The heavily fortified Marstall, which extends for 135 meters along the Neckar River, was built to serve as an armory in case war broke out, probably under Prince Elector Ludwig V around 1510. Two towers featuring embrasures for shooting through flank the formidable walls. On the north side, which was right at the water’s edge before the docks and the street next to the Neckar were built in the 19th century, there was a place for ships to moor.
The name Marstall dates back to a Renaissance structure on the south side of the courtyard that was built by Count Johann Casimir of the Palatinate in 1590 and destroyed by French troops in 1693. The Marstall complex, one of Heidelberg’s few still-intact late medieval structures, has been remodeled several times and today harbors a student cafeteria, rooms for holding events, and the administration of the student’s union.