Friday, December 16, 2005

Task #27: Nazi Ampitheater


Find the open-air ampitheatre built in 1935 by the Nazis using forced labor. It's somewhat overgrown with weeds and a little derelict. Walking through the ampitheatre and up the steps is a little spooky. If you stand on the stage, and someone else stands at the top you can speak to each other without raising your voices, because the acoustics are so good. At the top of the steps, you are actually at the highest point of the hill.

So while Heidelberg remains largely intact since the atrocities of the World Wars, it still is marked with the "Heiligenberg Thingstätte." I've *heard* that on the rare occasion the ampitheatre is used for entertainment, but in the wintertime it is mostly reserved for sledding enthusiasts. Be sure to bring your inhaler if you plan on walking to it.

Related Posts: Philosophenweg

2 comments:

  1. Definitely do *not* walk up to it in the snow like we did. We tried to take as direct of a route as we could which took us off of the paved paths and it can get quite strenuous...which just means you sweat and then you're cold the entire way down.

    The benefit of walking it (depending on the paths you take) is that you see other sights like Bismarckturm (an observation tower) and Merianblick (Merian's view)--of course if I had known Heidelberg's history a little more, I may have had more appreciation for them.

    Despite the weather and length of time we walked (5 hours...but our starting point was at our apartment in Bergheim), I'd say it was worth it, however I can't say that I want to go back. The history fascinates me more than anything.

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  2. Hey! Where's your blog? --And thanks for the tip. I vaguely remember our Hausmeister saying something about that around May, in fact...only because he also mentioned Maimarkt with it.

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