Studentenkarzer — Attraction in Heidelberg

From the time of its foundation in 1386, Heidelberg University had an autonomous jurisdiction and the legal right to detain students. They set up the student prison (Karzer) to imprison students here for “Kavaliersdelikte” (minor transgressions). The most common offences were loud singing, drunken behaviour, participating in illegal fencing duels and driving pigs through town. They could also end up if they insulted the local constable (Amtmann). Soon this became a rite of passage and a matter of honour for students. They were sentenced from 2 days to 4 weeks in prison. They spent time decorating the walls, playing cards with friends and carving names on tables. The subjects on the walls were silhouette profiles, coat of arms of the student association, date of confinement and humourous comments. For the black paint, they earlier used candle-smuts or soot from the fireplace and later they bought paints in with them. They also got their photographs in student association uniform and inserted into the doors. The names of the rooms given were Solitude, Palais Royale and Sanssouci with the King’s Throne being the fancy name for the loo.

An interesting place to visit for 20-30 minutes offering an insight into student life & their graffiti, more than a century ago. This is 2 flights on top of a building with only stairs to reach the top. It is a short walk from the main church and costs ~€3. Timings are around 10...

This museum wins the Grand Prix in the category of the most unfriendly and fraudulent institution I have - unfortunately - had the opportunity to visit in Germany. From the failure to inform that all the rooms of the student prison are undergoing restoration works and therefore there is basically no point in visiting here, to the cancellation of a guided visit in English in the auditorium because the German guide was kind enough to significantly extend the time she was showing her group around, to the person of the guard (?), with evidently unbalanced behaviour - from the first second after entering supervising every movement, some absurd questioning, to chasing and blocking the way with his body when I wanted to leave to see the building from outside, having left my rucksack in the locker. The actual exhibition on the history of the university very poor, on the level of a school display case; such a contrast to the university's achievements (apparently not in the PR field). A disgrace in...

Reason for 2 stars: 1) The lady at the ticket counter was pretty rude. Also she charged me 3 Euros instead of 2 (I am not so sure what the right ticket price is. There was a Euro 2 printed somewhere there, just couldn't be sure as it was in German). 2) There is not much info available in English. Maybe some students could act as docents here to help the rest of the world. Now that the whining is over, some Pros- 1) Looks cool. You can get a few good clicks here. 2) I could see some of folks who understood the language, laugh/get amused by the work done on the walls and ceilings. So, I guess at least some of the stuff is funny. Now I don't really know how the student's life was while they were there, I would read about it online. If you know the language and if you are in the area (old city) and have about an hour to kill, you can go there. If not, just look at the pics online, well unless you are like me- 'must have photos...