# HEIDELBERG - Хайделберг - ハイデルベルク



## Kampflamm (Dec 28, 2003)

erbse said:


> I hope they finally start to build the tunnel at the Neckar banks. A promenade at this place would be nothing but amazing.


Yeah, this is something a number of German cities are lacking. The east bank of the Rhine in Cologne looks shitty as well. Sad to see that some cities are not using their full potential.



thun from thun said:


> Personally, I think that Heidelberg is a bit overrated. Don't get me wrong, its a nice town, but it certainly isn't the most beautiful or romantic in Germany.


True. The city is quite nice but I personally don't really like the architectural style too much. Most of the buildings look a tad bland and could use more ornaments. A place like Bautzen looked nicer/more interesting.


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## kato2k8 (May 4, 2008)

erbse said:


> I hope they finally start to build the tunnel at the Neckar banks. A promenade at this place would be nothing but amazing.


With the current political climate, i'd give that tunnel a chance of about 20% to ever be realized. 10% for realization before 2020.

Blame the Greens and their favoritism for the _Autogerechte Stadt_... yeah, sounds odd, i know. But their "alternative proposal" would keep the road on the surface and instead push a straight 4- to 6-lane highway right from the A656 straight into the city.

Regierungspräsidium Karlsruhe has proposed that Heidelberg should either build a shorter tunnel (not acceptable) or include a tram in the project on the surface to get more subsidies from the federal level. Or in other words, with S21 in Stuttgart and that tunnel in Karlsruhe (for one billion) the state doesn't have a measly 100 million for Heidelberg. Just the usual thing - the same kinda stuff why Kurpfalz is going for separatism in the long run, already written in the regional statutes as a future goal now. So we don't have to put up with that anymore.



Kampflamm said:


> Most of the buildings look a tad bland and could use more ornaments. A place like Bautzen looked nicer/more interesting.


*shudder*


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## Kampflamm (Dec 28, 2003)

_*shudder* _

Do elaborate. I just find the baroque buildings in Saxony a bit nicer. Most of the buildings in Heidelberg (at least in the old center) have hardly any ornaments at all.


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## erbse (Nov 8, 2006)

^ And I agree with Kampflamm on that one. Even Tübingen offers more inviting, ornate and creative facades.
There's a strange lack of baroque plasticism in Heidelberg, that is actually rather unusual for the Swabian region.


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## Johnor (Jan 8, 2008)

The charm of Heidelberg lies in its location. In the valley of Neckar.

http://yi.com/home/EysenbachGunther/images/heidelberg.jpg

I personally prefer Tubingen!
http://www.architekturforum.net/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=1437


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## Dr.Seltsam (May 28, 2008)

erbse said:


> ...Heidelberg, that is actually rather unusual for the Swabian region.


Swabian?! GRRRRRRRRRR! :rant:


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## Kampflamm (Dec 28, 2003)

It's like calling West Pommeranians Mecklenburgers. What a faux pas. hno:


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## kato2k8 (May 4, 2008)

Kampflamm said:


> Do elaborate.





erbse said:


> There's a strange lack of baroque plasticism in Heidelberg


Heidelberg has only about two dozen buildings older than the 1700s. Heidelberg _also_ has next to no historicist buildings, because almost everything was either built pre-1840 or post-1890s. Reason for that is the rapid rebuilding after the 1693 destruction, and the decline of the city after the occupation lasting since 1806. Heidelberg also skipped early industrialization for the most part, and didn't really expand till around 1900 - and then it did so rapidly, nearly tripling its builtup area in less than 20 years.
We therefore managed to successfully skip historicism for the most part, except for some late neoclassicism pushing into Jugendstil.



Johnor said:


> The charm of Heidelberg lies in its location. In the valley of Neckar.


Most of Heidelberg isn't in the Neckar valley. Only the tourist trap also known as Altstadt along with its eastern expansion round the bend (Schlierbach). And that side valley that only joined Heidelberg in the 70s.


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## Johnor (Jan 8, 2008)

kato2k8 said:


> Most of Heidelberg isn't in the Neckar valley. Only the tourist trap also known as Altstadt along with its eastern expansion round the bend (Schlierbach). And that side valley that only joined Heidelberg in the 70s.


Well, It is not about where the largest part of Heidelberg lies. I did discuss what Heidelberg is famous for. The reason why Heidelberg is famous is because of its Altstadt, it castle and its beautiful views of the caslte and the Altstadt. Like it or not, a lot of tourists feels the same.


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## kato2k8 (May 4, 2008)

Depends, we probably get more people for the university these days (3.6 million guests p.a. - 1 million visitors at the castle).


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## Johnor (Jan 8, 2008)

kato2k8 said:


> Depends, we probably get more people for the university these days (3.6 million guests p.a. - 1 million visitors at the castle).


Na, was ist so schlimm mit Tourismus. Es bringt doch Arbeit und Geld fur die Stadt. So beruhmt ist ja eure Uni ausserhalb Deutschland auch nicht. Es ist ja nicht Harvard oder Oxford.


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## Kampflamm (Dec 28, 2003)




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## Nightsky (Sep 16, 2002)

Heidelberg is perhaps Germany's most beautiful city, I was there last year.


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## aster4000 (Jan 28, 2010)

I was here once and I should say it's one the country's nice cities.


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## Kampflamm (Dec 28, 2003)

Definitely is one of the nicer ones since it escaped being pulverized during WW2. Yet there are some areas within the city that look a bit average and the facades are sometimes relatively understated and simple.


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## MIBO (Aug 20, 2008)

^^ I wonder why Heidelberg is better known - especially outside Germany - but Freiburg is IMO much more beautiful, charming and romantic. More impressive. 

Can´t be neutral though coz my family is from there and it's my town :lol: But I always expected more of Heidelberg and when I visited I was a bit disappointed...

Anyway, awesome pictures from a city with a great quality of life!


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## Dr.Seltsam (May 28, 2008)

What makes Heidelberg so attractive to tourists is not only the architecture of the city. I think it's the huge castle and the location, together with the city.
Another reason is that Heidelberg is very international...if you walk through the Hauptstraße you will hear more people talking English than German. And I know what I'm talking about, because I live here.


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## Coihaique (Feb 22, 2011)

Kampflamm said:


> _*shudder* _
> 
> Do elaborate. I just find the baroque buildings in Saxony a bit nicer. Most of the buildings in Heidelberg (at least in the old center) have hardly any ornaments at all.


I have to agree on that if I take the pictures here and other pictures of Heidelberg I have seen as a basis for my decision. I am from Bautzen (Heidelberg is the sister city of Bautzen by the way) and for my taste the baroque buildings in Saxony are nicer. - But I know of course that Heidelberg is far more important and more famous, but well. I have not been in Heidelberg so maybe it is realy that great like many say, but if I only see the pictures here I can't understand statements like "greatest and most beautiful city in Germany". For me it seems the overall quality of restauration in Bautzen is higher than in Heidelberg (I don't talk about quantity, of course in Bautzen are more buildings which are not yet restaurated, but if they are for me the quality seems better) and Bautzen is by far not the most beautiful city in (East) Germany.


So here for example - the world-famous castle is great of course and first class in combination with wood. But nearly all the buildings in the foreground are very simple and there are realy ugly ones amoung them.


Kampflamm said:


>




If I have interpreted the most pictures I have seen of Heidelberg correctly, most buildings (if you don't count public buildings and churches) look like this. Well it is nice, but definitly nothing special and could be found everywhere. -


Kampflamm said:


>


If I see the pictures I definitly do not believe that Heidelberg is more beautiful than Bamberg, Dinkelsbühl, Görlitz, Schwerin and many others. But it is beautiful of course.

But because all the Americans etc. think of Heidelberg as such a great city I think it must be somehow true - so I have to go and see myself. Maybe someone could post more photos here.


PS: In my opinion: A international feeling can of course be great, and a university town has a special charm BUT more people talking English than German is definitly nothing I would call positiv for a German city. Well - it is only my opinion, but if I go as a tourist to Spain and would prefer if the city is (traditional) Spanish and would realy hate it if half the people are Germans or European and American English-speakers. -- So for me "international" is good "very international" is defnitly not good - but like I said - thats only my opinion.


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## thun (Aug 8, 2007)

Having had a bit more time in the city a few weeks back, even the location isn't that special. The old town lies between two heavily used roads, especially the Neckar side isn't that special. It's quite international though, but for my taste way too much orientated towards American and Japanese tourists (see all the souvenir shops, etc.). Same is true for Rothenburg or Oberammergau, though.
Ok, it's in a valley, but so are other historic towns in Germany, e. g. Passau or several beautiful towns on the Rhine.
I was also in Ladenburg (about 15min away) and liked the atmosphere a lot better.


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## Galandar (Dec 2, 2004)

Truly beauty! I am happy Heidelberg could survive the WWII without any major losses :cheers:


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