Our fairy tale setting has captivated imaginations and inspired creative hearts for centuries, in works preserved for all time. 

Its opera, drama and ballet performances are highly acclaimed throughout the entire German theater world. Sigmund Romberg's world-famous musical "The Student Prince" a regular fixture of the Heidelberg Castle Festival (Schlossfestspiele) in August romantically depicts the life of university students against the backdrop of a bittersweet love affair. Especially worth seeing are the Castle Festival, the city's summer festivals of concerts and music theater.

 
Many of the historic city buildings passed house important collections and museums.
With more than ten museums, art lovers encounter an embarassment of riches here. Art lovers will enjoy the "Kurpfälzische Museum," the Textile Museum and the Kunstverein, as well as numerous private galleries.


Other outstanding museums include the German Pharmacy Museum (Apothekenmuseum)  in the Castle, the Studentenkarzer (the Student's Prison, where unruly students were incarcerated), and the University Library with treasures from medieval and renaissance times.

In the district Wieblingen is what is probably Germany's only Bonsai Museum.
Naturally, Heidelberg also offers its guests a rich array of theatrical and musical performances. Ballet, drama, opera and operetta in the Heidelberg City Theater and comedies in the Zimmertheater are augmented by presentations in the Young Peoples' Theater and on numerous student stages. Highlights are performances at the Castle Festival, held every August in the castle's courtyard or Königssaal.

Heidelberg offers an abundance of spring, summer and fall events. The festival season starts in March with "Heidelberger Frühling," a cultural festival focusing on symphony concerts, exhibitions, lectures and films. Especially delightful are the castle illuminations with fireworks finale, held in June, July and September.

The Heidelberg Castle Festival every August features a unique ambience. The castle is also the splendid setting for numerous balls and gala occasions. In September, the Old Quarter hosts "Heidelberger Herbst," a huge street fair at which many interesting crafts and souvenirs can be found. It's also a great chance to sample the outstanding wines grown in the surrounding area. 

Culture Down through the ages, this urbane and vital city has been a magnet for many artists - as it is today. From writers such as Goethe, Eichendorff, Hölderlin, Jean Paul, Victor Hugo, and Mark Twain to name just a few, to painters including Turner, Rottmann, Issel, and Trübner, who created rich paintings of the town on the Neckar River. Composers such as Schumann, C.M. von Weber, and Brahms also captured their impressions of Heidelberg's unique blend of river landscape, historic town, and hillside castle in their music.