Recently thinking of a past trip to Frankfurt to visit a friend of mine, I was reminded of our day trip to Heidelberg. Having remembered I hadn’t written it up yet, I thought it was a good time to do so.

Heidelberg Castle is situated 1-hour drive from Frankfurt am Main, easy reach for a day trip.

The castle is a famous Renaissance ruin situated on the Königstuhl hillside, 300 feet high with a beautiful view of the Heidelberg town below.

The first sections of the castle were built approximately 1300AD but the castle wasn’t used as a royal residence until 1398 – when Prince Elector Ruprecht III took up residence at the castle.

The castle was made completely uninhabitable in 1764 by an unfortunate lightning strike. Since the castle was not resided in after the lightning strike, the citizens of Heidelberg would make their way up to the castle from the town and make use of the castle stone for the construction of their own homes. It was in 1800 that Count Charles de Graimberg, realising the castle’s historic importance started protecting the castle’s ruins.

Today it is a popular destination for tours, with several buildings around a large inner courtyard.

A great way to experience the castle is to go on one of their walking tours throughout the castle to learn more about the castle and the interesting stories of the castle’s inhabitants.

The castle has extensive grounds which are quite peaceful to walk.