Marksberg Castle

Nestled in a hill 300 feet above the city stands the breath-taking Heidelberg Castle. The castle is a combination of several buildings surrounding an inner courtyard, put together with a haphazard look. Each building highlights a different period of German architecture.

The first parts of the castle were constructed around 1300, but it wasn’t before Prince Ruprecht III (1398 – 1410) that the castle was used as a royal residence. The castle was the residence for most of the Prince Electors until it was destroyed by lightning in 1764 leaving it permanently uninhabitable.

In 1800, Count Charles de Graimberg began conserving the castle ruins. Up until this time, the citizens of Heidelberg had used the castle bricks to build new houses.

From the Great Terrace or the gardens, we saw an amazing view of the town of Heidelberg, the Neckar River, and the Neckar valley far into the Rhine plain.

Heidelberg Castle Note the broken portion on the RH side, destroyed by French in 1688 and the broken LH side destroyed by fire from lightning in 1768 It was never rebuilt.
Here's a shot of the goddess of fertility as a part of a "Triumphal Arch" known as Elisabeth's Gate, located near the entrance.	The legend is that the gate was built in a single night by Prince Elector Friedrich V in 1615 as a birthday present for his English princess, Elisabeth Stuart. ...More
The Neckar valley and the Rhine plain. Mannheim is even visible on the horizon.	View of the Neckar River and the town from the castle terrace
World's largest wine barrel in the basement	In 1751, the year of its construction, this one had a capacity of 58,573 U.S. gallons. One hundred and thirty oak trees were reputedly used in its construction. It has only rarely been used as a wine barrel.
Relief near the entrance. Note the missing coat of arms; had been stolen in past times by invading armies	Several different architectural styles seen on the castle grounds. Note the building on the right that was destroyed by fire after a lightning strike. We noticed that all the castles and high points had lightning rods.


Nice Benz police car in town	Note the "QR" code painted on the police car rear fender. You can take a picture of it with a smart phone and connect with the police webpage.. More on QR barcodes