Museum Reviews
My first full day in Heidelberg brought a visit to the city's iconic castle ruins. The site was breathtaking, like a storybook come to life. The castle was the continually expanded residence of the Wittlesbach family from the 13th century until the French attacked in 1693.
The castle today is history as it stood after the French invasion with only minor restorations to the palace. In my view, the choice of simple preservation helped tell the full story of the castle--from its founding, through many expansions and architectural periods, until its demise. The ruinous state helps to convey the castle's evolution and creates a characteristically mythical ambiance.
The ruins are quite beautiful. My personal favorite facade was the nondescript "ladies chamber" where the women slept separately from the men; however, the restored Renaissance facade was a sight to behold. I also appreciated the highly decorated interior hallway decoration, as it was restored to its ornate glory. Wandering the grounds was truly surreal, like being transported back in time or into a fairytale. Each turn held a new surprise. The entire experience was a wonderful and special introduction to Heidelberg and its history.
My first solo museum visit in Germany brought me to one of the most unique museums I’ve ever visited. The Sammlung Prinzhorn (Prinzhorn Collection) is comprised entirely of works by people in mental institutions. The art was thought-provoking, serious, and often quite beautiful.
The temporary exhibit featured works all by a young woman from the early 20th century. She drew many designs for currency as she imagined she was married to the kaiser. Her other works focus on natural, religious, and feminine imagery—all intriguing compositions. I enjoyed looking at the image and imaging in what was depicted, then glancing at the gallery guide to see that was the exact description. The works were imaginative and whimsical, yet deep and introspective at the same time.
The permanent collection was very diverse, featuring multimedia works, sculptural installations, and simple prints. I enjoyed the variety and appreciated how it showcased the way each artists expressed their mental illnesses in their own ways. With only the titles in English and no further explanation, much interpretation was left to me as the visitor, which truthfully enhanced my experience. Art is such a powerful form of expression, and no where has that been clearer than at this museum.
The premier art, archaeology, historic house museum of Heidelberg had a lot to discover. Housed in a historic mansion with a modern expansion, navigating through the exhibits was an adventure in itself! Rooms on the second and third floors were decorated to their 18th and 19th century glory respectively. It was wonderfully whimsical to walk from room to room and imagine the families, guests, and conversations that once filled the same halls.
Other wings of the museum were dedicated to art, including many portraits from different time periods. There was also a large Dutch paintings collection, which I appreciated even more so because of its display in the crowded, red-walled style of the historic salons. There was also a modest modern art collection, including a portrait by Max Beckmann who was exiled to the U.S. by the Nazi party.
The museum boasts an immense archaeological collection from digs in the surrounding area. This includes a large quantity of Roman artifacts. I really appreciated how they were displayed (see photo at right) with both the original and reproduction to show what it would have looked like in Roman times, complete with color!
While my visit was short due to class responsibilities and lack of German language skills necessary for reading the information, I enjoyed seeing the local culture of Heidelberg and how it evolved throughout the years.
Visiting the laboratory, home, and university where x-rays were first discovered in 1895 was a surreal experience. We were able to sit in the original desks from Röntgen’s first lecture on the topic—furniture that is still in use today. This brought up just one of many preservation concerns I had throughout the visit. The entire site is incredibly historic and yet appeared to lack the attention required for such historically valuable objects. There were some nice display cases and replicas of important papers, but the laboratory itself was an open room with seemingly no restrictions and many original objects. Books were being picked off the shelves; his desk was dismantled to show hidden drawers. We even got a demonstration from one of Röntgen’s original voltage sources. Thank goodness our guide said his chair was too fragile for sitting because it was quite obviously falling apart! Most alarmingly, at the end, our tour guide unlocked a cabinet and flipped through one of the few original copies of Röntgen’s published book with examples of x-rays on small animals. The book seemed to be in good condition but the fragility of the original photos had me on high alert, although it was very cool to see.
This broaches the key balance that museums and historic sites must strike between preservation and truly allowing visitors to connect with the objects. Overall, being able to stand in the laboratory where a new form of electromagnetic radiation was discovered felt very special. I did appreciate seeing the old lab equipment in use because it invited comparisons to our laboratory methods today. This museum bridged science and history in an intriguing way.
Although the weather in Würzburg was quite gray and rainy, this palace was a bright spot in my day. After dropping my umbrella and backpack, I walked up a grand, red-carpeted staircase with a domed mural overhead to enter what looked like a ballroom. I later discovered the space was merely a holding room and only decorated in plain white so the extravagantly painted adjacent and actual ballroom would look more grand. With murals stretching from floor to ceiling and giant gold-framed mirrors, the space was mesmerizing. From there, I chose to start with Circuit 1 which took me through one wing of the palace. Each room was more intricate than the next with the most elaborate being the mirror room—with all four walls and the ceiling made of delicately painted mirrors.
All the metal work, glass, painting, furniture, and sculpture was stunning. My jaw dropped walking through the halls. The experience reminded me of the palaces I’ve seen on screen (aka The Great) with long hallways of doors after doors. I felt so special just walking through the space and imagining it filled with guests dancing or ladies chatting. It was such an overwhelmingly beautiful experience and although photos were prohibited, I took away some treasured mental images and memorable feelings of wonder.
While the museum was small, it covered the long history of the University of Heidelberg from its founding in 1386 to its prevalence in research today. The first room full of stoic portraits presumably described the institution’s beginnings with the prince electors of the German leader back in the Middle Ages, although the text was entirely in German so I didn’t glean much. The next room included instruments and information from the university's inventive scientific leaders of the 1800s who began to use light to probe materials—the beginnings of spectroscopy! The final room had dense text and images describing the university’s evolution in the 20th century including Nazi cooperation, the admission of women, and student anti-war protests. The museum was a little sparse but it did teach me a little bit about the oldest university in Germany where I’d been living and learning the past few weeks.
