PHILOSOPHER’S WALK – HEIDELBERG
A Poets View of the Neckar River
Whenever I have a problem to solve, or an idea to conjure,
stuck with writer’s block, I go for a walk. Something about ambling with no
particular destination, but a familiar path to let the mind wander and
wonder, until unconnected thoughts at some point suddenly merge and meld
into a realization. This is rather the genesis of the now famed Philosopher’s
Walk of Heidelberg. Originally just a path through the wine vineyards
during the 1500s-1600s along the slope of the hillside bank of the Neckar
River across from the old town of Heidelberg, the beautiful walk with
views of the castle and city spires attracted professors of the university
to amble alone in contemplative thought or together with fellow intellectuals
for congenial discussions of philosophy, science and art.
Philosopher's Walk History
In the age of Romanticism in literature of the early
1800s, the time of Byron and Shelly in England, this path was christened
the Philosopher’s
Way (Philosophenweg in German) or Philosopher’s Walk, perhaps by
the poets it inspired who are commemorated along the way. Look for the
Eichendorff Stone with a bronze relief of Joseph Eichendorff, who while
a student at the university wrote poems inspired by his strolls there,
and at the far end of the path, a glen is dedicated to local boy Johann
Friedrich Hölderlin one of the leading lights of the German Romantic
movement, born in the Neckar Valley who perhaps is most responsible for
the fame of the site, writing in his homage to Heidelberg “Long
have I loved you…As you desired me to feel” (Lange lieb ich
dich schon, möchte dich, mir zur lust). The poem itself can be found
in the city’s history museum.
From
the Philosopher’s Walk you have one of the prettiest views
of the Heidelberg Castle, turned into a ruin by the ravages of the War
of European Succession (see Heidelberg
Castle Beautiful Ruin), a result
of France’s King Louis XIV attempting to claim the region of the
German Paltatine through the marriage of Lisolette, the daughter of Prince
Elector Karl Ludwig, to his brother the Duke of Orleans. Along the lower
path of the walk can be found the Lisolettestein, a stone memorial dedicated
to Lisolette, who could be said, like Helen of Troy, to have launched
a thousand cannon balls. The invasion of the Palatine by the French in
1688 ignited a fuse which ravaged Europe in a mix of politics and religion,
joined by the Grand Alliance of protestant powers Great Britain, the
Netherlands, and Austrian Empire against the Catholic French and Spain
which spread from the hills of the Rhine River (see Hardenburg
Castle) to Ireland (see Battle
of The Boyne) and fueled the growth
of the American Colonies (see Museum
of Palatine Emigration). To get
an idea of how the town looked before the wars, follow the path to the
sandstone ledge of Merian’s View (Meriansblick), with a copperplate
engraving of Heidelberg as it was in 1620.
Flowers and Plants
The
path is now a paved walk for ease of access with a micro-climate on
the south facing slope perhaps more like Italy than
Germany the gardens surrounding the walk are lush with a variety of
sub-tropical
plants like
Japanese cherries, cypresses, citrus, bamboos, and even oddly, Palms
and Yucca trees in the Philosophengärtchen, (little philosopher’s
garden), and Rhododendrons bloom all around the hillsides in late spring.
There
are benches for sitting, reading and just contemplating, or bring a picnic
lunch.
Visiting the Philosopher’s Walk
To get to the Philospher’s Walk takes a little walking, from the Old Town Square directly at the Hotel Zum Ritter St George (see Hotel zum Ritter) and the Heiliggeist Church (see Holy Ghost Church), head to the river and cross the Theodore Heuss Bridge - more commonly just the Old Bridge - to the northern side of the Neckar River, up one block to Philosophenweg and turn right. But you’re still not there, follow the narrow street up through the residential area until it turns into the actual Philospher’s Way at the end. It is possible to drive up the street, but parking is fairly restrictive and there is no visitors lot. There is no admission for the park. © Bargain Travel Europe
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Philoshoper's
Way
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See Also:
PHARMACY MUSEUM – HEIDELBERG CASTLE
BIG WINE BARREL OF HEIDELBERG CASTLE
HOLLANDER HOF HOTEL HEIDELBERG
MARK TWAIN HOTEL MYSTERY IN HEIDELBERG
CHRISTMAS MARKETS IN HEIDELBERG
