Heidelberg Castle

Heidelberg Castle

Gen crew. It’s Ross here and today I’m in Schllo H Highleberg or H Highleberg Castle. A medieval castle over 800 years old perched high on the hill overlooking the medieval town of H Highleberg in southern Germany. Now this castle which is partly functional and partly in ruins has over a million visitors a year. So let’s go take a look around. Today we’ll take a look at H Highleberg Castle and its surrounds. Starting with the old town or oldstart. Then it’s onto the castle itself via the modern finicular railway. We’ll take in the apothecary museum and the courtyard. Take a stroll around the grounds in the afternoon sun. And finally take a trip on a nearly 120 year old original finicular railway to the top station for a magnificent view over the river, the city, and the western plains. First, let’s begin with a few maps. H Highleberg sits in the southwest of Germany, just a few kilometers from Mannheim. The nearest airfield is at Frankfurt, 80 km to the north. Stoodgart lies 120k south. Nuremberg 200 km to the east, and to the west, the French border is less than 60 km away. It’s an easy place to get to with the intercity express or ice trains stopping at the railway. The city is built along the banks of the Nekar River, framed by the wooded hills of the Oldenv. It’s a place where geography, history, and culture all come together. A little closer in, we can see here the main railway station and along the river, the old town and of course the castle. Much of daily life in H Highleberg flows through the old town, the oldstart. This is a maze of narrow streets, baroque buildings, and lively squares. The Halstra, one of Europe’s longest pedestrian shopping streets, runs right through it, filled with cafes, boutiques, and buskers. I’d recommend allowing at least 2 to three hours to visit the old town, to look through the myriad of shops, enjoy the medieval architecture, or to grab a bite in one of the many eeries. Oh, Ross pizza. That must be good. Now, the city’s story stretches back to Celtic and Roman times with a fort being built as early as 40 AD, nearly 2,000 years ago. The name H Highleberg, however, wasn’t used until 1196. The castle began construction shortly after, sometime before 1214 AD. Perched 80 m above the town, H Highleberg Castle is one of the most famous ruins in Germany with Renaissance wings, grand facades, and gardens that tell the story of centuries of power, destruction, and renewal. And that is my teenager. She doesn’t know she’s in this. There’s a few ways to get up to the castle from Oldtown. The first two involve walking up the hill via the short path or the longer 15-minute trip around the castle on an old stone path. You can also take the finicular railway from the station up to the castle where it’s a short 2-minute walk on flat ground to the visitors center. This is a great option if you or someone in your party has a mobility impairment. There’s a lift at the bottom station for wheelchairs to get you to the platform. Now, the railway ticket cost €11, which includes entrance to the castle, but if you walk, it still costs €11 to buy a ticket at the visitor center. So, you might walk one direction and take the train the other. Kids under 15 and students with a valid student card are only €550. But for €17, you can extend your trip up to the second station at Mulan Cur, then swap to the old finicular railway. This upper section dates back to 197 and still uses beautifully restored historic carriages complete with wooden interiors. The line climbs another kilometer up the hill to the conig stool or the king’s chair which is the highest point above H Highleberg. The top station boasts a small museum and outside there is a cafe, a restaurant and some fantastic views. I strongly recommend spending the extra few euro and making the trip. And we can see here the parasailers actually take off from the top here. Absolutely amazing views out over the town and across into the plains. Back down at Castle Station, it’s a 1-minute walk on flat ground to the visitor center, which has a bro and where you can buy tickets for the castle if you happen to walk up the hill instead of taking the finicular railway. From there, a nice easy 2-minute walk will get you to the courtyard, which is where we are now. Now, the architectural styles here range from late medieval through to Renaissance. And that shows just how long this castle took to get built. Over 400 years. And some of those are just facads because the building behind has actually been destroyed. Now inside you can walk through the restaurant. Not a lot of ambiance there. You can see a barrel. And then of course you can see the big barrel which you can walk up on top of. Not a lot to see there. Unfortunately the lighting isn’t very good. So this is probably your best opportunity for a photo. Right at the entrance. Outside there’s a balcony. Very popular. You’ve got to go there because it gives you this view over the city. That’s the old and bold hills on the other side, the Necco River. You’re looking at the marketplace there and the old church. Well worth spending some time. On your way back to the courtyard, make sure you go to the Apothecary Museum. There are a few steps to get down into the museum. Now, this museum came to the castle in the mid 1950s and it has over 600,000 visitors a year. There’s over a thousand items in here, including crap. I’ve no idea what that is. There’s groundup mummy. There’s there’s a unicorn tusk, which of course is a narwhale tusk. And there’s a lot of static displays and some uh lots of signs in both English and German, so you’ll be able to work out that is a crocodile hanging off the ceiling. I have no idea why. Just before you go into the souvenir shop, chuck a left, go down the stairs. It’s actually quite easy to miss. You’ll find yourself in a medieval laboratory, which has been set up really, really well. It’s quite cool. All the displays are in multiple languages, so you can have a bit of a look around and uh and see what that’s all about. And then on the way out, it’s through the souvenir shop. And there’s some neat stuff there, including these uh incense in uh test tubes, which is quite neat. And from there, that’s pretty much it. That’s all you can see of the castle without going on a guided tour. And you can buy a guided tour ticket from the visitor center. They’re €6 for adults and cheaper for concessions and students. And now it’s on to the last part of our tour, the castle gardens. The gardens were commissioned by Prince Frederick V for his new bride, Elizabeth Stewart, daughter of King James 1 of England. Construction began around 1614, but was never finished. In 1620, Frederick was exiled, bringing an end to the golden era of H Highleberg. Several wars between 1618 and 1693 left the gardens heavily damaged and abandoned to ruin. By the late 1700s, the castle and gardens have become famous for their picturesque decay, attracting writers, painters, and poets, including Gulith, who has a bus dedicated to him in the grounds. Today, the gardens are open to the public during daylight hours and are free of charge. You can wander to your heart’s content, exploring the terraces, ruins, and the breathtaking scenery that have inspired visitors for centuries. And there you go, crew. That’s a little bit of a tour around Schllo Hidleberg. Beautiful place. The castle itself’s lovely. You could probably spend maybe a good hour in there having a look around. More if you want to have something to eat or drink, but then the grounds at least another hour. And to get to the top, another hour again. So allow an afternoon. Just be careful when the trains come and go. You can walk up the hill, you can take the finicular railway, whatever takes your fancy. If you’re in this part of the world, I would highly recommend it. The view itself is worth the trip to the top. And that’s it for now or feed a Zane as they say in Germany. And until next time, happy travels. See you. [Music]

Hey crew, in this video we’re taking a look around Schloss Heidelberg, or Heidelberg Castle in southern Germany. I’ll tell you a bit about the Castle, including information on how o get there, what it will cost and some of the things you can see and do. I highly recommend doing a bit of research before you go so you turn up prepared to make the most of your trip.

Happy travel! ✈️🌍

⏱️ Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:49 Where is Heidelberg?
01:35 Old Town
02:39 Getting to the Castle
03:41 Konigstuhl
04:18 The courtyard and castle
05:00 The Apothecary Museum
06:10 The Castle Grounds
07:01 Wrap up

📍 Attribution
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