 4 of us can get back there. Missing those memories more and more each day.