Haus zum Ritter (House of the Knight), Heidelberg

Heidelberg's oldest standing residential building, originally built in 1592, is notable for being the only structure that withstood the 1693 fire and the destruction caused by the French. Its flamboyant Renaissance facade, crafted from stone, is an uncharacteristic extravagance by Charles Belier, a French textile merchant who relocated here because he was a Calvinist. Due to its survival, the building served as the town hall from 1693 to 1703. In 1705, it was turned into the Inn to the Knight Saint George, a role it has clung to ever since.

Renowned French wordsmith Victor Hugo, on a jaunt to Heidelberg in 1838, was thoroughly impressed by this edifice's resilience and grandeur. Among its various Latin inscriptions, one devoutly decrees, 'Persta invicta, Venus'—a clever Reformation-era anagram for 'Glory to God alone'—while another piously declares, 'Glory to God alone'. A longer inscription translates to, 'Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders work in vain'. Oh, and watch out for the lamb motif above the entrance—a nod to the family’s cloth-merchant guild and a linguistic play on the family name, as 'bélier' is French for ram.