# Germanistisches Seminar

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Canonical page: https://mytuur.com/en/city/heidelberg/spot/germanistisches-seminar/

Content updated: 2026-06-22

Germanistisches Seminar is Heidelberg University’s department for German language and literature, housed in the Palais Boisserée. The long façade combines Baroque forms with classicist details.

Franz von Sickingen built the Palais between 1703 and 1705, and his son Johann Ferdinand later lived and died there. The Boisserée brothers stored old German paintings here from 1810 to 1819. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe stayed in the house in 1814 and 1815, commemorated by a plaque on the façade.

Research and teaching follow German language and literature from medieval manuscripts to present-day reading and writing. Topics include political language, witchcraft literature, and language during National Socialism. The department also examines cultural contacts between France and Germany, gender roles, media change, and language’s relationship with medicine. A library supports this work through medieval studies, linguistics, modern literary studies, workspaces, and internet access. Poetry lectures and language sponsorships for refugees connect scholarship with Heidelberg’s wider community.

- City: [Heidelberg](https://mytuur.com/en/city/heidelberg/)

## Photos

- ![](https://mytuur-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/image_GermanistischesSeminar_6832de77f44f54dc86905ed2_0.jpg) — [Image: wikimedia](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Heidelberg_Palais_Boiseree_Karlsplatz_2006-02-26.jpeg)
- ![](https://mytuur-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/image_GermanistischesSeminar_6832de77f44f54dc86905ed2_1.jpg) — [Image: wikimedia](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Sickingen_Johann_Ferdinand.jpg)
- ![](https://mytuur-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/image_GermanistischesSeminar_6832de77f44f54dc86905ed2_2.jpg) — [Image: wikimedia](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Heidelberg-Schloß.JPG)
- ![](https://mytuur-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/image_GermanistischesSeminar_6832de77f44f54dc86905ed2_3.jpg) — [Image: wikimedia](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Rodenstein_1.jpg)
- ![](https://mytuur-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/image_GermanistischesSeminar_6832de77f44f54dc86905ed2_4.jpg) — [Image: wikimedia](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Wambolt-schloss_gross-umstadt_02-2012.jpg)

Spots like this one are the stops myTuur strings into tours through Heidelberg. In the app, each story begins where you stand: walk up to a spot and it starts, read it on screen or listen as you go, then follow the route to the next one.

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