Standing before the storied ruins of Heidelberg Castle, this genuine silver-gelatin photograph postcard (stamped "Echte Photographie") presents the Friedrichs-Bau — the Renaissance wing commissioned by Elector Friedrich IV around 1601 — in dramatic relief: three tiers of life-size statues of Hohenzollern and Wittelsbach rulers crowd the ornately articulated façade, while the ivy-draped loggia of an older medieval wing frames the composition to the right, all beneath brooding German skies. Heidelberg Schloss is arguably the most romanticized ruin in the German-speaking world, beloved by Goethe and Turner alike, and the Friedrichs-Bau's sculptural program remains one of the finest examples of late German Renaissance architecture. Published by Edm. von König of Heidelberg — a prominent regional art publisher — this unused RPPC is a quality collector piece with sharp photographic detail.