HISTORY
The earliest castle structure was built before 1214 and later expanded into two castles circa 1294; however, in 1537, a lightning bolt destroyed the upper castle. The present structures had been expanded by 1650, before damage by later wars and fires. In 1764, another lightning bolt caused a fire which destroyed some rebuilt sections.
Almost every prince-elector added a structure of a different style to Heidelberg Palace. In the 16th century, the medieval castle was expanded into a representative Renaissance palace. These structures are some of the best examples of German Renaissance architecture. A reconstruction was attempted in the 19th century.
Secular Gothic structures generally demonstrate their stateliness through monumentality and defensibility, contrary to the delicate Gothic church structures. This is also the case with the Ruprecht Building, the oldest residential palace at Heidelberg Palace. Only its interior, with ribbed vaults and keystones, gives any indication of its status as a palace. A graceful oriel in the library hints at the elegance of Heidelberg's court life in the Late Middle Ages.
The arcades along the 1549 Hall of Glass are typical of Early Renaissance palace structures in southern Germany. The Ottheinrich Building, on which construction began in 1556, is a famous Renaissance masterpiece and is considered an ideal German Renaissance palace. The facade is stunningly decorated. Pediments, pillars and sculptures of figures from antiquity demonstrate that the architect was familiar with the great Italian archetypes, while also incorporating the current Dutch decorative fashions. The elaborate decor was a reference to the sophisticated builder, Prince-Elector Ottheinrich.
Late renaissance: The Friedrich Building was constructed between 1601 and 1607 under Prince-Elector Friedrich IV. Decorative figures and adornments are typical of this period and more opulent and vivid than on the Ottheinrich Building. In 1612, Prince-Elector Friedrich V began construction on the last palace structure: the English Building. The clean design is based on work by the Italian architect, Andrea Palladio. The front of the English Building is oriented toward the town.
Historic preservation began in the late 19th century, protecting and preserving ruins. As of the mid-19th century, however, Historicism also entered the scene. Structures were built in a historic style: rebuilt ruins or invented entire structures based on old designs. Both of these are present at Heidelberg Palace. The Friedrich Building is a prominent example. Reconstructed in 1900 in a style imagined to be true to the original. Its interior was decorated in the Renaissance Revival style, with elaborate wooden door jambs, precious scagliola floors, fanciful stucco, and frescoes.
CURRENT SITUATION
The castle is located 80 metres (260 ft) up the northern part of the Königstuhl hillside, and thereby dominates the view of the old downtown. It is served by an intermediate station on the Heidelberger Bergbahn funicular railway that runs from Heidelberg's Kornmarkt to the summit of the Königstuhl.
The oldest description of Heidelberg from 1465 mentions that the city is "frequented by strangers", but it did not really become a tourist attraction until the beginning of the 19th century. Count Graimberg made the castle a pervasive subject for pictures which became forerunners of the postcard. At the same time, the castle was also found on souvenir cups. Tourism received a big boost when Heidelberg was connected to the railway network in 1840.
Mark Twain, the American author, described the Heidelberg Castle in his 1880 travel book A Tramp Abroad.
In the 20th century, Americans spread Heidelberg's reputation outside Europe. Thus, Japanese also often visit the Heidelberg Castle during their trips to Europe. Heidelberg has, at the beginning of the 21st century, more than three million visitors a year and about 1,000,000 overnight stays. Most of the foreign visitors come either from the USA or Japan. The most important attraction, according to surveys by the Geographical Institute of the University of Heidelberg, is the castle with its observation terraces.
Heidelberg Palace, with its Renaissance palaces, is one of the most significant cultural monuments in Germany. A high point of this Electoral Palatinate architecture was the addition of the famous "Hortus Palatinus" palace garden in the early 17th century.
