Heidelberg. / Heidelberg bei L. Meder.

Title

Heidelberg. / Heidelberg bei L. Meder.

Description

Magnificent view of the city of Heidelberg, the Heidelberg Castle, the Old Bridge and the Neckar in the foreground. After Th. Verhas, published by L. Meder.

ca. 1840

Artist

Hürlimann

Historical Description

The oldest written reference to Heidelberg dates back to 1196, but it can be assumed that the town was already established in the course of the 12th century. At that time, Heidelberg belonged to the diocese of Worms and consisted of the upper castle on the Molkenkur on the slope of the Königsstuhl and a castle hamlet in the area of St. Peter's Church at the foot of the mountain. Many of today's districts of Heidelberg date back to villages that were already established in the Frankish period in the 6th century. In 1156, Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa appointed his half-brother Conrad the Hohenstaufen as Count Palatine of the Rhine. The Palatinate was later ruled by the Wittelsbach dynasty and developed into a larger territorial entity within the Holy Roman Empire. Heidelberg had already developed the character of a residential city by the 13th century. Ruprecht I founded the University of Heidelberg in 1386. When the travelers' rule was abandoned in the 14th century, the city was able to assert itself against Neustadt an der Haardt and became the capital of the Electoral Palatinate. Martin Luther' s reformatory ideas had already spread in south-west Germany in the first half of the 16th century and reached Heidelberg clerics early on. However, the Reformation was only introduced in the city after Frederick II came to power in 1545/1546 and had to be quickly withdrawn under pressure from the emperor. It was only under Elector Ottheinrich (1556-1559) that the Reformation was finally introduced in the Electoral Palatinate. The palace was also significantly extended at this time and transformed from a medieval castle into a modern residence. When Elector Charles II died childless in 1685, the Palatinate-Simmern line of the House of Wittelsbach became extinct and the electoral dignity passed to the Catholic collateral line Palatinate-Neuburg. The War of the Palatinate Succession resulted from the inheritance claims that the French King Louis XIV now raised with reference to his sister-in-law Liselotte of the Palatinate. In the course of this war, Heidelberg was captured twice, in 1688 and 1693, by French troops and completely devastated. In the Imperial Deputation of 1803, the Electoral Palatinate was dissolved and the territories on the right bank of the Rhine, including Heidelberg, were transferred to the Grand Duchy of Baden soon afterwards. During the Vormärz, national, liberal and democratic ideas were spread at Heidelberg University. There were also battles against liberal irregulars in Heidelberg. Industrialization initially passed the Neckar city by without leaving any major traces. Tourism developed from the early 19th century.