Universitätsplatz
Universitätsplatz opens across Heidelberg’s old town, bordered by the Hauptstrasse, Grabengasse, and University of Heidelberg buildings. Two rectangular tree plantings break up the paved surface, while commemorative plates mark the Heidelberg Disputation and the 1933 book burnings.
The Old University stands along the northern side, built between 1712 and 1735, with the New University opposite. In front, the Lion Fountain carries a lion representing the Electoral Palatinate. An Augustinian monastery once occupied this ground, first mentioned in 1279, before war and Reformation transformed it into a military exercise square.
The square became a pedestrian zone with the Hauptstrasse in 1978, and restaurants add outdoor tables during summer. Events include Heidelberg Literature Day and the city’s Christmas markets. The lion sculpture bears the year 1712, although that date does not establish the fountain’s original construction.
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Take this page with you
The myTuur app is free, and once you are standing at a spot its story starts by itself.
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.
What is myTuur?
myTuur is a free city-guide app. Its tours are built from spots, and each spot carries a story that starts when you get there, to read or to listen to as you like.