Heidelberg
Encyclopedia : H : HE : HEI : Heidelberg
Heidelberg is a scenic city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, halfway between Stuttgart and Frankfurt. As of 2005, 140,000 people live within the city's 109 km² area. The name Heidelberg is an adaptation of Heidelbeerenberg, which means Huckleberry Mountain.
Heidelberg lies on the Neckar at the point where the river leaves its narrow, steep valley in the Odenwald to flow into the Rhine valley where, 20 kilometers northwest of Heidelberg, it joins the Rhine at Mannheim.
The old town, in German Altstadt, is long and narrow and is dominated by Heidelberg Castle which perches 80 metres above the Neckar on the steep, wooded hill of the Königstuhl ("King's chair" or throne) mountain with the TV Tower, surrounded by a park where the famous poet J.W. Goethe once walked (although he did not get to sleep in the town, it seems, disappointed by some local guesthouse owner).
The city is a vibrant mixture of tradition and modernity. In the past it has been a centre for both science and the arts and today this tradition is carried on with many research centres located in or around the city.
Heidelberg not only boasts a medieval castle, but it also is home to one of Europe's oldest educational institutes, the Ruprecht Karls University, more commonly known as the University of Heidelberg. Among the prominent thinkers to have been associated with the University over the centuries are Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, the philosopher of hermeneutics Hans-Georg Gadamer, Rudi Schneidewind; the critical theorist Jürgen Habermas, and the discourse philosopher Karl-Otto Apel. Karl Drais, who invented the bicycle in 1817, was also a student. The University is also credited with chemists Posselt & Reimann's 1828 discovery of nicotine as the main pharmacologically active component of tobacco.
-->A number of United States Military installations are present in and around Heidelberg, including the Headquarters of the United States Army in Europe (HQ USAREUR). These make up the U.S. Army Garrison Heidelberg. Additionally, a small number of NATO facilities are present on the installations, most notably Land Forces Central Europe (LANDCENT).
Contents
History
- Heidelberg was first mentioned in 1196.
- Its university, the oldest in Germany, was founded in 1386.
- Heidelberg's library, founded in Heidelberg in 1421, is the oldest public library in Germany still intact. The survival of its collection is due to the fact that it was moved to the Vatican for safe keeping in 1623. The Vatican returned the remainder of the books for the 600th anniversary in 1986. They were presented as gifts of the elector to the university in the church of Holy Spirit.
- Reformed Heidelberg Catechism approved in 1563 defining differences from Catholicism. Luther discussed his theses in town.
- The great classical scholar Friedrich Sylburg was librarian to the elector palatine from 1591 to 1596.
- City burned and castle partly destroyed by the French during the War of the Palatinate Succession 1693 It was partially rebuilt. But some years later it burned down by lightning. The electors Karl Theodor, Elector of Bavaria (Charles IV) family left the town.
- Discovery of spectral analysis by Robert Bunsen and Kirchhoff in 1860.
- The 1968 film, Girl on a Motorcycle, based on Andre Pieyre De Mandiargue’s novel La Motocyclette, and starring Marianne Faithfull, was set in and around Heidelberg. The film was notorious for Faithfull's ability to corner a bike at speed without leaning over. She, the bike and the cameras were all on the back of a flatbed truck.
Well-known Heidelbergers
- 1424, 1 January, Ludwig IV. der Sanftmütige; † 13 August 1449 in Worms; Kurfürst von der Pfalz
- 1448, 14 July, Philipp der Aufrichtige; † 25. February 1508 in Germersheim; Kurfürst von der Pfalz
- 1648 Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine (* 22 December 1617 - 28 August 1680), back in his anch. town, was the second son of Friedrich V, the Winter King, and his wife, Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of King James I of England. His daughter:
- 1652, 27 May, Liselotte von der Pfalz; † 8. December 1722 in Saint-Cloud near Paris; Duchess of Orléans, sister-in-law of Louis XIV.
- 1692 or 1698, Joseph Süß Oppenheimer, called Jud Süß; † 4. February 1738 in Stuttgart (hanged); banker of the Kings of Württemberg.
- 1797, 11 January, Carl Rottmann; † 7 July 1850 in Munich; landscape painter
- 1809, 19 August, Karl Christian Nadler; † 26 August 1849, poet
- 1829 Anton Friedrich Justus Thibaut
- 1851, Robert Wilhelm Bunsen, 30. March 1811 in Holzminden; † 16 August 1899 in Heidelberg; chemist
- 1852 [Carl Adolph von Vangerow]
- 1860 Alexandru Ioan Cuza *20 March 1820 in Galaţi|Galatz/Rumänien; † 15 May 1873 in Heidelberg; first prince and founder of Romania.
- 1863, 21 June, Max Wolf; † 3 October 1932, astronomer
- 1869 Hermann von Helmholtz; physicist
- 1870 Gustav Kirchhoff; physicist
- 1871, 4 February, Friedrich Ebert; † 28 February 1925 in Berlin; President of the first German Republic (1919-1925), Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (SPD)
- 1886 J. Viktor von Scheffel, Honorary Citizenship in Heidelberg
- 1895 Otto von Bismarck, Honorary Citizenship in Heidelberg
- 1895, 29 March, Ernst Jünger; † 17 February 1998 in Riedlingen; writer
- 1898 Adolph Kussmaul, physician
- 1899, 22 July, Wolfgang Metzger,† 20 December 1979 in Bebenhausen, psychologist und founder of the Berlin school of Gestalt theory
- 1900 Hans-Georg Gadamer, philosopher
- 1906, 25 December, Ernst Ruska; † 27 May 1988 in Berlin; inventor of the electron microscope
- 1909 Hilde Domin, (* 27 July at Cologne; † 22. February 2006 at Heidelberg) lyric poet
- 1910 Cromartie Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 22nd Earl of Sutherland, 4th Duke of Sutherland (1851-1913)
- 1920, Carl Bosch * 27. August 1874 in Cologne; † 26 April 1940 in Heidelberg, chemist, technician, CEO BASF 1919-1925 und IG Farben 1925-1935, President of Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft 1937-1940, Nobel prize winner in Chemistry 1931
- 1922 Ludolf von Krehl, physician, Honorary Citizenship in Heidelberg
- 1923, Ernst Toller, * 1 December 1893 in Samotschin, Posen; † 22 May 1939 in New York City, pacifist, revolutionary, book writer
- 1925, 20 September, Rama VIII.; † 9 June 1946 in Bangkok, King of Thailand
- 1925, Stefan George, * 12 July 1868 in Büdesheim; † 4 December 1933 in Minusio bei Locarno, poet and writer
- 1926 Wilhelm Salomon-Calvi, Honorary Citizenship in Heidelberg
- 1928 Jacob Gould Schurman, Honorary Citizenship in Heidelberg
- 1929, Karl Jaspers, * 23 February 1883 in Oldenburg; † 26 February 1969 in Basel; philosopher, psychiatrist
- 1929, Otto Meyerhof, * 12 April 1884 in Hannover; † 6 October 1951 in Philadelphia, Jewish-German physician and biochemist with philosophical and psychological leanings, Nobel prize winner in Medcin 1922, first director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for medical research in Heidelberg
- 1934, Georg Wittig, * 16 June 1897 in Berlin; † 26 August 1987 in Heidelberg; (Wittig reaction), Nobel prize winner in Chemistry 1979
- 1939, Gustav Radbruch, * 21 November 1878 in Lübeck; † 23 November 1949 in Heidelberg, lawyer and politician, Justice Minister 1921-1922, 1923
- 1943, 23 December, Silvia Sommerlath, Queen of Sweden
- 1946 in HD, Fritz Neidlinger, Jazz musican (Tenor-Sax) – Honorary Citizenship in New Orleans (2005)
- 1954 Richard Benz (born 1884 in Dresden) receives Honorary Citizenship in Heidelberg (not related to Karl Benz etc.)
- 1957, 21 October, Wolfgang Ketterle, Nobel prize winner in Physics (2001)
- 1957, 23 July, Rufus Beck, actor
- ''for more details, please look at the German page [de]
Around Heidelberg
Villages
- North of the River Neckar:
- *Neuenheim, Handschuhsheim, Dossenheim, Ziegelhausen, Peterstal.
- Central:
- *Altstadt, Bergheim, Weststadt, Schlierbach, Kohlhof.
- Southern:
- *Bergheim, Ochsenkopf, Wieblingen, Grenzhof, Bahnstadt (new 2005), Rohrbach, Kirchheim, Hasenleiser, Boxberg, Rohrbach-Süd, Emmertsgrund, Pfaffengrund.
Towns
Mannheim, Speyer, Worms, Schwetzingen (the site of the Summerpalais, with the local Elector's English style gardens), Frankfurt, Landstuhl, Baden-Baden, Rothenburg ob der TauberLandscape
Ladenburg, Eberbach, Erbach, Mountainsroad (Bergstraße), Rhine river, Black Forest, the Palatine(Landshut direction), RothenburgUnited States Military Installations
- Campbell Barracks (HQ USAREUR) and Mark Twain Village (Südstadt)
- Patton Barracks (Kirchheim)
- Patrick Henry Village (south of Eppelheim)
- Tompkins Barracks (Schwetzingen)
- 130th Station Hospital (Rohrbach)
- MEDDAC Headquarters (Rohrbach)
Events
- March/April: "Heidelberger Frühling" Classic Music Festival
- March/April: Internationaler Ostereiermarkt (Easter Eggs)
- April: Halfmarathon - last weekend
- May: Frühlingsmesse on the Messplatz
- July: Deutsch-Amerikanisches Volksfest in Patrick-Henry-Village (?? delayed)
- July/August: "Heidelberger Castle Festival" (Student Prince and others)
- June-September: Fireworks on first Saturday(Samstag) in June and September, and 2nd Saturday in July – Schlossbeleuchtung on the Old Bridge. Starting 21.30. Best view: Neckarwiese or Philosophenweg.
- September: "Heidelberger Herbst" (Autumn)
- October: Herbstmesse
- October/November: Heidelberger Theaterdays, "Enjoy Jazz", Stepdance-Festival and Workshops
- November: "International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg" (bus-shuttle)
- November/December: Weihnachtsmarkt in Altstadt - Christmas market in the whole old town
International friendship
Heidelberg maintains sister city relationships (Städtepartnerschaft) with the following cities:
Montpellier, France, since 1961Cambridge, Great Britain, since 1965 Rehovot, Israel, since 1983 Simferopol, Ukraine, since 1991 Bautzen, Saxony, since 1991 Kumamoto, Japan, since 1992 There is also an Amerika-House and a French Montpellier-House in Heidelberg.
In addition there are several places named in honor of international figures:
- Memorial for José Rizal Mercado y Alonzo Realonda, national hero of the Philippines, at Bergheimerstr. 5 (the former eye-hospital, where he worked)
- John Rabe Communication Centre, at L.Krehlstr.56 (Ph: 47 30 45) for his work in Nanjing (See also Nanjing Massacre)
Gallery
See also
- Noted pen manufacturer Lamy which has its headquarters in Heidelberg.
External links
- [Official site of Heidelberg], a small English section is available
- [Heidelberg and the Palatine], elaborate information on history and architecture, illustrated with many pictures
- [Guide to the castle], available in 7 languages
- German Wikipedia entries on [Heidelberg] and [the castle]
- [Heidelberg-Guide] The regional city guide with a lot of information, a panoramic virtual tour and e-cards from Heidelberg
- [ e-heidelberg]
- [Rhein Neckar Guide], a regional hotel, restaurant and tourist guide
- [Youth Hostel Heidelberg-Neuenheim], by the river, between the zoo and the public swimming pool, near the new university area
- [Panoramas of Heidelberg]
- [Photos of Heidelberg]
- [Heidelberg photos from hot air balloon]
- [Heidelberg fireworks photos], (Google search, always up-to-date :)
- [Heidelberg Events]
- [U.S. Army Garrison Heidelberg homepage]
- [Heidelberg American High School Alumni homepage]
- [Schools in Heidelberg]
- [Pictures of Heidelberg] (German/English)
- [Image Gallery of Heidelberg]
- [A profile of Ralph Atkins, American expat and Heidelberg celebrity.] (English)
- [PhotoGlobe - Heidelberg] offers high quality photos of Heidelberg together with GPS coordinates
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| Important cities and touristic sites in Germany: Area of Heidelberg / Rhine-Neckar | | ||||||||
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| | Cities and districts in the Federal State of Baden-Württemberg in Germany | |
|---|---|---|
| Cities | Baden-Baden · Freiburg · Heidelberg · Heilbronn · Karlsruhe · Mannheim · Pforzheim · Stuttgart · Ulm | |
| Rural districts | Alb-Donau · Biberach · Bodensee · Böblingen · Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald · Calw · Konstanz (Constance) · Emmendingen · Enz · Esslingen · Freudenstadt · Göppingen · Heidenheim · Heilbronn (district) · Hohenlohe · Karlsruhe (district) · Lörrach · Ludwigsburg · Main-Tauber · Neckar-Odenwald · Ortenau · Ostalbkreis · Rastatt · Ravensburg · Rems-Murr · Reutlingen · Rhein-Neckar · Rottweil · Schwarzwald-Baar · Schwäbisch Hall · Sigmaringen · Tuttlingen · Tübingen · Waldshut · Zollernalb | |
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