Das Deutsches Verpackungsmuseum, the packing museum, located in a former church on main street, exhibits the history of mostly German industrial packaging from the 19th and 20th Century. This covers not only the history of packing design, but also the history of everyday German life. The museum also documents the changing cultural tastes and requirements, as it is reflected in the art of packing goods. However, this does not mean that it neglects industrial design and art. The changing exhibitions pay attention to young designers and to packing in foreign cultures.
Botanischer Garten der Universität Heidelberg is a stunning botanical garden which offers visitors an insight into the world of plants. In the greenhouses, you will find a variety of plants including orchids, cacti, and succulents among others. Plants of different bio-systems like upland moors, heathland, alpine or dune landscapes grow in the open-air grounds.
Since 2004, Galerie Kunst2 has been a popular venue for contemporary artists from across the world. With a focus to promote figurative art, the gallery displays interesting works of upcoming artists as well as renowned ones. Once a year, the gallery is known to host a graphics and photography exhibition. Popular artists featured here are Tamara Giesberts, Britta Hondl, Meiki Lohmann, Rolf Ruck and Artur Kurkowski amongst several others.
Dating back to the 17th Century, Providenzkirche which is identifiable by intricate spire is one of the most important Protestant churches in the city. The interior of the church is characterized by stucco ceilings and an organ, regarded as one of Heidelberg’s oldest surviving organs. Because of the aforementioned features, the Denkmalstiftung Baden-Württemberg declared the church as Denkmal des Monats i.e. Monument of the Month in February 2020.
The Heidelberger Kunstverein, one of the oldest German art clubs, is located next to the Palatinate Museum. It offers 8-12 changing exhibitions annually, presenting both well-known and unknown artists of international contemporary art. The museum is also equipped with a library of literature on contemporary art and guided tours through the exhibitions that are displayed on Wednesdays and Sundays. There are special events in the exhibition hall like avant-garde music, experimental dances, performances and readings. The art club edits art journals on its exhibitions that are available at the 'Infothek'.
The rooms of the Kurpfälzisches Museum are in both the old part of the building as well as the modern extension in the back courtyard, where the museum's entrances also are found. There are a number of themed areas: the Archaeological Branch exhibits the heritage of the homo erectus heidelbergensis; the area covering Town History deals with the history of Heidelberg from the Middle Ages to 20th Century, while the four rooms in the Arts and Craft section show the style of living in the 18th and 19th Centuries. The last section, the Graphic Collection, contains watercolor paintings, drawings and graphic prints from the 15th to the 20th Century.
The Antikenmuseum und Abguss-Sammlung presents the archaeological collection, which has been gathered by members of the archaeological Institute since 1848. It is the largest such university collection in Germany. In the ancient art collection, exhibits are displayed from the 4th Century up to the epoch of the late antiquity. The pieces that are shown in the fourth floor originate from Greece, Cyprus and Italy. The museum's main attraction certainly is the cast gallery, where plaster casts of statues are shown.
The museum of the University of Heidelberg is situated in the Old University and documents the history of Germany's oldest higher education facility. There are three display rooms, where the first one shows the history of the university from its establishment in 1386 to the early 19th-Century. The second one deals with the history of modern natural sciences and romanticism. The last room focuses on the major 20th-century events such as the role of the university in Nazi Germany.
One of the city's many historical attraction's, Universitätsplatz or University Square is where the Old Town Campus of the Heidelberg University is located. The square has been witness to the Nazi regime that took over the country and was the site of the many instances book burning that destroyed heaps of Jewish and Communist literature from the University's libraries. Steeped in the city's past, the square attracts a number of history as well as architecture buffs. Today buzzing with students, the square is often venue for a number of activities and events organized and hosted by the same.
The students' prison was established in the late 18th Century and was in use until 1914. For the students, it was more amusement than any real punishment for their crimes (burglaries, scuffles and forbidden students' duels). The paintings, autographs, comments, coat of arms prove that they had a lot of fun in their small rooms equipped with one table, one chair, an iron bed with a seagrass mattress, a chamberpot and a spittoon.
The Reichspräsident-Friedrich-Ebert-Gedenkstätte, located in the birthplace of Friedrich Ebert, presents more than just the standard of living of a German craftsman's family at the end of the 19th Century. The permanent exhibition describes the life and work of Friedrich Ebert, the political events of his time and the history of the working class movement using photo documentaries, reproductions and videos. In the library and archives, you can find literature dating from between the Empire and the Weimarer Republic, original documents belonging to Ebert and other publications of his era. Alternating special exhibitions inform guests of past events or great personalities of the time.
Even in former times this was a market venue as well as a public court of justice and sometimes the backdrop for the burning of witches and heretics. Still today, you can find the market there on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 7a to 2p. A handful of cafés are open daily and are especially good in summer to sit down and enjoy the scenery. The market place is enchanting, surrounded by historical buildings. The place is dominated by the Heiliggeistkirche (Holy Ghost Church) and the Rathaus on the other side. Between both is a fountain with a baroque statue of Hercules dating from 1801. Among the highlights are the Kurfürstlichen Hof-Apotheke (the former Elector's Court Dispensary at no. 190) as well as the magnificient renaissance facade of the hotel Zum Ritter St. Georg.