Background
Good to Know about Heidelberg
The stories behind the sights: why Heidelberg has Germany's oldest university, what the Homo heidelbergensis is all about, who really walked the Philosophers' Walk - and everything that makes Heidelberg what it is.
Ruperto Carola - Germany's Oldest University
Founded in 1386 by Elector Ruprecht I, Heidelberg University remains one of the most prestigious research universities in Europe to this day.
Heidelberg Romanticism
Brentano, Arnim, Eichendorff - how Heidelberg became the cradle of German Romanticism in the early 19th century.
Homo heidelbergensis
The jawbone found in 1907 at Mauer near Heidelberg made the city the namesake of an entire species of early humans.
Heidelberg Student Life
From the student prison to the fraternities, from the Schnookeloch to the Untere Strasse - how studying in Heidelberg has worked for 600 years.
Max Planck Institutes in Heidelberg
From the MPI for Astronomy to the German Cancer Research Center - Heidelberg has one of the densest research landscapes in Europe.
The Philosophers' Walk
Who really strolled here, who the path owes its name to, and why it is probably the finest scenic walk in Germany.