The city in the Neckar River valley was founded a long time ago: the first bridge and watchtower fortress were built here by the ancient Romans. Later, the Palatinate electors erected a palace on the site of the fortress. They also contributed to the opening of the university in the city in 1386. There is a legend that thanks to this university, Heidelberg remained unharmed during World War II. According to the legend, American bombers ordered to destroy Heidelberg simply refused to drop bombs on the target. Because they could not destroy the city and university where they had studied and where their best years had passed. They dropped all their ammunition on the city of Mannheim, which is located 15 km from Heidelberg. As a result, only a pile of dust and brick remained of Mannheim. Therefore, to this day in Heidelberg we can see the architecture of the early 18th century.
To get into the city, you need to pass through a gate built in 1775 by Karl Theodor. In the past, customs officials here always collected a fee for imported goods. Entering Heidelberg, you will find yourself on Hauptstrasse. This street stretches for about one and a half kilometers and is rightly recognized as the longest shopping pedestrian street in Europe. Walking along it, you can see the old university building, which now houses a local history museum. Further along the road are old student taverns. The complex of buildings of the old university also reminds of the good old days; there you should definitely see the magnificent assembly hall and the colorful student prison. In this complex there is an old university library, famous for its collection of manuscripts. In general, the student town has many interesting things: the Tower of Witches and Robbers, ancient cathedrals, etc. Once on the embankment, you will see the most impressive structure in Heidelberg - an old bridge with openwork entrance gates and a cute little monkey at the entrance.
It is extremely interesting to see the largest pharmaceutical museum in the country and the House of the Great Barrel, which contains the largest container in the world with a capacity of 222,000 liters, and its keeper - the jester Perkeo - a great lover of drinking. By the way, the love of good wine and beer is quite in the traditions of the city. Its residents really like to spend their free time in taverns and cafes. There are many interesting stories on this topic. One of them happened at the Knosel café.
In ancient times, this café was visited by a lovely young lady accompanied by strict and vigilant governesses, which, however, did not prevent her from exchanging meaningful smiles with the students - regulars of the café. The owner of the café noticed this and made chocolate with the image of a kissing couple, calling it “The Student's Kiss.” (Even today you can buy it as a souvenir.) The lady simply flushed when she saw these candies. “But that didn't happen!” she exclaimed. “For I only dreamed about it!” Perhaps that is the secret of old Heidelberg: even the most cherished dreams come true here.
Some call Heidelberg a student city. And for good reason, because out of 140,000 residents, every fifth is a student of the university, a pedagogical or music higher school. The Heidelberg scientific school has been famous for centuries, and today developments are also being carried out here that have received worldwide recognition in the fields of medicine, biotechnology, economics, and natural sciences. In addition, Heidelberg is also known for its industrial products. For example, in distant Ghana, Heidelberg cement is used in construction, for a newspaper publisher in Baghdad, wide-format printing presses from the Heidelberg plant are used, and scientific works of Chinese scientists are published by the Heidelberg publishing house for scientific and technical literature.