The Heidelberg Thingstätte is an open-air theatre on the Heiligenberg in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was built during the Third Reich for performances and events as part of the Thingspiel movement. Until 2018, it was primarily used for unofficial Walpurgis Night celebrations. It is a protected cultural monument.
Heidelberg Thingstätte
Bird's eye view of the Thingstätte
Walpurgis Night at the Heidelberg Thingstätte, 2007
Panoramic view from stage end
Heiligenberg (Heidelberg)
The Heiligenberg is a large wooded hill overlooking the town of Heidelberg in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It rises to around 440 metres NHN. It has been the site of many historic and pre-historic constructions, including a Celtic hilltop fortification, a Roman sacred precinct, several medieval monasteries, modern lookout towers and the Heidelberg Thingstätte, built by the Nazis in the 1930s.
Heiligenberg (left) and Michaelsberg (right), viewed from downstream on the Neckar
The Heiligenberg viewed from across the river; in the foreground the old town of Heidelberg
1645 engraving of the Heiligenberg and the Heidenloch by Matthäus Merian
Ruins of early 11th-century Monastery of St. Michael