Heiligenbergturm

The Heiligenbergturm is a 16.5-metre stone lookout tower on the Michelsberg, a spur of the Heiligenberg above Heidelberg. It stands on the right bank of the Neckar, facing the old town across the river. The hilltop was once home to the Stephanskloster, founded in 1094 and dismantled in the 16th century. In 1885 the Verschönerungsverein Neuenheim rebuilt the tower from the monastery’s ruins. The tower is built of red sandstone blocks, square at the base and round above. An outside stone stair leads to a first platform at 4.6 metres. Inside, a spiral staircase climbs to the top platform at 15.25 metres. From there visitors look down the Neckar valley, across to the Königstuhl and up to Heidelberg Castle. The tower sits beside the Odenwaldklub’s HW7 long-distance path, a 184-kilometre route through the Odenwald and Vosges. The climb is gentle, the stonework solid, and the view wide.