Haus zum Riesen, Heidelberg

The Haus zum Riesen (German: House of the Giant) is a baroque palace on the Hauptstrasse in Heidelberg, built in 1707/8.

With the express permission of the elector, the house was built using stone from the damaged "fat tower" of the Heidelberg Castle.

The name, "House of the Giant", derives from the over life-size statue of von Venningen which was made by Heinrich Charrasky and stands on the second floor of the central facade.

The physiologist Hermann von Helmholtz, inventor of the ophthalmoscope, and the geologist Wilhelm Salomon-Calvi [de] also worked in the building.

Otto Schoetensack researched fossil finds here and in 1907/8, he described Mauer 1, the oldest remains of a prehistoric human then known from Europe, which he named Homo heidelbergensis.

Das Haus zum Riesen , Hauptstraße 52 (Kulturdenkmal)
Courtyard and garden side of the palace with Anatomy Garden, western wing of the building, made of Odenwäld sandstone [ de ] .
Commemorative plaque at the Haus zum Riesen.