History The Buhl House

The Buhl House was built in 1722 by Johann Jakob Rischer from Vorarlberg, one of a dozen architects from Europe who shaped Heidelberg’s Baroque appearance in the first half of the 18^th century. The house was built in the first decades after Heidelberg's catastrophic destruction in the so-called War of the Palatine Succession (1688–1697). The builder of the Buhl House was the Heidelberg judge and mathematics professor, Friedrich Gerhard of Lünenschloß, who was also involved in the reconstruction of Heidelberg University.

Cherries in the Garden of the Lord of Landas

The high plinth of the house is likely due to the cellar construction of a previous building: Old engravings show evidence of a half-timbered state house on the estate, which belonged to the Electoral Palatinate judge Johann Friedrich Pastor at the beginning of the 17th century and to the court marshal and bailiff of Heidelberg, Johann Friedrich of Landas, after the Thirty Years’ War. In one of her letters, Liselotte of the Pfalz wrote: “I do not know where the upper gate is because I often made my way to the house of the Lord of Landas, the Lord Bailiff of Heidelberg, which was right under the Tiergarten. Often at 4:00 in the morning I walked through the Burgweg and found myself so full of cherries that I could no longer walk.” During the reconstruction, two old gates were integrated into the house complex, the western portal of which still stands today. 

Staircase in the Louis-Seize Style

A compact, rectangular floor plan and the hip mansard roof give the building a solitary appearance despite its extensions. Inside, there are two flights of stairs on either side of the central corridor conjoining on the upper floor on the landing leading to the south-facing balcony. The portal with the magnificent open staircase in the Louis Seize style dates from a comprehensive renovation between 1770 and 1784 and shows the transition from late Baroque to early Classicism. The builders found models for this style from the Schwetzingen palace gardens. In 1986, the Bel Étage was restored in 18^th century style.

“…for the Construction of a Vacation Home“

In 1889, the house came into the possession of the lawyer and university professor Heinrich Buhl, who donated it to the university in 1907. In his will, he stipulated that his houses and gardens should be used “for the establishment of a vacation home or for a similar charitable purpose.” Due to the turmoil of the war, however, the founder’s wishes could not be fulfilled immediately. After the First World War, the house was temporarily rented out to the Institute for Newspapers and the Institute for Economics and Statistics. Starting in 1931, the building was used as a student resident space. In 1938, the plan to turn it into a residence for foreign guests of the university, which had been planned since 1932, was realized. After the building was confiscated by the Allies from 1945 to 1948, the University administration decided to use the property as a student and social house for the university. The building currently serves as the University’s guest house and as a venue for receptions, concerts, and theater.