HEIDELBERG CASTLE
Germany
A Palace was built on this spot by Prince Elector Ruprecht III (1398 - 1410) which was added to by subsequent Prince Electors over the next couple of centuries. During the 16th and 17th centuries the Palace was fortified and turned into a Castle.
Two of the main Castle buildings were added by Otthenrich between 1556 and 1559 and Friedrich IV around 30 years later. They are considered to be two of the most important architectural buildings in Germany. In the mid-1610s the so-called "English Building" was constructed by Prince Elector Friedrich V. All of this was destroyed by the Thirty Years War which ravaged this part of Germany.
All was rebuilt by Karl Ludwig in the late 1600s, only to be destroyed once more by French troops. The last Prince Elector to try and make anything of Heidelberg Castle was Karl Theodor, but the Castle was struck by lightning in 1764 which burnt most of the Castle to the ground. The Castle lay ruined for many years, being used for the usual purposes of a local quarry by the townsfolk of Heidelberg.
In 1800 Count Charles de Graimberg halted this process and began the work of preserving the Castle, and it is largely thanks to his work that what we see today has survived so well. In 1934 the KingÆs Hall was added. Today, the hall is used for festivities, dinner banquets, balls and theatre performances. During the Heidelberg Castle Festival in the summer, the courtyard is the site of open air musicals, operas and theatre performances and classical concerts such as the famous "Castle Serenades" performed by the Heidelberg City Orchestra.
The Castle is open to the public most of the year and is one of this part of Germany's best loved tourist attractions, notable if nothing else for the fact it is far more "Castle-like" than many of the Rhineland Castles.
© Text copyright - Raving Loony
Productions and Andrew J. Müller
© Photos - Alison Runham --- Artwork - Andrew J. Müller
© Web Design and Layout - Andrew J. Müller
2018
