Upon entering the castle courtyard, the Friedrich’s Wing facade captures visitors' attention. It is richly decorated with figures. The builder, Friedrich IV, was displaying an idealized form of the royal family's ancestral hall and demonstrating to his contemporaries his claim to power.
Prince-Elector Friedrich IV von der Pfalz.
In the early 17th century, over a span of three or four years, sculptor Sebastian Götz of Chur and architect Johannes Schoch created the amazing set of figures on the Friedrich’s Wing. In the lower row, the last sculpture on the right is the structure's builder, Friedrich IV. He considered himself part of the line of rulers from the important dynastic House of Wittelsbach and included his grandfather, father and uncle in the same row.
Ancestral portrait gallery in stone.
In the second row, select representatives of the first Wittelsbach family members to live along the Rhine: for example, Prince-Elector Ruprecht I, the founder of Heidelberg University, or the bibliophile Prince-Elector Ottheinrich, who loved to build. Emperors and kings descendant from the House of Wittelsbach are depicted in the third row. The top position on the façade is occupied by the "fathers" of the Wittelsbach line, including Charlemagne and Otto von Wittelsbach.
Now protected from weather.
Friedrich IV presented himself as the legitimate ruler of a thriving and fertile land. The small gables display statues to underscore this belief: the goddess of justice and female figures representing spring and summer. For preservation purposes, the sculptures on the facade were replaced with replicas around 1900. The original figures are now located indoors, in the Friedrich’s Wing.
Experience the Friedrich’s Wing 's larger-than-life figures as part of a castle tour!
