Memory trip to Weinheim and Heidelberg

Forty-seven years ago I was a young missionary - a newly made senior companion in Heidelberg, Germany. My companion and I were the only missionaries in the city, and there was a good branch functioning. I served several months in Heidelberg, then was transferred to Weinheim an der Bergstraße where we were the first missionaries to ever work there. Weinheim is about 21 kM North of Heidelberg. To the East and South of this area there are low mountains and high plains. These mountains end in a line that goes Northward from Heidelberg toward Frankfurt am Main. Very close to the base of this mountain line there is a road called "die Bergstraße" which means the mountain road. It is much easier to travel Northward on this road than on any of those that go throuth the hills to the East and South. Roman ruins are spread out along this road that date back to at least 100 AD.

Last week was a hard one for us as we finished our formal training and had our first real-live experiences providing support for users of the FamilySearch Indexing programs. It was especially hectic for Sr. Howlett as she had to juggle three calls at once. After that trial by fire, we decided we needed a break. So, early on Saturday morning we set out to drive South down the Bergstraße, first stopping in Weinheim, then on to Heidelberg.

Daylight savings time ended three weeks earlier here than it does in America, so we ended up getting to Weinheim before sunup. It was a good time, however, for some picture taking.

Although the city is now three to four times bigger than when I was there before, we still found the Altstadt (Old city) and the Rathaus (City Council House or city offices). Our first picture shows a view of this old Rathaus complex.

Pat enjoyed standing by one of the doors that was dated "1537". Doesn't look exactly like a modern garage door does it. It was probably built to roll wine casks into the Ratskeller (literally the basement of the Council building, but the name traditionally given to the restaurant that exists in the basement of almost all such buildings).

We tried to drive through the old mainstreet of both cities, and this picture shows the narrow road in Weinheim. We never got into the mainstreet of old Heidelberg, but on one road there we saw a bus negotiate the road with no more than four inches between it and the walls or parked cars on the sides. We're sorry we can't show a picture of that incredible sight, but we were replacing the batteries in the camera when it happened.

This picture shows the skyline of Weinheim that I remember very well. This area was one of the central battle grounds for the infamous "thirty-years war." This was a war that was started by the Catholic church to attempt to force the Protestant people to return to the fold.

Martin Luther was the first to successfully break away from the Catholic church and establish a separate church. Most of Germany and the countries further North became Lutheran, or "Evangelisch" as they are called here. The word means "Gospel". Then the Catholics started the "Counter Reformation" to win them back. They had some success in the South of Germany, Austria, etc., but the Northern areas had leaders that were less under the control of the Pope, and they remained Protestant. It finally came to all-out war, and the inhumanity of man has seldom been more evident than during this time. The castles in Weinheim and Heidelberg were both left in ruins by this war.

This picture was taken from the level of the Neckar River in the East end of Heidelberg where it flows down out of the hill country. On this end, the valley is just a few feet wider than the river, but as the hills fall back away from the river, the old city begins with the immense castle grounds part of the way up the hill. The space between the river and the hills becomes wider and wider until the hills die out at the Bergstraße.

From there, the city spreads out to the North and the South on both sides of the river. The oldest bridge over the Neckar River in Heidelberg was built to go directly into the old city. On the Heidelberg side of the river there are two round, white pillars that are part of the old city Gate. Across the bridge, which is usable only for pedestrians and bicycles, is the top end of a village known as Neuenheim.
The Heidelberg Castle was one of those destroyed in the Thirty-Years War. We saw evidence there of some Pagan influences - including the worship of Bachus - and the old Feudal system of government was not one to meet the standard of "the Reign of the Judges" in the Book of Mormon, but it still strikes us that such destruction of life and property was unjustified, especially for churches that claimed to be Christian.
There are historians who try to show that Germany is still recovering from the psychological and spiritual devastation of that war that took place 400 years ago.

While serving in Heidelberg we witnessed a night of historical remembrance as they used lights to simulate the burning of the castle.

Pictures from the castle complex show the old mote, which was huge. The great stone walls show how great sections were blasted off. Hundreds of the aristocrats and thousands of the peasants would have had daily business in the complex.

From the castle looking out over the city, one gets a view of the Heidelberg University, which is currently the most advanced training center for medicine in Germany. At least the students won't have to walk far to their classes. Many of the roads are so narrow a car can't get through, and the buildings are in some cases nine stories high. These views show almost nothing but roofs. In the distance you can see a neighboring city named Mannheim on the skyline.

When there as a missionary, we lived in the part of Neuenheim where it spreads out to the North after the hills end. There is another bridge down there that is in use for all kinds of traffic, including trains, streetcars, buses, trucks, and anything smaller. That was about where we lived. On the Heidelberg side of that bridge is the newer part of Heidelberg, and it is a big city with considerably wider roads than in the Altstadt (old city).
Going further South from the newer part one comes into village known as Rohrbach. It was a separate town back in the 60s, and had its own dialect. People didn't move around much in those days, and I remember talking to people there who had never been more than 25 kilometers from where they were born. This lack of mobility, plus the river which divided the people, led to the dialectal variations. Now with radio and Television, mobility, and a changed way of life has made a big difference. It is now solid city from far South of Rohrbach to the North beyond Neuenheim, and West toward Mannheim.

It was a wonderful day to see the beautiful cities of Heidleberg and Weinheim where Elder Howlett had served as a young man and now came back with his eternal companion. How many times over the years has he expressed the desire to take her there?