艺廊作品介绍
海德堡老桥有猴子的说法早于1481年的记载。当时老桥的塔楼里就坐着一只石猴。楼塔是为了让过路人感到敬畏，而猴子的目的是愚弄，让人反思，并引起自我批评。猴子的后部对着对岸的美茵茨选侯国，右手摸着光腚，表达海德堡居民对美茵茨主教们的反感，增强选帝侯在他们心中的地位。不幸的是，大同盟战争中塑像跟塔楼一起被摧毁。今天的铜猴旁边依然写着17世纪马丁·蔡勒（1589－1661）的一首诗：
“嘿，你干啥在这儿瞪眼瞧着我？
难道你没有看见海德堡的老猴？/
我劝你不妨回头看看你的四周/
就会发现我的同类还有许许多多。”
铜雕
1977年老海德堡俱乐部请格诺特·伦普夫设计猴子的铜雕，头部是空的，左手拿着一面镜子。1979年塑像安装在老桥桥头，塔楼的旁边。与石猴不同的是，猴子右手不再触摸腚部，而摆了个魔鬼之角的姿势，以防邪眼。今天塑像是一个很受欢迎旅游景点。据说游客触摸魔鬼之角会返回海德堡，触摸镜子会发财，而触摸猴子旁边的老鼠游客会养很多孩子。
毛绒玩具
从2016年五月起，两种大小不同的海德堡铜猴毛绒玩具上市，可在海德堡老城各别小店里购买。因为毛绒玩具是给儿童设计的，猴子的右手并不触摸腚部，也不示范魔鬼之角，而是笑眯眯地捂着嘴巴。猴子胸部上有海德堡的名字和普法尔茨选侯国图章、巴登图章以及德国国旗组成的图章。
摘自维基百科「海德堡老桥铜猴」，按 CC BY-SA 4.0 使用，繁体已转简体，去掉了参考文献、外部链接等尾部小节和表格，其余文字未作改动。
中文条目比较短，展开看英文维基百科的条目（英文原文）
The Heidelberg Bridge Monkey dates back to the 15th century. It was a stone statue sitting in the tower of the Old Bridge, which was located opposite Heidelberg's Old Town. The purpose of the tower was to instill fear and respect in anyone arriving in the town, while the monkey represented mockery. The statue was destroyed with the tower during the Nine Years' War.
Touching his bare backside, the monkey showed the Electoral Palatinate Greeting to passers-by. His backside was pointed towards the town of Mainz, which was situated opposite the river bank, and thus, the greeting was addressed to the Bishops of Mainz. The people of Heidelberg wanted to demonstrate that the Bishops in Mainz held no power over the Electors of the Palatinate. The intention of the mirror in the monkey's hand was to encourage people to engage in critical self-reflection.
A poem written by Martin Zeiller in the 17th century can still be seen beside today's version of the monkey:
"Why are you staring at me?
Haven't you seen the old monkey in Heidelberg?
Look around and you probably will see –
more monkeys like me!"
Bronze statue
Upon the wish of the association Alt-Heidelberg, Gernot Rumpf designed a bronze statue of the monkey with a hollow head in 1977. It was then installed at the Old Bridge next to the tower in 1979. In contrast to its predecessors, the monkey's right hand does not grasp its posterior, but shows the sign of the horns, which is supposed to ward off the evil eye.
Today, the statue is a popular tourist attraction. It is said that if a visitor touches the sign of horns, they will return to Heidelberg. If a visitor touches the mirror, they will become wealthy, and if they touch the mice next to the monkey, they will have many children.
Plush toy
A plush toy of the monkey has been available for purchase since May 2016. There are two versions of it with different sizes, which can be obtained in several shops in Heidelberg Old Town. Since the plush toy is intended for children, the monkey does not grasp its posterior or show the sign of horns. Instead, it touches its mouth. The monkey's chest is labeled with the city's name, beneath which there is a coat of arms, which is a combination of the coat of arms of Electoral Palatinate, the coat of arms of Baden and the flag of Germany.