Handschuhsheim

Neuenheim lies opposite the Old Town on the Neckar's north bank and was first mentioned as "Niwenheim" in the Lorscher Codex in 765. During Roman times, a camp, a Neckar bridge, and two Mithraea stood here. Until the Gründerzeit, Neuenheim was a village of farmers, vintners, and fishermen. In 1891, it was incorporated into Heidelberg as the first neighboring village. Today, villas and abundant greenery characterize the district. West of the old village core, the large campus with the Universitätsklinikum and Deutschem Krebsforschungszentrum is located in the Neuenheimer Feld.Cross via the Alte Brücke and climb up to the Philosophenweg and Heiligenberg. On its Neuenheim-side slope lie the remains of the Stephanskloster and the approximately 56-meter-deep Heidenloch. At Neuenheim's Marktplatz, the tower and choir of the old Johanneskirche still stand; not far away, the 55-meter-high Neo-Gothic tower of the new Johanneskirche rises. The Zoo is located in the district's west. Brückenstraße and Berliner Straße, the two main axes, are served by RNV tram and bus lines.

The Heidelberger Altstadt is considered a Baroque city on a medieval layout: After French troops devastated the city in the Palatinate War of Succession in 1693, new Baroque buildings were erected on the old foundations, yet the original right-angled grid layout from its founding period remained. Only a few houses survived the city fire, among them the Renaissance House zum Ritter opposite the Heiliggeistkirche. In the west, between Bismarckplatz and Universitätsplatz, shops characterize the scene, while in the core Old Town further east, guesthouses, pubs, and restaurants dominate.You stroll along the Hauptstraße, car and tram-free since 1976, turning off to the squares: Universitätsplatz with the Baroque Old University, Marktplatz with its Hercules Fountain, and Kornmarkt with its 1718 Madonna statue, where the castle funicular departs. Bismarckplatz, at the west end, is a major hub for trams and buses; the Heidelberg-Altstadt train station lies at the east end, by Karlstor.

Heidelberg is situated on the Neckar, precisely where the river exits the Odenwald and flows into the Upper Rhine Plain. The Old Town stretches narrowly between the river and the 568-meter-high Königstuhl, topped by the famous castle ruin, which French troops set ablaze in 1689 and blew up in 1693.Founded in 1386, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität is Germany's oldest university and continues to shape the city today. You can stroll along the approximately 1.6-kilometer-long Hauptstraße, one of Europe's longest pedestrian zones, cross the Alte Brücke, and look back at the castle and Old Town from the Philosophenweg on the opposite side of the Neckar.

Speyer is located on the Rhine, which here forms the border between Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Württemberg, just under 20 kilometers south of Mannheim. The city, with around 51,000 inhabitants, boasts two UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Imperial Cathedral (Kaiserdom), consecrated in 1061, the largest preserved Romanesque church after the destruction of Cluny, and the Jewish Courtyard (Judenhof) with its synagogue ruins and Germany's oldest completely preserved mikveh.From Cathedral Square, Maximilianstraße, a pedestrian zone, leads to the 55-meter-high Altpörtel, the city's former western gate. Additionally, you'll find the Historical Museum of the Palatinate with its cathedral treasury, and the Technik Museum, where you can see, among other things, a Boeing 747 and the Buran prototype OK-GLI.

The Palatinate in the south of Rhineland-Palatinate is Germany's second-largest wine region. Running through its heart since 1935 is the approximately 85-kilometer-long German Wine Route, stretching from the German Wine Gate in Schweigen on the French border to Bockenheim, always alongside the Haardtrand, the eastern edge of the Palatinate Forest.On your journey, you'll combine wine villages with rich history: By the Rhine, in Speyer, stands the Romanesque Imperial Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1981; above Neustadt an der Weinstraße, Hambach Castle towers, the site of the Hambach Festival of 1832; and in Bad Dürkheim awaits the Giant Cask from 1934.