Jettenbühl

the Heidelberg Castle on the Jettenbühl

The Jettenbühl is a ledge below the Königstuhl in Heidelberg , on which Heidelberg Castle stands.

Surname

The Jettenbühl is named after an old seer Jetta, whose sanctuary is said to have stood at this point. The Wolfsbrunnen , a spring in the Schlierbach district at which, according to legend, was torn apart by wolves, reminds of this seer .

Adolf von Oechelhauser explains the name Jettenbühl in a footnote from his castle guide as follows:

The mountain was called “Geltenpogel” (= “young cattle hill”) in 1365, “Gettenpuhel” in 1436 and was only associated with the seer Jetta in the 16th century and called “Jettenbühl” (“bühel” = hill).

Quoted from Adolf von Oechelhauser: The Heidelberg Castle. Architectural and art history guide . Heidelberg: Verlag von J. Hörning, 1920

location

To the east, the Jettenbühl was separated from the Königstuhl massif by the deep cut of the Friesental valley .

history

The lower castle stood on the Jettenbühl as early as 1303 , which was then expanded in the following period. A chapel is mentioned as early as 1343. However, nothing has survived from this early system. The earliest preserved walls date from the 15th century.

It was probably a fringe castle with buildings grouped around a courtyard. The most endangered side was in the south towards the mountain. It was protected by a shield wall and a keep .