Philosophenweg (Heidelberg)
The Philosophenweg is about two kilometers long, especially at the beginning very steep, that leads from the Heidelberg district of Neuenheim to the Heiligenberg . It is thus directly opposite the Heidelberg Castle at the Königstuhl and is one of the sights of Heidelberg.
Course of the way
The entrance to the path, although signposted, is relatively inconspicuous and difficult to find for strangers. The lower half leads steeply and winding for the first 700 meters through one of the most expensive residential areas in Heidelberg. In the first bend is the Physics Institute (Philosophenweg 12) of the University of Heidelberg, which was built at the beginning of the 20th century to protect it from vibrations . There are other buildings of the Faculty of Physics in its vicinity , two of them on Philosophenweg: the Institute for Theoretical Physics in numbers 16 and 19, with the Faculty Library in Building 16. This is where the zoologist Hugo Merton lived from 1912 , who lost his professorship under National Socialist rule and emigrated to England in 1937. The physicist Hans Jensen (Nobel Prize 1963) bought the house in 1952 on behalf of the University of Heidelberg.
The steep and built-up part of the Philosophenweg ends at number 21 ( Wolfgang Marguerre ). The path continues almost flat, first along the Philosopher's Garden. From there, the visitor has the best view over the Neckar to the Heidelberg old town , the Königstuhl and the castle, but also out into the Rhine plain . There is a metal plaque on one of the small walls, which with the words “Hucklebears of knowledge - The truth lies in the eye of the beholder” alludes to both Varela's work “Tree of Knowledge” and the insurmountability of our knowledge conditions, which Kant worked out for example. On a platform in the garden there is a bust of Eichendorff , on the base of which a poem by the famous romantic is engraved; Eichendorff studied for a few months in Heidelberg. At the eastern end of the path there is the Hölderlin facility with the Hölderlin stone, which is reminiscent of the poet's Heidelberg ode. In the Hölderlin complex there has also been a memorial stone since 1993 for the Angel Church of the abandoned Dagersbach settlement that was once there . Then the Philosophenweg continues as a forest path, around the Hirschgassental and along the southern slope of the Heidenknörzel.
There is also an Oberer Philosophenweg, which leads a little higher up through the forest, but the better views of the city and castle result from the normal Philosophenweg.
Another access to the Philosophenweg is the Schlangenweg, which leads up from the Old Bridge . It winds its way up the mountain in a zigzag shape, partly consisting of stairs, which explains its name.
Origin of the name
The Philosophenweg probably owes its name not to the personalities mentioned, but to the Heidelberg students , who discovered the path early on as the ideal place for romantic walks and undisturbed togetherness. The synonymous use of the words student and philosopher comes from times when every student first had to study philosophy - the so-called seven liberal arts - before starting their specialist studies .
literature
- Richard Henk: Heidelberg , Brausdruck Verlag, ISBN 3-921524-46-6
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Arrival at the Physikalisches Institut Heidelberg. Heidelberg University , accessed on September 10, 2019 .
- ^ Obituary in: nature No. 145 of June 15, 1940, p. 924f
- ↑ Pictures from the Philosopher's Path
Coordinates: 49 ° 24 ′ 54 ″ N , 8 ° 42 ′ 1 ″ E