Rudesheim at Siegfried's Music Cabinet Museum

Our first stop in Rudesheim was the Siegfried's Music Cabinet Museum.  This museum has over 350 self playing musical instruments...music boxes and player pianos of all sizes, styles and playing many different types of music!  It's an amazing private collection owed by a family that began their collection in the 1960s.  The museum is housed in a beautiful half timbered home.

Heidelberg Castle

A tour of Heidelberg would not be complete without a visit to the castle.  In fact we not only visited but we had a great tour guide share the history of the castle and the fall of the domination of the Catholic Church in the region.  Now I simply can not remember everything he pointed out but I do believe you can see that the castle has been built, rebuilt, added on and changed to reflect the time periods of the additions and refurbishing.  

From the town square looking up to the castle.

From the castle looking down to the the town!  The castle is in a perfect location for defense.

We had to cross a stone bridge to get into the castle grounds.  The ditch (a moat maybe) has been partially filled in.

The first part of the castle was built before 1214.  Throughout the next 500 years, parts have been destroyed and rebuilt.  New Kings added to the castle and each addition reflects the philosophy and the political feelings of that time period.  The addition of the small balcony or room shows an obvious difference in the architecture of the different time periods.

Important family members are displayed prominently on one section of the castle.

 The timepiece...a sun dial with Roman numerals and astrological signs to tell the seasons!

 As the Catholic Church lost its dominance after the Reformation, the architecture shows the shift with astrological signs on the wall shown below.

 To learn more of this beautiful castle go here, here or here.