Anyone who knows Heidelberg knows how old the University is.
It was founded in 1386 as a theological school.
Americans’ view of history is shaped by the shifts in the
New World’s relationship to Europe. Looking back before 1776 is like picturing oneself
in the womb. Looking back before 1607 is like picturing one’s parents dating.
And looking back before 1492 is like picturing one’s parents as children themselves.
So 1386, in the middle of the Hundred Year’s War, while there was still a
Muslim kingdom in Iberia, while the Byzantine Empire still limped along in
Greece, is like picturing one’s grandparents dating. It’s distant, intangible.
I’m more interested in the year 1693. This was the year the
French leveled Heidelberg, one in a chain of victories for the Sun King. This
is when the castle was irreparably destroyed with gunpowder charges. After
1693, Heidelberg’s Altstadt was rebuilt in the uniform Baroque style that one sees
today. The charming avenues, white walls, and terra cotta roofs came about as
the result of fire and the sword.
1693 reminds me of the real history behind Heidelberg. Some
Germans gently disparage the town as a fairy-tale place, a bubble for pampered
students and clueless tourists. But if one looks deeper, there’s much more to
this town than the quaint, brochure-ready façade. There is the single pillar
from the bridge the Romans built across the Neckar. There is the Zeughaus, the
old weapons repository, which is now a cafeteria. There is the ophthalmology
lab where the Philippine national hero José Rizal studied. There is the ring of
bricks in Universitätsplatz to mark the edges of the enormous bonfire that the
Nazis made from banned books.
This blog is about photos, not history. But history informs
it heavily. The sense of history gives depth to this town. I want to use these
photos to communicate a similar sense of depth.
