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Heidelberg

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For other uses, see Heidelberg (disambiguation).

Coordinates: 49°25′N 08°42′E

Heidelberg
Image:Wappen Heidelberg.png Location of Heidelberg in Germany
Country Germany
State Baden-Württemberg
Administrative region Karlsruhe
District urban district
Population 142,889 source (2004)
Area 108.83 km²
Population density 1,313 /km²
Elevation 116 m
Coordinates 49°25′ N 08°42′ E
Postal code 69001–69126
Area code 06221
Licence plate code HD
Mayor Dr. Eckart Würzner
Website heidelberg.de
A view of the city from the castle (Schloss)
Image:Heidelberg castle town.jpg
Image:Heidelberg shops.jpg
Heidelberg and the other cities of the Neckar valley
View from the so called "alley of philosophers" (Philosophenweg) towards the Old Town, with Heidelberg Castle, Heiliggeist Church and the Old Bridge

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 (the German for Blueberry 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 founded in 1386, 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; 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.

In Heidelberg resident the German Cancer Research Center, the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics and the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law.

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

[edit] 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. [citation needed] 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 (Heiliggeist Church).
  • 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.

[edit] Well-known Heidelbergers

for more details, please look at the German page de:Liste Heidelberger Persönlichkeiten

[edit] Heidelberg City Districts

Image:HeidelbergStadtteile.png

Heidelberg consists of 14 districts:

  • Central:
    • Altstadt, Bergheim, Weststadt
  • North:
    • Neuenheim, Handschuhsheim
  • East:
    • Ziegelhausen, Schlierbach
  • South:
  • South-West:
    • Kirchheim
  • West:
    • Pfaffengrund, Wieblingen

A new city district, currently tentatively named "Bahnstadt", is planned on land located within Weststadt and Wieblingen. The new district will have approximately 5,000-6,000 residents and provide 7,000 workplaces.

[edit] Around Heidelberg

[edit] Towns

Mannheim, Speyer, Worms, Schwetzingen (the site of the Summer Palace, with the local Elector's English style gardens), Frankfurt, Landstuhl, Baden-Baden, Rothenburg ob der Tauber

[edit] Landscape

Ladenburg, Eberbach, Erbach, Bergstraße (scenic road, German for Mountain road), Rhine river, Black Forest, the Palatine (Landshut direction), Rothenburg ob der Tauber

[edit] United States Military Installations

[edit] 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

[edit] International friendship

Heidelberg maintains sister city relationships (Städtepartnerschaft) with the following cities:

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:

[edit] Gallery

The "Untere Straße" (lower street), a typical side street in the Old Town
Old bridge gate
Catholic Jesuitenkirche
The "bridge monkey" near the old bridge gate
Old bridge gate
Heidelberg at night
Heiliggeistkirche

[edit] See also

  • Noted pen manufacturer Lamy which has its headquarters in Heidelberg.

[edit] External links


Important cities and tourist sites in Germany:
Area of Heidelberg / Rhine-Neckar
Major cities: Heidelberg | Kaiserslautern | Ludwigshafen | Mannheim | Neustadt | Speyer | Worms
Other tourist sites: Bad Dürkheim | Bad Rappenau | Buchen | Eberbach | Edenkoben | Ladenburg | Lorsch | Mosbach | Neckargemünd | Sinsheim | Weinheim | Walldürn
Landscapes: Kurpfalz | Neckar river | Odenwald | Pfalz (Palatinate) | Rhine river
Nearby areas: Frankfurt | Heidelberg | Karlsruhe | Stuttgart | Trier | Würzburg, see also: Alsace (F) | Lorraine (F) | Wissembourg (F)


Urban districts and districts in the Federal State of Baden-Württemberg in Germany
Urban
districts

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

af:Heidelberg

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