TOWERS AND GATE OF HEIDELBERG BRIDGE Note the steel gate that can be lowered to block access to the city by invading armies. This was a very important consideration at the time the bridge was constructed, and is born out by the bullet marks left on the towers from battles that raged in 1799 when the French were defeated by the Austrians. This is one of a series of pictures I took when stationed in Germany as a member of the US Army. Copyright 2007