The carved arch
An eighteenth-century triumphal arch with carvings, inscriptions and the prince's arms.
Beckstet — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Rijksmuseum — CC0 · R. J. Mathar — CC BY 4.0 · Mateus2019 — Public domain
The Karlstor is a stone triumphal arch at the eastern end of Heidelberg's old town, where the main street finishes. It was built between 1775 and 1781 in honour of Prince Karl Theodor of Baden, and was never a defensive gate but an honorific monument. The arch is decorated with carvings and inscriptions and carries the prince's arms. Today it stands alone in the middle of a street, with cars and pedestrians passing beneath. It is a useful marker for visitors, because it defines where the old town ends: beyond it are modern districts, before it the whole historic street.
An eighteenth-century triumphal arch with carvings, inscriptions and the prince's arms.
It stands at the end of the town's long pedestrian street — a good point to finish a walk.
Minutes from the Neckar bank, so it is easy to carry on walking by the water.
Karlstor, 69117 Heidelberg
Heidelberg Weir and LockThe Heidelberg Staustufe is an installation on the river Neckar combining a smal2 minutes walk4.5
Ethnological MuseumHeidelberg's Ethnological Museum occupies the Palais Weimar, an eighteenth-centu3 minutes walk4.2
The Heidelberg TunThe Heidelberg Tun is the largest wine barrel in the world, standing in a cellar5 minutes walk4.4
Heidelberg CastleHeidelberg Castle stands on a hill above the town, and it is the most famous rui5 minutes walk4.6
KarlsplatzKarlsplatz is a quiet square in Heidelberg's old town near the market square, an6 minutes walk4.7Not a destination in itself, but it lies on your route if you walk the main street to its end. Its value is marking where the old town finishes; from there you turn back or drop down to the river.
This is not a defensive gate but an honorific triumphal arch built in the eighteenth century for a prince. Nuremberg's gates, by contrast, are part of a genuine medieval defensive wall — an entirely different function.
Ten minutes. Make it the end of your walk down the main street, then drop to the Neckar bank and walk back along the water.