Elisabethentor

The Elisabethentor stands in the Stückgarten of Heidelberg Palace, a triumphal arch of red sandstone. It served as the entrance to a queen's private pleasure garden. From here you still look out over the city and the Neckar. The spot is wheelchair accessible, and a path runs straight to the English Building.

Elector Frederick V had it built in 1615 as a birthday present for his wife, Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia. Salomon de Caus, the architect who had come to Heidelberg in Elizabeth's entourage, designed the arch and laid out the Hortus Palatinus. Legend says the whole structure was assembled from individual parts in one night, ready to be presented the next day. It counts as the first early Baroque building at the palace. Its playful, ornate forms are typical of Mannerism, the bridge between Renaissance order and the Baroque. The gate also borrows classical elements from the wing Frederick raised for his English wife.

Up close, the four columns are carved as tree trunks, complete with branches, leaves and even small animals. Above the arch, Frederick's words honour his much beloved wife, and the goddesses Flora and Pomona offer their gifts. The trunks themselves speak of a love that grows freely and naturally. Frogs, lizards and squirrels hide in the stone, and the couple are said to have searched for them together.