Johann Wolfgang Goethe
Johann Wolfgang Goethe is linked to Heidelberg through the gardens of Heidelberg Castle, where a ginkgo tree inspired his poetry. In September 1815, Goethe visited the gardens and noticed the unusual East Asian tree among its plants.
He took two leaves and attached them to a draft of Ginkgo Biloba, later included in West-östlicher Divan. The poem explores unity and duality through one leaf divided into two lobes. Goethe sent the poem and leaves to Marianne von Willemer, then showed her the tree during her visit.
The ginkgo became a lasting symbol of Goethe’s time in Heidelberg and his connection with nature. Its two-lobed leaf still offers a small, tangible link between the castle garden and German literary history.
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Spots like this one are the stops myTuur strings into tours through Heidelberg. In the app, each story begins where you stand: walk up to a spot and it starts, read it on screen or listen as you go, then follow the route to the next one.
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myTuur is a free city-guide app. Its tours are built from spots, and each spot carries a story that starts when you get there, to read or to listen to as you like.