Heidelberg Castle Quiz: Red Sandstone Ruins and a Giant Barrel

This Heidelberg Castle quiz climbs to the romantic ruins above Germany's oldest university town. Play an interactive set of 10 questions on the Electors Palatine, red Neckar sandstone, French destruction in the 1690s, a lightning strike in 1764, the giant Heidelberg Tun, the jester Perkeo, the Renaissance Ottheinrich Building, the pharmacy museum and Mark Twain's visit.

Start Heidelberg Castle Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

City
Which German city is the castle above?
Stone
What stone gives the castle its color?
Rulers
Who lived in the castle?
French
Who destroyed much of the castle in the 1690s?
Lightning
What damaged it again in 1764?
Barrel
What giant object is in the castle cellar?
Jester
Who guards the barrel in legend?
Facade
Which building has a famous Renaissance facade?
Museum
Which museum is inside the castle?
Writer
Which American writer described Heidelberg in A Tramp Abroad?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Which German city is the castle above?
Answer: Heidelberg
It overlooks the Neckar River.
Q2: What stone gives the castle its color?
Answer: Red sandstone
It comes from the Neckar valley.
Q3: Who lived in the castle?
Answer: The Electors Palatine
They were powerful princes.
Q4: Who destroyed much of the castle in the 1690s?
Answer: French troops
It happened during the Nine Years' War.
Q5: What damaged it again in 1764?
Answer: Lightning
Rebuilding plans were abandoned.
Q6: What giant object is in the castle cellar?
Answer: A huge wine barrel
It holds over 200,000 liters.
Q7: Who guards the barrel in legend?
Answer: Perkeo, a court jester
He was said to drink enormous amounts.
Q8: Which building has a famous Renaissance facade?
Answer: Ottheinrich Building
Statues fill its niches.
Q9: Which museum is inside the castle?
Answer: German Pharmacy Museum
It shows old apothecaries.
Q10: Which American writer described Heidelberg in A Tramp Abroad?
Answer: Mark Twain
He stayed there in 1878.

Romantic Ruins, a Giant Barrel and a Jester

Heidelberg Castle rises on a hillside above the Neckar River and the old town of Heidelberg, home to Germany's oldest university. Built of red sandstone from the valley, it was the residence of the Electors Palatine, powerful princes of the Holy Roman Empire.

French troops destroyed much of the castle in the 1690s, and in 1764 lightning struck and set it ablaze again. Instead of rebuilding, people left it as a ruin, which inspired Romantic poets and painters. Mark Twain stayed in Heidelberg in 1878 and wrote about it in A Tramp Abroad.

The Ottheinrich Building has a richly carved Renaissance facade, and the castle houses the German Pharmacy Museum. In the cellar sits the Heidelberg Tun, a giant wine barrel holding over 200,000 liters, guarded in legend by Perkeo, a court jester famed for his drinking.

What This Quiz Teaches

History fans will enjoy these questions.

Who lived in the castle
How it was ruined
What lies in its cellar
Which buildings survive
Who wrote about it

Did You Know?

A funicular railway climbs to the castle.
Fireworks light up the castle several times a summer.
The Philosophers' Walk offers views across the river.
The Old Bridge crosses the Neckar below.
A garden on the terraces was once called a wonder.