Heidelberg
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Museums & Art

The museums of Heidelberg are mostly located along or close to the Hauptstraße so that they are within walking distance. Germany's oldest university has some small museums like the collection of antique exhibits the Antikenmuseum, the University-Museum, the Studentenkarzer (a historic prison especially for students), and the Universitätsbibliothek (university library).

The famous castle also offers two museums; one is the Deutsches Apotheker Museum (German Apothecaries' Museum) that shows the history of pharmacy. The Schlossmuseum, however, consists of different rooms that are all shown as part of the Guided Castle Tour. Further on the Schlossberg you will find the Carl-Bosch-Museum, located in the former house of the Nobel Prize winner. For those who are interested in art the Heidelberger Kunstverein and the Museum Haus Cajeth offer contemporary art, whereas the Museum der sakralen Kunst has specialises in religious art. A wide thematic range from archaeology to the history of the town, paintings and sculptures arts and crafts is presented in the Kurpfälzische Museum. Heidelberg also boasts an ethnological museum the Völkerkundemuseum.

Quite a unusual museum in Heidelberg is the Deutsches Verpackungsmuseum, where you can see classical German packing. For those who are interested in science the University offers a Botanischen Garten (botanical garden) in the Neuenheimer Feld. Also a little outside the town you will find the Bonsai-Museum and Textilmuseum Max Berk. The HeidelbergCard offers you free entry in a bulk of the museums and free use of Public transport within Heidelberg.

Theater

In Heidelberg they have a surprising amount of theaters, given the size of the city. This is certainly due to the university and the students. The Theater der Stadt Heidelberg, the municipal theater, offers the standard program like dramas, operas, and dance-theaters. In addition, it performs the "Heidelberger Stückemarkt" and in summer the theater- festival in the Castle, the "Schlossfestspiele". The theater has its own theater for children and young adults, the Zwinger 3 that offers a programme for this age group.

Beside the municipal theater Heidelberg has a lot of private ones, a dance-theater, a theater in the university and cultural theaters. Organiser of the annual "Dance international"- an international dance festival - is a private dance-company, the Unterwegs-Theater. The Zimmertheater the second oldest private theater in Germany (in January 2000 they celebrated their 50th anniversary) is one of the standard theaters in Heidelberg. They play modern dramas and mostly European or German dramas. For more than 10 years, an amateur-theater in an old factory, the Taeter-Theater produces modern and unconventional dramas. In the Old town is another theater located, the Volksbühne. The faculty for languages at the University has its own "basement" theater, the Romanischer Keller that performs for an audience of students and other interested people. The tikk-Theater in the Karlstorbahnhof is—like all the other events in this location—an alternative, unconventional theater.

Nightlife

Besides theater, art and museums, Heidelberg has also a variety of nightlife options to offer. Like everything else in Heidelberg, Bars are mostly concentrated in the Old Town – in the Untere Straße (Lower Street) to be precise, below Holy Ghost Church. Bars are lined up to welcome mostly students on every day of the week. Bars like Sonder Bar are among the popular options. If you prefer gigs of the independent variety, go to Schwimmbad Club or Karlstorbahnhof, which hosts a series of monthly disco events like the alternative Chop Suey Club and Brit-pop oriented Rollercoaster. Halle 02, which is located on the other side of the rail tracks at Heidelberg Hauptbahnhof, is most popular for student parties, art exibitions and concerts. If jazz is your thing, then Cave 54 is definitely your place to be, which is also the oldest student bar in Heidelberg. If you feel your protest spirit emerging, check out Villa Nachttanz, which is conveniently located near the tracks of the S-Bahn in Pfaffengrund/Wieblingen. Punk parties, goth gigs in an abandoned house, a garden with regular bonfires and the cheapest beer around – what more do you need?

Cinemas

Most of the cinemas are located in the city center or nearby. Those who are interested in the latest movies and the standard program should visit one of the big movie-centers. Either the largest cinema the Harmonie Lux Cinemathek next to the municipal theater or the Schloss-Center, the only cinema of the Ufa-company that presents movies especially for kids. But perhaps you are more partial to a more cosy atmosphere and are not interested in the latest action-movie or the latest Hollywood-comedy? In that case a good choice would be a visit to the Kammer. The fourth Ufa cinema, the Studio Europa, specializes in "Hollywood-classics", was created over the past five years and is located in the Rohrbacher Straße.

In the two "Gilde-Cinemas", they show alternative movies. The Kamera in Neuenheim is famous for its newer national and international alternative movies and for its "classical alternative movies". The Gloria/ Gloriette on Hauptstraße show a similar programme. The cinema, that is awarded with several prizes every year—especially for its program for children - lays its emphasis on the "European cinema". In October/November they also organise the "International Movie Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg". In summer (June-August) the Gloria cinema disposes the Open-Air-Cinema in the Neuenheimer Feld. Two additional cinemas are located in the two big alternative entertainment locations, the Schwimmbad Musik Club and the Municipal Cinema in the Karlstorbahnhof. The cinema in the Schwimmbad Music Club is only for visitors of the club. The Karlstorbahnhof offers cultural movies from all over the world—mostly in the original version with subtitles.