On a warm afternoon in August, our WLE student Jeremy from Texas and WLE staff member, Kim, conducted a city quiz of Heidelberg. The various questions about different sights in Heidelberg were written in German and the two of them had to write down the answers in German as well.
The first question took us to the “Alte Brücke” in Heidelberg. Heidelberg's Old Bridge was once built out of wood. It was destroyed by floods, fire or ice many times and so needed to be rebuilt 1788, using stone. This lasted for a while. Unfortunately on the last days of WWII the bridge was destroyed by allied troops. The plaque on the bridge claims that there was absolutely no reason for the bombing. Only the old bridge gate (Brückentor) - part of the city walls - survived the war. The people of Heidelberg who knew about the importance of the bridge for the city's beauty rebuilt the bridge. It was reopened in 1947.
The question was: How many arches does the Old Bridge have?
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| 9 arches! |
Jeremy at the Alte Brücke |
Our next question brought us to the Karlstor which was built back in 1872/73 as an extension of the 'Badische Eisenbahnnetz' (Badische Railwaynet). Since 1995 the 'Karlstor' has been a cultural center where concerts, event, movies and shows take place. Our question about the Karlstor was: 'What is at the top of the Karlstor?' Can you see it?
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| Tow lions |
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The third question was: The 'Ritter' is a very famous hotel in downtown Heidelberg and not far away from the WLE office. Why is this building so special?
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| Hotel Ritter in Heidelberg |
Answer: It was built in 1592. Thus being more than 400 years old, the 'Ritter' is the oldest building in Heidelberg and the only building to survive the wars and many fires.
To see if our students can read a German bus schedule we also asked the following question: What time is the bus leaving from bus stop 'Universitätsplatz' at around 16.45 to the school? The question was a little tricky because there is a bus scheduled to depart from 'Universitätsplatz' at 16.43. If this bus would be late you could still catch it, however, the correct answer was: You will have to take the bus at 16.48.
The next question was regarding the 'Marktplatz'. What can you see on the 'Marktplatz'?
There is a beautiful fountain in the center of 'Marktplatz', which was built between 1703 and 1706. At the top of this fountain is a statue of the Greek god Hercules. This hero of Greek Mythology is the symbol of strength. This statue should be a symbol for the strength the Heidelberg locals had after they rebuild the destroyed city of Heidelberg back in 1700. A 'must do' for people who would like to explore the German culture, is a visit to the market when locals sell their fresh vegetables and other regional products.
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| Marktplatz with the Hercules statue |
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The last question was regarding the 'Studentenkarzer'. Find the 'Studentenkarzer' and tell us what it is about?
The 'Studentenkarzer' is at the back of the University on 'Augustinergasse'. This place was used from 1778 until 1914 for students who disturbed the peace at night, challenged someone to a duel or violated public policies. The period of detainment depended on the crime and could last from 3 days to 4 weeks. The students were allowed to still participate in their classes at the University though. They had to return immediately after the classes were over. Most of the prisoners spent their rather boring 'Karzer-time' by drawing pictures or shadows of their heads on the prison walls.
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| Studentenkarzer Bed |
Studentenkarzer Bathroom |
Student Jermey Vardaman |
After we completed answering all the questions on our sheet, we went back to the WLE Office and had a hot cup of coffee to end the day. |
2006 Summer
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