Heidelberg Airfares (HDB) - Germany

Heidelberg, Germany - City Overview and Airfare Information

Heidelberg

Heidelberg is a 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.

The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO), The German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), and several Max Planck Institutes (MPI) - 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 reside in Heidelberg.

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).

Heidelberg consists of 14 districts:

• Central:
  • Altstadt, Bergheim, Weststadt
• North:
  • Neuenheim, Handschuhsheim
• East:
  • Ziegelhausen, Schlierbach
• South:
  • Südstadt, Rohrbach, Emmertsgrund, Boxberg
• South-West:
  • Kirchheim
• West:
  • Bahnstadt, 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 employment for 7,000.

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, Eppelheim, Plankstadt

Ladenburg, Eberbach, Erbach, Bergstraße (scenic road, German for Mountain road), Rhine river, Black Forest, the Palatinate

• Campbell Barracks (HQ USAREUR) and Mark Twain Village (both Südstadt)
• Patton Barracks (Kirchheim)
• Patrick Henry Village (west of Kirchheim)
• Tompkins Barracks (Schwetzingen)
• 130th Station Hospital (Rohrbach)
• MEDDAC Headquarters (Rohrbach)

• February: 'Ball Der Vampire' (Ball of the Vampires) Celebrates Fasching (the German equivalent of Mardis Gras or Carnival) with a giant vampire-themed costume party at the local castle or city hall
• March/April: 'Heidelberger Frühling' Classic Music Festival
• March/April: Internationaler Ostereiermarkt (Easter Eggs)
• April: Half marathon - last weekend
• May: Frühlingsmesse on the Messplatz
• July/August: 'Heidelberger Castle Festival' (Student Prince and others)
• June-September: Fireworks on first Saturday 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 Theater Days, '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

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

• Montpellier, France, since 1961
• Cambridge, United Kingdom, since 1965
• Rehovot, Israel, since 1983
• Simferopol, Ukraine, since 1991
• Bautzen, Saxony, since 1991
• Kumamoto, Japan, since 1992

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:

• Memorial for José Rizal Mercado y Alonzo Realonda, national hero of the Philippines, at Bergheimerstr. 5 (the former eye-hospital, where he worked)
• John Rabe Communication Centre, at L.Krehlstr.56 (Ph: 47 30 45) for his work in Nanjing ( Nanjing Massacre)

• In shortest way:
  • Heidelberg was first mentioned in 1196 in a book.
  • Its university, the oldest in Germany, was founded in 1386.
  • Reformed Heidelberg Catechism approved in 1563, defining differences from Catholicism. Luther discussed his theses in town.
  • City burned and castle partly destroyed by the French during the War of the Palatinate Succession in 1693. It was partially rebuilt, but some years later it burned down as a result of being struck by lightning. The family of Karl Theodor, Elector of Bavaria (Charles IV) left town.
  • The so called Student Prince is a melodramatic operetta written by Sigmund Romberg (music) and Dorothy Donnelly (book and lyrics), based on Wilhelm Meyer-Förster's play Alt Heidelberg - a myth of love in the 1830-1840 of Prince Karl Franz and Kathie.
  • 1945 - The city is turned over to American military leaders undamaged.

• Since 1155 - The oldest castle and the settlement comes into the possession of the Hohenstaufens under Palgrave Konrad.
• 1196 - 'Heidelberch' is mentioned in a document for the first time.
• 1225 - Duke Ludwig von Bayern obtains the Palatinate, and thus also the castle, which is mentioned in a document.
• In 1303 two castles are mentioned, of which the one located further up the mountain is destroyed in a gunpowder explosion in 1537. The Palace from today is then built at the site of the lower castle.
• 1359 - The palgraves are granted far-reaching rights in the 'Golden Bull' in addition to the becoming electors.
• 1386 - The oldest university in Germany today is founded in Heidelberg by Elector Ruprecht I.

• 1400 - Elector Ruprecht III becomes king, calling himself Ruprecht I von der Pfalz.
• Heidelberg's library, founded in 1421, is the oldest public library in Germany still intact.
• 1508-44 - Elector Ludwig V renews the defensive structures and domestic building of the Palace.
• 1537 - A lightning bolt destroys the upper castle.
• 1556-1659 - Elector Otto Heinrich has probably the most beautiful Renaissance palace north of the Alps built.
• 1563 - Reformed Heidelberg Catechism approved, defining differences from Catholicism. Martin Luther discussed his theses in town.
• The great classical scholar Friedrich Sylburg was librarian to the elector palatine from 1591 to 1596.
• 1610 - The famous Palace Gardens (Hortus Palatinus) are laid out and the 'Englischer Bau' (English Building) and the 'Elisabethentor' (Elisabethan Gate) are erected by Elector Friedrich V.

• 1619 - The Protestant Diet in Bohemia elects Friedrich V King.

• 1620 - He is defeated in the 'Schlacht am Weißen Berge' (Battle on White Mountain) by the Emperor and simultaneously loses his title as Elector and King.

• 1622 - The imperial general Tilly conquers the town and palace in Heidelberg.

• 1623 - The imperial forces carry off the famous 'Palatinate Library' (Biblioteca Palatina, today at the Vatican) as war-booty. The Palatinate looses three-quarters of its population in the war.

• 1649 - The Peace of Westphalia is concluded; the Palatinate is granted a new electorship. Elector Karl Ludwig has the Palace and University renewed.

• 1685 - The Pfalz-Simmer line dies out with Elector Karl II without an male-successor. King Louis XIV of France raises hereditary claim for his sister-in-law Liselotte von der Pfalz without her consent. The War of Palatinate Succession begins.

• 1688/89 - The French troops take Heidelberg in the course of the War of Palatinate Succession and destroy the Palace, the town and villages and towns in the whole Rhine valley before retreating.

• 1693 - Louis' troops occupy Heidelberg again, blow up all fortifications and burn the town to the ground.

• From 1697 - The residents of Heidelberg return to the town and begin with rebuilding.
• 1720 - The residence of the Elector is moved to Mannheim.
• From 1742 - Elector Karl Theodor begins rebuilding the Palace.

• 1764 - A lightning bolt destroys other palace buildings during rebuilding, causing the work to be discontinued.
• 1803 - Heidelberg falls to the Grand Duchy of Baden. Karl Friedrich (Charles Frederick) has the university of Heidelberg refounded.

• From 1810 - The French revolution-emigrant Count Charles Graimberg begins with the preservation of the palace ruins and the establishment of a historical collection.

• 1848 - A conference in Heidelberg votes to convene a German national assembly in Frankfurt. Look at Civil-war Gen. F. Hecker

• 1860 - The palace-ruin is illuminated with 'Bengal lights' for the first time.

• Around 1900 - Restorations and historicizing interior work are carried out on the palace.
• The Student Prince is an operetta written by Sigmund Romberg based on Wilhelm Meyer-Förster's play Alt Heidelberg opened on December 2, 1924 at Jolson's 59th Street Theatre on Broadway. Ernst Lubitsch made a famous silent film of the operetta starring Ramon Novarro and Norma Shearer, entitled The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg. The stage work was revived twice on Broadway - in the 1930s and the 1940s.
• 1945 - The city is turned over to American military leaders undamaged. (Later on: North Atlantic Treaty Organization). The denazificatd university is reopened at nov. 1945.

• Since 1957 - There is an 'Amerka-Haus' at Heidelberg.
• Heidelberg's library: 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 the Holy Spirit (Heiliggeist Kirche).
• 1990 - 2006 First women elected Lordmayor (Oberbürgermeisterin) in town: Beate Weber

• 1424, 1 January, Ludwig IV. der Sanftmütige; † 13 August 1449 in Worms; Kurfürst von der Pfalz
• 1448, 14 July, Philipp der Aufrichtige; † 25. February 1508 in Germersheim; Kurfürst von der Pfalz
• 1648 Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine (* 22 December 1617 - 28 August 1680), back in his anch. town, was the second son of Friedrich V, the Winter King, and his wife, Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of King James I of England. His daughter:
• 1652, 27 May, Liselotte von der Pfalz; † 8. December 1722 in Saint-Cloud near Paris; Duchess of Orléans, sister-in-law of Louis XIV.
• 1692 or 1698, Joseph Süß Oppenheimer, called Jud Süß; † 4. February 1738 in Stuttgart (hanged); banker of the Kings of Württemberg.
• 1797, 11 January, Carl Rottmann; † 7 July 1850 in Munich; landscape painter
• 1809, 19 August, Karl Christian Nadler; † 26 August 1849, poet
• 1829 Anton Friedrich Justus Thibaut
• 1851, Robert Wilhelm Bunsen, 30. March 1811 in Holzminden; † 16 August 1899 in Heidelberg; chemist
• 1852 Carl Adolph von Vangerow
• 1860 Alexandru Ioan Cuza *20 March 1820 in GalaÅ£i|Galatz/Rumänien; † 15 May 1873 in Heidelberg; first prince and founder of Romania.
• 1863, 21 June, Max Wolf; † 3 October 1932, astronomer
• 1869 Hermann von Helmholtz; physicist
• 1870 Gustav Kirchhoff; physicist
• 1871, 4 February, Friedrich Ebert; † 28 February 1925 in Berlin; President of the first German Republic (1919-1925), Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (SPD)
• 1886 J. Viktor von Scheffel, Honorary Citizenship in Heidelberg
• 1895 Otto von Bismarck, Honorary Citizenship in Heidelberg
• 1895, 29 March, Ernst Jünger; † 17 February 1998 in Riedlingen; writer
• 1898 Adolph Kussmaul, physician
• 1899, 22 July, Wolfgang Metzger,† 20 December 1979 in Bebenhausen, psychologist and founder of the Berlin school of Gestalt theory
• 1900 Hans-Georg Gadamer, philosopher
• 1906, 25 December, Ernst Ruska; † 27 May 1988 in Berlin; inventor of the electron microscope
• 1909 Hilde Domin, (* 27 July at Cologne; † 22. February 2006 at Heidelberg) lyric poet
• 1910 Cromartie Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 22nd Earl of Sutherland, 4th Duke of Sutherland (1851-1913)
• 1920, Carl Bosch * 27. August 1874 in Cologne; † 26 April 1940 in Heidelberg, chemist, technician, CEO BASF 1919-1925 und IG Farben 1925-1935, President of Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft 1937-1940, Nobel prize winner in Chemistry 1931
• 1922 Ludolf von Krehl, physician, Honorary Citizenship in Heidelberg
• 1923, Ernst Toller, * 1 December 1893 in Samotschin, Posen; † 22 May 1939 in New York City, pacifist, revolutionary, book writer
• 1925, 20 September, Rama VIII.; † 9 June 1946 in Bangkok, King of Thailand
• 1925, Stefan George, * 12 July 1868 in Büdesheim; † 4 December 1933 in Minusio bei Locarno, poet and writer
• 1926 Wilhelm Salomon-Calvi, Honorary Citizenship in Heidelberg
• 1928 Jacob Gould Schurman, Honorary Citizenship in Heidelberg
• 1929, Karl Jaspers, * 23 February 1883 in Oldenburg; † 26 February 1969 in Basel; philosopher, psychiatrist
• 1929, Otto Meyerhof, * 12 April 1884 in Hannover; † 6 October 1951 in Philadelphia, Jewish-German physician and biochemist with philosophical and psychological leanings, Nobel prize winner in Medicine 1922, first director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for medical research in Heidelberg
• 1934, Georg Wittig, * 16 June 1897 in Berlin; † 26 August 1987 in Heidelberg; (Wittig reaction), Nobel prize winner in Chemistry 1979
• 1939, Gustav Radbruch, * 21 November 1878 in Lübeck; † 23 November 1949 in Heidelberg, lawyer and politician, Justice Minister 1921-1922, 1923
• 1943, 23 December, Silvia Sommerlath, Queen of Sweden
• 1946 in HD, Fritz Neidlinger, Jazz musician (Tenor-Sax) – Honorary Citizenship in New Orleans (2005)
• 1954 Richard Benz (born 1884 in Dresden) receives Honorary Citizenship in Heidelberg (not related to Karl Benz etc.)
• 1957, 21 October, Wolfgang Ketterle, Nobel prize winner in Physics (2001)
• 1957, 23 July, Rufus Beck, actor
• 1976, 4 November, Alexander Popp, professional tennis player

• 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.

For more details, please see the German Wikipedia page de:Liste Heidelberger Persönlichkeiten

• Steven P. Remy: The Heidelberg Myth: The Nazification and Denazification of a German University. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2002. 329 P. ISBN 0-674-00933-9. (History about Spruchkammerverfahren-whitewashing in the proceedings before Dena...)