Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 11.djvu/657

HEIDELBERG 623 erected at the beginning of the 15th century, of which the nave is used for Protestant, the choir for Old Catholic wor ship ; and the Jesuitenkirche, with sumptuously decorated interior. All these are built in the Gothic style. The rath- haus, the museum, and the university (1712) are large but common-place erections. Two handsome bridges cross the Neckar. That to the east, opposite the castle (built 1788), is adorned with a gateway, and with statues of Minerva and the elector Charles Theodore of the palatinate ; the other (built 1877) unites Heidelberg and Neuenheim. In the west part of the town there is a bronze statue of Field-Marshal Prince Wrede (1767-1838), erected in 1860 by Louis I., king of Bavaria. The chief building at Heidelberg, and indeed its chief attraction for strangers, is the famous castle which overhangs the west part of the town. It is situated on the Castlehill, more properly called the Jettenbuhel, 330 feet above the Neckar. Though now a ruin, yet its extent, its magnificence, its beautiful situation, its interesting history, render it by far the most noteworthy, as it certainly is the grandest and largest, of the old castles Ground-Plan of Heidelberg Castle. A. Rupert s Building. B. Old or Rudolph s Building. C. The Thick Tower. D. The English or Eliza beth s Building. K. The Great-Tun Room. F. Frederick s Build ing. O. The Octagonal Tower. II. Otto Henry s Build ing, I. Library Tower. K. Louis s Tower. L. The Blown - up Tower. M. Louis s Tower. of Germany. It was begun about the end of the 13th century. Elector Rupert greatly improved it, and erected the Rupert s building in the early part of the 15th century ; succeeding electors of the palatinate did much for it. especially Frederick V., the unfortunate king of Bohemia. It suffered greatly during the Thirty Years War, but was restored by Charles Louis (1650-1680). It was dismantled by the French in 1689, and again in 1693. In 1764 it was struck by lightning and its destruction completed. The castle as it at present stands is a square edifice formed of several distinct structures built round a large court-yard ; the entrance is on the south side. The court-yard contains a fountain adorned with four granite pillars brought from Charlemagne s palace at Ingelheim. The chief parts of the castle are Rupert s building (about 1400) on the left; Otto Henry s building (1556) on the right, " the finest example of Renaissance architecture in Germany," a lofty building of which the front is richly decorated; Frederick s building (1601), the finest part, forming the northern portion of the whole, and adorned with a large number of imposing statues. Within this is the chapel, and behind it the Altan (1610), or castle balcony, which directly overhangs the town and from which the finest of Heidelberg views is obtained. The castle contains an interesting antiquarian museum 1 formed by the Count Grairnberg, and the celebrated Great Tun, which was built in 1751, but has been only used on one or two occasions. Its capacity is 49,000 gallons. There is a castle garden, spacious and well laid out. The university of Heidelberg is the oldest in the German kingdom. It was founded in 1356 by the elector Rupert, but it was not till 1386, when it obtained papal sanction, that its real life begins. It was constructed after the type of Paris, had four faculties, and possessed numerous privi leges. Marselius von Inghen was its first rector. Frederick the Victorious, Philip the Upright, and Louis V. respect ively cherished it. Otto Henry gave it a new organiza tion, further endowed it, and founded the library. At the Reformation it became a stronghold of Protestant learning. The famous Heidelberg catechism was drawn up by its theologians. Then the tide turned. Damaged by the Thirty Years War, it led a struggling existence for a century and a half. A large portion of its remaining endowments were cut off by the peace of Lun6ville (1801). In 1803 however the elector Charles Frederick raised it anew, and reconstituted it under the name of "Ruperto-Carolina." At present (1880) it has 38 ordinary and 26 extraordinary professors. The students number about 500 in winter, and from 800 to 900 in summer. A very large propor tion are English and Americans. The library was first kept in the choir of the Heiliggeistkirche, and then con sisted of 3500 MSS. In 1623 it was sent to Rome by Tilly, and stored as Bibliotheca Palatina in the Vatican. It was afterwards taken to Paris, and iu 1815 was restored to Heidelberg. In 1703 the new library was founded; it has now nearly 300,000 volumes, besides many valuable MSS. Among the other university institutions are the academic hospital, the maternity hospital, the physiologi cal institution, the chemical laboratory, and the zoological museum. The other educational foundations are a gymnasium and a burgher and a real school. There is a small theatre (closed during the summer months) and a Kunstverein. The manu factures of Heidelberg are unimportant. The inhabitants chiefly support themselves by supplying the wants of a large and increasing body of foreign permanent residents, of the considerable body of tourists who during the summer pass through the town, and of the university students. The population of the town and outlying suburbs was 19,988 in 1871, and 22,334 (or including Neuenheim, 23,918) in 1875. About one-third are Catholics. The town is well lighted, and is supplied with excellent water from the Wolfsbrunnen. Heidelberg at an early period was a fief of the bishop of Worms, but the rulers of the palatinate came more and more to reside there, till Count Otho of Wittelsbach (1228-1253) made it the capital of the palatinate, and this it continued to be for nearly six centuries. As Heidelberg was one of the great centres of the Reformed faith, it suffered severely in the Thirty Years War. In 1622 it was sacked by Tilly, and in 1633 was taken by the Swedes. In 1634 it was beleaguered by the Bavarians. In 1635 it was occupied by the imperial forces under Gallas. At the peace of Westphalia (1648) Charles Louis, son of Frederick V., was restored, and he did much to raise the castle, the university, and the town. In 1688, and again in 1693, it was sacked by the French. On the last occasion, so thorougn was the work of destruction that only one house a quaintly decorated erection in the Marktplatz now used as an inn escaped. In 1720 Charles Philip removed his court to Mannheim, and in 1803 the town became part of the grand duchy of Baden. On 5th March 1848 was held the famous Heidel berg assembly, at which steps were taken that led to the German revolution of that year.

1 This museum was acquired by the town in 1879.