DATE OF VISIT
21st March 2024
WHERE DID I STAY?
The Marriott Hotel, Vangerowstraße 16, 69115, Heidelberg, Germany (https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/hdbmc-heidelberg-marriott-hotel/overview/) - a very nice hotel located on the bank of the River Neckar and approximately a 3 kilometre walk from the hotel, along the river to the Heidelberg Bridge and Altstadt.
COMMENTS
This was perhaps my third visit to the city of Heidelberg and the "quietest" visit too date. As you can see from my photos, there were very few people about and it may have been because I was visiting immediately before the start of Holy Week, and that the city will become considerably busier during the Easter holiday.
Apart from sightseeing, (sights included in my photos and of course Heidelberg castle which is the subject of a separate entry on this site), there are a wide range of shops in the Haupstraße which will provide almost anything that you need. At the time of my visit on this occasion, not many of the cafés in the Hauptstraße and surrounding streets had arranged their outdoor summer seating, (although to be fair, some had), but no doubt there will be considerably more in the coming few weeks.
The Bridge Monkey [Courtesy of Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidelberg_Bridge_Monkey]
The Heidelberg Bridge Monkey dates back to the 15th century. It was a stone statue sitting in the tower of the Old Bridge, which was located opposite Heidelberg’s Old Town. The purpose of the tower was to instill fear and respect in anyone arriving in the town, while the monkey represented mockery. The statue was destroyed with the tower during the Nine Years War.
Drawing of the Heidelberg Bridge Monkey from the year 1620
Touching his bare backside, the monkey showed the Electoral Palatinate Greeting to passers-by. His backside was pointed towards the town of Mainz.
which was situated opposite the river bank, and thus, the greeting was addressed to the Bishops of Mainz. The people of Heidelberg wanted to demonstrate that the Bishops in Mainz held no power over the Electors of the Palatinate. The intention of the mirror in the monkey’s hand was to encourage people to engage in critical self-reflection.
A poem written by Martin Zeiller in the 17th century can still be seen beside today’s version of the monkey:
“Why are you staring at me?
Haven’t you seen the old monkey in Heidelberg?
Look around and you probably will see –
more monkeys like me!”
Upon the wish of the association Alt-Heidelberg, Gernot Rumpf designed a bronze statue of the monkey with a hollow head in 1977. It was then installed at the Old Bridge next to the tower in 1979. In contrast to its predecessors, the monkey's right hand does not grasp its posterior, but shows the sign of the horns, which is supposed to ward off the evil eye.
Today, the statue is a popular tourist attraction. It is said that if a visitor touches the sign of horns, they will return to Heidelberg. If a visitor touches the mirror, they will become wealthy, and if they touch the mice next to the monkey, they will have many children.
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