Rhine. Heidelberg was taken and burnt, 1688, by Melac, a general whose brutality and cruelty surpassed that of Tilly. But it was at the following siege, under Chamilly, in 1693, that it was reserved for the French to display the most merciless tyranny, and practise excesses worthy of fiends rather than men, upon the town and its inhab., paralleled only in the French Revolution, and which will ever render the name of Frenchman odious in the Palatinate. The castle was betrayed through the cowardice or treachery of the governor, with the garrison, and many of the townspeople who had fled to it for refuge. The cruelty of the treatment they met with was, in this instance, heightened by religious intolerance, and no mercy was shown to the Protestants. On this occasion the castle was entirely ruined. The University, founded 1386, is one of the oldest in Germany: the number of students is about 700. It is as a school of law and medicine that Heidelberg is most distinguished. Many of the professors at the present time are men of great reputation: Gmelin, distinguished in natural history and chemistry; Tiedemann, in anatomy; Paulus, in theology; Mittermeyer, in criminal law. Gervinus and Schlosser reside here in retirement. As an edifice the University is not remarkable. It is a plain and not very large house in the small square (Ludwigs Platz) near the middle of the town. The Library, in a building by itself, consists of 120,000 volumes, besides MSS. A portion of the famous Palatine Library, which was carried off by the Bavarians in the Thirty Years' War, and sent to the Vatican as a present to the Pope, and as a trophy of the success of the Catholic cause, was restored to Heidelberg by Pope Pius VII. in 1815. The volumes sent back, 890 in number, relate principally to German history. It is related that Tilly, being in want of straw after taking the castle, littered his cavalry with books and MSS. from the library of the Elector, at that time one of the most valuable in Europe. The curiosities of this collection as it at present stands are,-a Codex of the Greek Anthology, 11th cent.; MSS. of Thucydides and Plutarch, of the 10th and 11th, and many autographs of remarkable persons; Luther's MS. translation of Isaiah; his Exhortation to Prayer against the Turks; and a copy of the Heidelberg Catechism, annotated by him; the Prayer-book of the Electress Elizabeth (James I.'s daughter); a Mass-book, ornamented with miniatures, by John Dentzel of Ulm, 1499. The library is freely open to all persons for 2 hrs. daily, except on Sundays. The Anatomical and Zoological Museums are placed in a building in the suburb, formerly a Dominican convent. Several professors have good Private Collections; the best are Creuzers' cabinet of antiquities; Leonhard's fossils and minerals, particularly rich in specimens illustrative of the geology of this part of Germany; and Professor Bronn's fossils of the neighbourhood of Heidelberg. There is also a dealer in minerals, the produce of the neighbouring district, at No. 211, Schiffgasse. The Museum Club (§ 44), opposite the University, contains reading, ball, and concert rooms, well supplied with papers and journals. Neither the public nor private buildings in the town are at all remarkable in an architectural point of view, chiefly owing to the destruction caused by repeated sieges. One house, however, survives, which in the richly decorated façade, ornamented with statues, coats of arms, &c., may give some notion of former splendour; it is the inn called Zum Ritter, from the figure of a knight on the top it was built in 1592. It stands in the market-place, near the Church of the Holy Ghost, in which many electors and counts palatine were buried. Their fine monuments were destroyed by the French in 1793, when neither reverence for the dead nor the sacredness of the building prevented it becoming the scene of slaughter and sacrilege. The church is divided by a partition wall between the Catholics and Protestants, and the two services are performed under the same roof. The resistance of the townspeople to one of the electors, who wanted to deprive the Protestants of their half of this church, occasioned him to remove the Electoral court from Heidelberg to Mannheim in 1719-20. The Ch. of St. Peter is remarkable as being the oldest in the town, and because Jerome of Prague, the companion of Huss, attached to its door his celebrated theses, which he maintained, at the same time expounding the Reformed doctrines to a large multitude of hearers assembled in the adjoining churchyard. Here also is the simple tomb of Olimpia Morata, who combined the feminine grace and beauty of a woman with the intellect and learning of a philosopher. Persecuted as a heretic in Italy, the land of her birth, she was forced to fly, along with her husband, a German, and at length settled at Heidelberg, where she delivered lectures to a large and admiring audience. Her extraordinary acquirements in learning, her beauty, misfortunes, and early death, shed a peculiar interest upon her grave. The objects of greatest interest here are the Castle, and the views of the Rhine and Neckar valley. The CASTLE, anciently the residence of the Electors Palatine, presenting the combined character of a palace and a fortress, is an imposing ruin. The building displays the work of various hands, the taste of different founders, and the styles of successive centuries: it is highly interesting for its varied fortunes, its picturesque situation, its vastness, and the relics of architectural magnificence which it still displays, after having been three times burnt, and having ten times experienced the horrors of war. Its final ruin, ever, did not arise from those causes; but after the greater part of the building had been restored to its former splendour in 1718-20, it was set on fire by lightning in 1764; and since the total conflagration which ensued, it has never been rebuilt or tenanted. It is at present only a collection of red stone walls, and has remained roofless for nearly a century. It is approached by a carriage-road from behind, and by a winding foot-path on the side of the Neckar. The oldest part remaining is probably that built by the Electors Rudolph and Rupert. It has all the character of a stronghold of the middle ages, and the teeth of the portcullis still project from beneath the archway leading to it. The Friedrichsbau, named from the Elector, who built it in 1607, is distinguished by excessive richness of decoration: its façade to the S. is ornamented with statues of ancestors of the Electoral family from Charlemagne. The part of the building most deserving of admiration, for the good taste of its design and the elegance of its decorations, is that which overlooks the river, and extends along the E. side of the quadrangle (g in the plan), built by Otto Henry (1556), in the style called cinque-cento, which is allied to the Elizabethan of England. The statues of heroes from sacred and profane history, which decorate the front, though of (keuper) sandstone, are by no means contemptible as works of art. The English traveller will view with some interest that part of the castle called the English Palace (s), from its having been built for the reception of the Princess Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of James I., and grand-daughter of Mary Queen of Scots. The triumphal arch (2), having pillars entwined with ivy-leaves, was erected by her husband, the Elector Frederick V., afterwards King of Bohemia, to celebrate their nuptials; it led to the flower-garden which he caused to be laid out for her pleasure, and it still goes by the name of Elizabethen Pforte. "When her husband hesitated to accept the crown of Bohemia, this highhow-hearted wife exclaimed, 'Let me rather eat dry bread at a king's table than feast at the board of an elector:' and it seemed as if some avenging demon hovered in the air to take her literally at her word; for she and her family lived to eat dry bread-ay, and to beg it before they ate it; but she would be a queen."-MRS. JAMESON. The granite pillars supporting the canopy of the well (n) in the corner of the court of the castle are said by some to have been brought from Charlemagne's pa The d. Building of Frederick IV. (1607). statues in the façade are ancestors of the reigning house of Bavaria, from Charlemagne and Otho of Wittelsbach. e. Cellar containing the Tun. f. Entrance to it. g. Building of Otho Henry, or Ritter Saal, begun 1556, finished 1559. This is the finest portion of the Castle; it is in the best style of Italian architecture, and the sculpture with which it is decorated is of high merit. h. Octagon Tower (1525), first struck by the lightning which finally consumed the Castle in 1764. 7. Oldest part of the Castle, begun in 1300 by the Elector Rudolph. m. Rupert's Building, begun 1400. n. Well, under a Canopy supported by pillars brought from Ingelheim (of Odenwald granite). o. Grand Gateway (1355), with Portcullis. p. The Blown-up Tower. The Gate raised in honour of the English Princess Elizabeth, daughter of James I.; her great-grandson was George I. r. The Garden. s. The English Building erected for the Princess Elizabeth, by her husband the Elector Frederick IV. (1607). t. Tower built by Elector Lewis V. 1533. Its walls are 22 ft. thick. It was destroyed by the French, 1689. or 283,200 bottles, which is far less, after all, than the dimensions of one of the porter vats of a London brewer. In former days, when the tun was filled with the produce of the vintage, it was usual to dance on the platform on the top. It has, however, remained empty since 1769, more than half a century. One of the towers which formed the outer defences of the Castle (der gesprengte Thurm) (p), was undermined and blown up by the French; but so thick were the walls, and so strongly built, that, though nearly the whole of one side was detached by the explosion, instead of crumbling to pieces it merely slid down from its place, in one solid mass, into the ditch, where it still remains. Subterranean passages, for the most part still preserved and accessible, extend under the ramparts. The Gardens (originally laid out by the engineer Solomon de Caus) and Shrubberies round the castle, and the adjoining Terrace to the eastward, afford the most agreeable walks and splendid points of view it is possible to conceive over the Neckar, issuing out of its vine-clad valley, and winding through a plain of the utmost fertility to join the Rhine, which appears here and there in distant flashes glittering in the sun. Spires and towers proclaim the existence of cities and villages almost without number, and the landscape is bounded by the outline of the Vosges mountains. The best general View of the Castle may be obtained from the extremity of the terrace raised upon arches, and projecting over the Neckar. The building, however, is so grand an object, and the surrounding country so exceedingly beautiful, that the stranger will hardly be satisfied with seeing it from one point. He should mount the heights on the rt. bank of the Neckar, either by a path leading from the end of the bridge, which is steep, or by a more gradual ascent from Neuenheim. An agreeable path, easily accessible, called the Philosopher's Walk, conducts along the slope of the hill fronting the town. The hill behind it, which stands in the angle between the valley of the Rhine and Neckar, called the Heiligenberg, presents a more extensive prospect. On the top are ruins of a castle and church of St. Michael, which succeeded to a Roman fort built on the spot. In 1391 the wild sect called Flagellants made a pilgrimage to this holy mountain, clad in black, and wearing a white cross in front and behind. In the Thirty Years' War Tilly opened his trenches to bombard the town from this point. About 50 yards above the bridge, on the rt. bank, in a solitary inn called Hirschgasse, the students' duels are fought. 4 or 5 sometimes take place in a day; and it is no uncommon thing for a student to have been engaged in 25 or 30, as principal, in the course of 4 or 5 years. The Königstuhl, the highest hill in this district, lies behind the town and castle. The summit may be reached in 1 or 1 hr.'s walk, or in a carriage, and the view is the most extensive in the neighbourhood. A lofty tower has been erected for the convenience of visitors, who often repair hither to see the sun rise, and if possible to extend the limits of the panorama, which includes the valleys of the Rhine and Neckar, the Odenwald, Haardt Mountains on the W., the Taunus on the N.W., the ridge of the Black Forest on the S., with the Castle of Ebersteinberg, near Baden, and the spire of Strasburg Minster, 90 m. off. Tilly bombarded the town from this hill, after his attack from the rt. bank had failed: remains of his trenches are still visible. There is a small tavern near the top, called Kohlhof, where persons anxious to see the sun rise sometimes pass the night previously. The banks of the Neckar above Heidelberg are very interesting, and afford many pleasant excursions-one of the most agreeable being to Neckargemünd (Inn, Pfalz), 6 m. off; the excursion may be agreeably prolonged to Neckar Steinach, on the rt. bank (Inn, Die Harfe). The course of the Neckar is described in the HANDBOOK FOR S. GERMANY. (Rte. 159.) A road, overlooking the Neckar, runs. from the castle along the shoulder of the hill to the Wolf's Brunnen, an agreeable walk of 2 m. It is a pretty retired nook, named from a spring which rises there. There is a small inn close to it, famed for its beer and trout (kept in great numbers, and fattened in ponds and tanks; many of them attain a large size). Here, according to tradition, the enchantress Jetta, who lived on the spot, and first foretold the greatness of the house of the Palatinate, was torn in pieces by a wolf. You may return hence to Heidelberg by the road along the margin of the river. At Handschuhsheim, about 2 m. on the road to Darmstadt, is one of the most extensive collections in Europe of Mexican Antiquities, belonging to Herr Uhde. The cherries of Dossenheim, a village about 2 m. beyond Handschuhsheim, on the Bergstrasse, are sent by steamboats to the London market. At the village of Neuenheim, which is on the rt. bank of the Neckar, nearly opposite to the railway station, in a house that goes by the name of Mönchhof, according to an obscure tradition, Luther was lodged when he passed through Heidelberg in 1518. Droskies may be hired for excursions in and around the town. Heidelberg is a cheap place of residence, provisions being moderate and abundant. An English gentleman, who resided here in 1834, states his expenses for the year to have been but 3807., including horses, carriage, house-rent, and servants. Eilwägen, daily, to Heilbronn in 7 hrs., to Stuttgard in 12, and to Würzburg in 15 (Rte. 110). Railways-to Mannheim; trains in 35 min., stopping at Friedrichsfeld, which is the junction station of the Frankfurt and Darmstadt Railway. The Baden Railway Heidelberg to Bâle, with branches to Baden-Baden and Kehl (opposite Strasburg): trains to Carlsruhe in 1 hrs.; Baden 3 hrs.; Kehl in 5 hrs.; to Freiburg in 7 hrs.; Haltringen, 8 m. from Bâle, in 9 hrs.: the 2nd-class carriages are commodious, with stuffed seats, and quite respectable. Steamboats on the Neckar to Heilbronn, in 13 or 14 hrs., descending in 7 or 8. (See HANDBOOK S. GERMANY, Rte. 159.) St. Ilgen Stat. The country to the S. of Heidelberg scarcely retains any trace of the beauty of the Bergstrasse, but the line is carried through a flat but fertile country, with a range of hills to the eastward. Wiesloch Stat. rt. The large building called Kisslau was formerly a Ducal Palace, but is now a State Prison. Langenbrücken Stat. Inn, Post. Here are sulphur baths. The establishment is well managed; the house large, commodious, and well furnished. There is a table-d'hôte and music, as usual at German watering-places. (§ 41.) The temperature of the springs ranges between 50 and 60° Fahr.; they are strongly impregnated with sulphur and sulphuretted hydrogen gas, being in their taste and smell very similar to those of Buxton. Bruchsal Stat.-Inns: Poste, good; Badischer Hof, best; Zähringer Hof. This inanimate town of 7200 Inhab. formerly belonged to the Prince-Archbishops of Spire, whose vast Palace, now empty, stands near the gate leading to Frankfurt. Travellers going to Munich and the Tyrol leave the railroad at Bruchsal. Railway, Bruchsal to Ludwigsburg, is in progress. The road from Bruchsal to Stuttgart joins that from Carlsruhe to Stuttgart at Illingen. Weingarten Stat. Durlach Stat., once the residence of the Margraves of Baden-Durlach, now the reigning family since the extinction of the line of Baden-Baden, 1771. An old ruined castle upon a height of the Thurmberg was the cradle of the family in its infancy. The more recent Château or Palace in the town is now deserted and half pulled down; what remains is turned into a cavalry barrack. In the gardens are some Roman altars and milestones, found in the neighbourhood. Eilwägen hence to Wildbad in 6 hrs. After passing (rt.) Gottesau, once a convent, now an artillery barrack, we reach the handsome buildings which compose the |