History is a vital element in relation to culture. It tells a story of what has been and possibly what will become. When I went on my two-week journey to Germany and Ireland, this was one common theme, especially when I visited Heidelberg Castle, or, Schloss Heidelberg.
The castle was created around 1214, small at first as it was a home for royalty. In 1401 was when construction was added onto the small building in order to create a more beautiful castle, mainly because the royalty wanted to impress their guests. It was used for extravagant parties and with these celebrations, there were lots of drinks given around. I mention this because of one memorable dwarf that lived in the castle, named Perkeo. Perkeo was a court jester for one of the princes that lived in the castle and he was known to never drink anything except for wine and other alcoholic beverages. One day, he was jesting at a party, and one of the guests told him to drink some water. Now, it is vital to understand, during this time drinking water was dangerous as it was usually contaminated. But, nonetheless, Perkeo grabbed a glass of water and said, "Wine not?" The next day, he died thus making him a memorable man who died from drinking water.
Now, when I first got to the castle, I'll never forget looking up in slight horror to see how far we had to walk. Before visiting the castle, we were told that there were cars that would take you up to the castle instead of walking. We refused to believe that the walk would be difficult considering it was just up a hill; we were wrong. My brother and I were a little further ahead than my parents but that didn't mean we didn't feel the pain coursing through our legs. The steep upward climb took around 10 or 15 minutes and by the time we made it, I realized with horror there were more steps to climb. It was worth it, however, turning around to look at how far we got, we were as high up as the church steeple near the castle. The exterior of the castle from our point of view, showed the ruined outer walls, held up by construction equipment. The bricks showed the wear and tear of all the years throughout history, especially in 1764 when lightning struck and destroyed large sections of the castle and furniture, especially since they were made of wood. You could see some of the effects of the fire when going inside or on certain parts of the outside. My favorite section of the castle was the balcony area that overlooked all of Heidelberg. You could see the entire town, all the buildings glistening in the afternoon light. To the right, there were the hills showing the countryside of Heidelberg, houses nestled at the bottom. What truly caught my attention was the sun reflecting on the Neckar river as it flowed throughout the town. I could see the bridge we had to walk over in order to get there as well as the hotel we were staying at.
Leaving the scenic overview, we entered the inside of the castle where royalty may go for strolls around the center or walk down to the gardens located on the Western side of the castle square. Our first stop, however, was to the giant barrel of wine where Perkeo was and it was amazing to see that the barrel was the same one from years ago. Standing next to it truly was an experience, especially when we went up the stairs to go on top of it. The next part we entered, was the apothecary museum. I was able to look at the types of medications used during that time, some of which modern-day doctors would scream if they saw. There were also different devices used by doctors during the time of the royal families, the contraptions complex and giant.
The next area we explored, was inside the actual castle. I was not able to take pictures as photography was prohibited inside, but if you were to visit, I highly recommend. There was furniture and clothing that were salvaged from the flames and replicas of those that were lost. It was an incredible experience as we were even able to get closer to some of the ruined parts. I saw the tower that was used for prisoners of war, (graphic warning) where they would throw them down the hole, ropes tied to their feet and let them dangle there for hours at a time. But after the tour, there were the gardens. Flowers and green grass populated the entire area, gravel paths created in between so tourists could wander around. I was ecstatic that this was our final stop, because my last view of Heidelberg castle, showed the glowing sun setting in the background, illuminating the castle that held the many secrets, of the past.
