Proud residence of the Electors of the Palatinate
In the 13th century, the Counts Palatine of the Rhine and later Electors built their first residence above Heidelberg. Over the centuries, the fortified medieval castle developed into a prestigious palace. Today, Heidelberg Castle with its Renaissance palaces is one of the most important cultural monuments in Germany. The highlight of Electoral Palatinate architecture is the creation of the famous palace garden "Hortus Palatinus" at the beginning of the 17th century.
Destruction through war and the forces of nature
In the 17th century, the Palatinate was involved in the Thirty Years' War and the War of the Palatinate Succession. French troops blew up the mighty walls in several attempts. In the 18th century, the electors lost interest in the heavily damaged palace and moved their residence to Mannheim. The poorly repaired castle buildings fell into disrepair and burned down in 1764 after two lightning strikes.
Heidelberg Castle - a symbol of Romanticism
For travellers, painters and poets around 1800, the picturesque remains of Heidelberg Castle overlooking the Neckar were the epitome of a romantic ruin. They immortalised the atmospheric monument in poems, songs and paintings. Only slowly did an awareness of the need to preserve the historic castle ruins develop. The French Count Charles de Graimberg, who was living in exile in Germany, played an important role in this.
Reconstruction of the ruins into a fairytale castle?
Around 1900, the so-called "castle controversy" broke out: experts fiercely debated the possibility of rebuilding Heidelberg Castle. A mighty castle, destroyed and reawakened from its slumber to its former splendour, appealed to many contemporaries. But in the end, the representatives of monument preservation prevailed. It was decided to "preserve" the palace as a ruin. Only the Friedrichsbau was completed and refurnished in the style of historicism.
