HEIDELBERG CASTLE, INSIDE THE COURT.
The regular thing to do at Heidelberg is to go through the great, gloomy subterranean passages that wind in and out under the massive pile. It is not a cheerful trip, but it gives one a good idea of the solidity of ancient masonry, and of the security of their old dungeons.
The Grand Balcony is a wide, well-built terrace on the river side of the castle. From this point the view is magnificent, the whole Neckar valley being spread out like a map, below us. Then we go on through great rooms, whose ivy-covered walls once resounded with song and merry jest, to the huge tower at the eastern angle of the castle. This old tower is, or was, rather, a monster, being ninety-three feet in diameter, with walls twenty-one feet thick. In 1689, when the French General, Melac, was obliged to surrender the castle and town to the Germans, he blew up the fortifications and set the castle on fire. The attempt to demolish the tower was only a partial success. The walls were so thick and so well built that the explosion only detached about a half of it, which fell, a solid mass, into the moat, where it is to-day, as solid as it was two centuries ago, though now its rough sides are covered with shrubs and ivy.
The best view of the castle in its entirety is from the Great Terrace, quite a little distance from the garden that surrounds the grand old ruin. From this height is seen the beautiful valley, with the town spread out in irregular shape on the banks of the Neckar. Across a deep ravine, beautifully clothed with green, is the ruined castle, standing out in bold relief, the ruined tower, the dismantled walls, the grand promenade making a picture of rare beauty.
The castle is decidedly the finest structure of the kind in Europe, beautiful in its location, beautiful in its design, and beautiful even in its ruin.