Stadttor Heidelberg

The stone arch of the Karlstor rises over the eastern edge of the old city with two massive pedestals supporting its heavy frame. Built in the late eighteenth century, it honors Elector Karl Theodor. A sculptor named Franz Conrad Linck carved the coats of arms that decorate the structure, marking the gateway where travelers once entered the town from the direction of Würzburg. A cannonball from the French Revolutionary Wars remains embedded in the masonry near the top, a permanent mark of a siege.