October 31, 2026
Reformation Day — Public Holiday in Select States
What this means for you
Closures of institutions and shops are possible on that date.
What to do
Check the current status before you arrive.
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📷 Holger Uwe Schmitt / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Heidelberg is one of Germany's most romantic cities, famous for its 13th-century castle that rises in ruins above the Neckar river. The city is home to the oldest university in the German-speaking world, founded in 1386. The old town leads along the main street to the Old Bridge, while the Philosophers' Walk on the opposite hillside offers a sweeping view of the whole scene that has drawn poets and painters for centuries.
October 31, 2026
What this means for you
Closures of institutions and shops are possible on that date.
What to do
Check the current status before you arrive.
December 25, 2026
What this means for you
Closures of institutions and shops are possible on that date.
What to do
Check the current status before you arrive.
December 26, 2026
What this means for you
Closures of institutions and shops are possible on that date.
What to do
Check the current status before you arrive.
January 1, 2027
What this means for you
Closures of institutions and shops are possible on that date.
What to do
Check the current status before you arrive.
March 26, 2027
What this means for you
Closures of institutions and shops are possible on that date.
What to do
Check the current status before you arrive.
March 29, 2027
What this means for you
Closures of institutions and shops are possible on that date.
What to do
Check the current status before you arrive.
May 1, 2027
What this means for you
Closures of institutions and shops are possible on that date.
What to do
Check the current status before you arrive.
May 6, 2027
What this means for you
Closures of institutions and shops are possible on that date.
What to do
Check the current status before you arrive.
May 17, 2027
What this means for you
Closures of institutions and shops are possible on that date.
What to do
Check the current status before you arrive.
October 3, 2027
What this means for you
Closures of institutions and shops are possible on that date.
What to do
Check the current status before you arrive.
Everything you need for Heidelberg in one place
Built in the 13th century and extended through to the 17th, Heidelberg Castle is one of the largest Gothic-Renaissance ruins in Europe — partially destroyed by a lightning strike in 1764, its red sandstone façade has never been restored. In the cellar stands the Great Heidelberg Tun, built in 1751 with a capacity of 221,726 litres, one of the largest wine barrels ever made, complete with a wooden dancing platform on top. The terrace offers sweeping views over the Neckar river and the old town, including the Old Bridge dating from 1788.
A stone arch bridge dating from 1788, the ninth structure to stand on this site — its eight predecessors were destroyed by floods and wars from the 13th century onwards. Around 200 metres long, it was built from local red sandstone that shifts in hue depending on the light. Beside the bridge gate stands a bronze monkey placed there in 1979 by Gernot Rumpf — not a replica, but an entirely new sculpture: the 15th-century stone original was destroyed along with the bridge tower during the War of the Spanish Succession.
A Gothic church begun in 1398 and built over the following 80 years above the tombs of the Palatine Prince-Electors — of the 54 burial vaults dating from 1410 to 1685, only one survives today: the funerary slab of Rupert III and his wife Elisabeth von Hohenzollern; the rest were destroyed in the devastation of 1693. The galleries between the pillars once served as a library housing the Bibliotheca Palatina, one of the largest manuscript collections in Renaissance Europe, before it was transferred to the Vatican Library in 1623 as war spoils.
A praline-nougat wafer coated in dark couverture chocolate, created in the 19th century by chocolatier Fridolin Knösel. The little box was designed to conceal a message that a young lady could receive without her chaperone noticing — hence the name.
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