Heidelberg Castle

In the lands of Baden-Württemberg region in Heidelberg city, the grandest and most mysterious castle ruins in Germany are located. Heidelberg Castle is a kind of magic. Impregnable fort walls rise above the hill covered with emerald virgin forest beatified by red roofs of houses and quiet and polite streams of the river Neckar.

Heidelberg Castle was built in the 13 century for the powerful dynasty of Wittelsbach. Over the past centuries, it went through numerous sieges, wars and fire. But French invasions were the most devastating. That is why the major part of the castle is ruined. The ancient church was preserved in the totally reconstructed Friedrich’s Building. All other parts were only partially restored or strengthened. Several museums, an exposition hall and a restaurant are now placed on its immense territory. Besides this, Ottoheinrich Wing houses the German Museum of Apothecary that shows history of medicine.

You can have an interesting visit to Heidelberg Castle’s cellars as well. The biggest wine barrel in the world is stored here. This giant can hold more than 200 litres of wine. Nearly 130 trees were used for the barrel creation.

The castle is open for visitors every day from 8am to 6pm. The last excursion enters at 5:30pm. Admission is around 6 EUR. It’s better to use a private vehicle to get there by autobahn A5 or A6. You should keep Heidelberg direction. If unavailable you could take a train. It’s better to take a ticket to Mannheim and then take a tram to Heidelberg. From Heidelberg Central Station (Hauptbahnhof) you can take a bus route 33 and exit Bergbahn stop. After that you should exit on Schloss stop of the Heidelberger funicular railway (Bergbahn) that runs from Kornmarkt to the summit of Königstuhl via the castle.