Thingstätte, Heiligenberg

The Thingstätte on the Heiligenberg is an open-air stone amphitheatre on the wooded hill north of the Neckar in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was built in 1934 and 1935 as part of the National Socialist Thingstätten movement, which planned hundreds of mass-gathering sites across Germany for propaganda performances, rallies and so-called Thing plays that mixed ritual with party ideology. Heidelberg's site was among the larger ones that were actually completed, and it was opened on 22 June 1935, the summer solstice, with a festive ceremony. Much of the construction work was carried out by the Reich Labour Service. The structure is a horseshoe-shaped bowl of terraced stone seating cut into the slope, with a stage area at the bottom and an entrance axis from the forest path, and it could hold around 8,000 people, with room for many more standing. Its monumental, ceremonial design was meant to evoke ancient assembly places. The Thingstätten movement faded quickly after 1936 because the plays proved unpopular and the party shifted its approach to propaganda, so the Heiligenberg site was used only for a limited number of events. After 1945 the amphitheatre was repurposed, and it now hosts public gatherings, including the traditional Walpurgis Night gathering on 30 April, as well as occasional performances. The site is also treated as a place for critical remembrance of its origins, and information boards explain its history. It lies close to the ruins of the St Michael's Monastery and the remains of Celtic ring walls on the Heiligenberg, so a visit often combines archaeology, woodland walking and Nazi-era history. Visitors should expect an uphill walk from the Philosophenweg or from the Neuenheim side.