HEIDELBERG tourist attractions

Heidelberg is one of the most romantic and least damaged German cities as a result of World War II. It is the seat of the country's oldest university, a city of artists, poets and philosophers, whose Old Town was inscribed on the UNESCO list in 2005.

The beginnings of the city go back to antiquity, when the Romans built their fortifications on the local hill. In its present shape, Heidelberg has developed since the 12th century, and its importance increased significantly when in 1225 it became the property of the Wittelsbach family. It was her representative Rupert I who founded the university in 1386, which became a refuge for German scientific thought as well as for artists and philosophers.

The heart of Heidelberg is the Market Square surrounded by picturesque tenements. Here is also the most important temple of the city, the Gothic church of the Holy Spirit. The whole Old Town is full of interesting monuments from different eras, and leads to its area erected in the 18th century on the Neckar River, the Old Bridge with the Charles Gate.

Heidelberg Castle standing on a hill and surrounded by gardens towers above the buildings of the Old Town. It is now barely part of a powerful Gothic-Renaissance stronghold, and then the Wittelsbach residence. Within it there are, among others The German Pharmacy Museum and Big Barrel, i.e. the largest wine barrel in Germany. In the park you can visit the Scheffel terrace, which offers a beautiful view of the river and the city, as well as the recreated baroque garden of Hortus Palatinus. The castle can be reached via a fairly steep path or by using the Heidelberg cable car.

Thanks to its university traditions, the city has for centuries attracted the greatest celebrities of German science and art. Their fate can be explored by visiting the historic university, as well as taking the path of the Philizophians to the Garden of Philosophers on the Heiligenberg Hill. Heidelberg also offers visitors numerous museums, including the Kurpfälzisches Museum with archaeological collections, the Friedrich Ebert Museum, the Carl Bosch Museum, the German Packaging Museum, the Ethnological Museum and the Museum of Sacred Art and Liturgy.

In the city there are also attractions for family spending time. The most important of these is the Heideberg Zoo. The Bajkowy Raj Heidelberg theme park is also very popular, where the youngest can meet characters from legends, fairy tales and fairy tales.