Heidelberg, population in 2012 at 149,633, is considered one of the most beautiful cities in all of Germany. Click on this link to access a photo: http://www.britannica.com/
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE in April: High - 60's Low - 40's
A bit of trivia (for Harry Potter fans): Heidelberg is the home of a professional Quidditch team.
The oldest intact public library in Germany is found in Heidelberg.
Almond and fig trees grow in Heidelberg, among the warmest German regions, in the country. Also, you may encounter a wild population of African rose-winged parakeets which can survive in Heidelberg.
Sites you can visit in Heidelberg in addition to the parakeets and trees:
Go to:
the Royal Wine Cellar where the biggest wine barrel in the world is located. Made from 130 oak trees, this barrel measures 7 meters (22.9 feet) wide, and 8 meters, (26 and 1/4') and holds approximately 221,725 quarts of wine.
Philosopher's Way (Philosophen Weg), a path that overlooks Heidelberg's 'Old Town,' will take you along a trail that leads to a park dedicated to the poet, Friederich Holderin - Thingskatte - a now overgrown amphitheater built by the Nazi Party in the 1930's, and the ruins of St. Michael's Monastery (Michaelkoster). Friederich Holderin's poetry has been set to music by many composers - Brahms, for example, set these lines to music:
"Ye wander gladly in light
Though goodly mansion dwellers in Spiritland!"
Heidelberg Castle, a mix of styles from Gothic to Renaissance, is located on Mt. Koenigstuhl. A Heidelberg Castle Festival takes place every summer here. The castle was struck by lightening in 1764.
Old Town (Hauptstrasse - main street) for pedestrians only is one mile long. One of the longest shopping streets in Germany. Check out the old apothecary.
Old Stone Bridge was opened in 1788
Karls Gate (Karlstor), opened in 1781
Church of the Holy Spirit (Heileiggeist Kirche)
HEIDELBERG - WORLD WAR II:
From 1933 - 1945, Heidelberg was a stronghold for the Nazi Party. As early as 1933 a purge of non-Aryan professors began at the university. They were forced out. By 1940 most of the Jewish population had been deported and few survived.
In 1933, the Nazis built Thingstatte to host Nazi and SS events. Many Wehrmacht soldiers are buried here. The city was not bombed during the war; many speculate that Americans spared the city from bombing because the US Army planned to set up its headquarters in this beautiful city. Also, Heidelberg was not an industrial hub.
As the Wehrmacht departed from Heidelberg on March 29, 1945, they destroyed three arches on the "old bridge." The Third Infantry, Seventh Army, US, entered the city on March 30, 1945 and the civilian population surrendered peacefully. The university, which had been closed, reopened in 1945.
On December 9, 1945, General George Patton was injured in a car accident in Mannheim; he was brought to the US Army Hospital in Heidelberg for treatment. General Patton died at the hospital on December 21, 1945. A funeral at Christkirche in Heidelberg was followed by the general's burial in Luxembourg.
US Armed Forces has used Heidelberg as its headquarters since 1945. By 2015, the US Army will move from Heidelberg to Weisbaden. The barracks and housing areas will be handed back to the Germans.
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