Bibliotheksbau
Bibliotheksbau stands within Heidelberg Castle, between the Ruprechtsbau and Frauenzimmerbau, on the site of the former moat. Its late Gothic walls rise from the castle ruins. Built between 1520 and 1544 under Elector Ludwig V, it first sheltered the elector’s private library.
The basement may have housed a mint, though firm evidence for that use is absent. Unlike other sixteenth-century castle buildings, its stone vaulting continued through the upper floors. The first upper floor contained a princely dining hall with windows on three sides. A single central column supported its vaulted ceiling, which reached about six and a half metres.
Later, the hall became a chancellery before the building definitely served as a library near its destruction. Much of the structure disappeared, but the ground floor still reveals its original scale and strong masonry. A courtyard-facing bay window marks the upper floor, while the remaining openings look towards the Stückgarten and the surrounding landscape.
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