Heidelberg, Germany Trivia Quiz

Answer: a sandstone castle

The Heidelberger Schloss (Heidelberg Castle) incorporates a wide range of architectural styles, having been built, renovated, and added to over a period of centuries.

Answer: an enormous wine barrel and a pharmacy museum

The Grosses Fass (Heidelberg Tun) is a wine barrel built in 1751 which can hold well over 200 thousand liters of wine. Today it holds no wine and is primarily a tourist attraction.
The German pharmacy museum is free with admission to the castle, and is also worth a look. It includes recreations of pharmacy shops from years past, historical pharmacy information, and even pharmacy-related art.

Answer: Baden-Württemberg

Baden-Württemberg is Germany's third-largest state, both in terms of area and population. It shares borders with the states of Rhineland-Pfalz (Rhineland-Palatinate), Hessen (Hesse), and Bayern (Bavaria), in addition to bordering France and Switzerland. Major natural features include the Black Forest, Lake Constance, the upper Rhine River, and the source of the Danube River.

Answer: true

The University of Heidelberg was established in 1386, making it Germany's oldest. Campuses are located both in the Old Town and in Neuenheimer Feld, across the river.

Answer: the graffiti left behind by imprisoned students

Students viewed a stint in the student prison as a rite of passage, and left behind graffiti to memorialize their stays there. Some students carved picture frames into the doors and door frames and inserted their own photos. Others used candle smoke to write on the ceilings!

Answer: A Tramp Abroad

"A Tramp Abroad" is Twain's account of his travels through Germany, Switzerland, and Italy, with considerable emphasis on his stay in Heidelberg. He focuses on the castle, the beauty of the area and habits of the locals, student fencing clubs, the student prison, and the nearby town of Dilsberg.

Answer: Neckar

Heidelberg is located where the Neckar River winds its way out of the hills and into the Rhine plain. Other well-known cities on the Neckar include Tuebingen and Stuttgart.

The Rhine flows through such cities as Mannheim, Mainz, Duesseldorf, and Cologne. The Aa (not a typo!) flows through Muenster; several other rivers are known by this name as well. The Spree flows through Berlin.

Answer: Mannheim

Mannheim is the second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg and is a popular destination for Heidelberg residents looking for a wider variety of restaurants, shops, and clubs than what is available in smaller Heidelberg.

Answer: the name given to fossil remains found near Heidelberg

Heidelberg Man, or Homo heidelbergensis, refers to fossils found in the area of Heidelberg by a quarry worker in 1907. Some believe Homo heidelbergensis to be a direct ancestor of the more famous Homo neanderthalensis, or Neanderthal, also discovered in Germany.

Answer: false

Heidelberg was one of the few cities or towns of size to be spared bombing during World War II. In reference to this and to Heidelberg's castle ruin, it was said that, "Before the War, people went to Heidelberg in order to see ruins. After the War, people went to Heidelberg in order to NOT see ruins."

Though the city was not destroyed by Allied forces, the Old Bridge was destroyed during World War II by retreating German soldiers, and quickly rebuilt.

Some say Heidelberg was spared because the Americans planned to save it as their future base after the war. Others say it was spared in return for the Germans not bombing Oxford and Cambridge.