Nuernburg

Nürnberg

Nuremberg (pop. 500,000) lies in northern Bavaria and is the state’s second biggest city. Although bombed to rubble during WWII, the lovely medieval city centre within the historic 5km town walls was painstakingly reconstructed. Today, beautiful Gothic churches, romantic rows of half-timbered buildings, cobblestoned squares and the majestic Kaiserburg Castle create an unforgettable medieval atmosphere in the Old Town which provides a setting for many festive events in Nürnberg. Most famous is the “Christkindlesmarkt”, the Christmas Market held in December.

Some Highlights

Kaiserburg Castle
Nuremberg’s hallmark, the Imperial Castle, crowns the hill above the old town. It is one of the most important imperial palaces of the Middle Ages and was used between 1050 to 1571 by every emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Open to the public are the impressive residential and state rooms of the Palas, the Romanesque double chapel, the Deep Well, the Sinwell Tower and an impressive collection of arms and military equipment. The Kaiserburg Museum documents the outstanding role of the castle between the 12-16C.

Platz am Tiergärtnertor
The beautiful square tower from 1550 dominates the Square at Tiergärtnertor which is framed by lovely half-timbered houses.

Albrecht Dürer House
A multi-vision show introduces to the life and work of this great Nuremberg Renaissance artist. In the workshop, modern-day craftspeople demonstrate the techniques Dürer used and produce new prints with Dürer – motifs on the relief printing press. In the new gallery on the top floor, excerpts from Dürer’s graphic ouevre are on view in rotation, while the rooms downstairs focus on life and work in Dürer’s day, ca 1500.

Fembohouse City Museum
The City Museum in the Fembo House invites you to explore 950 years of municipal history. Highlights include sophisticated modern interpretative techniques and beautifully restored original interiors.

Felsengänge
The resilient sandstone of the Castle Hill is riddled with rock-cut cellars and passageways. This underground labyrinth, excavated over the centuries and sometimes up to four storeys deep, served two major purposes: Deep down in these subterranean vaults, from 1380 on, beer was both brewed and stored. Later, during the air raids of World War II, many citizens of Nuremberg found shelter in these same cellars. The tunnels, on the other hand, (whose locations were a closely guarded secret) served to collect and conduct water.

Ehemaliges Reichsparteitagsgelände
Former Nazi party rally grounds and remaining structures: the unfinished Congress Hall, the main stand at the Zeppelinfeld and the Grosse Strasse stand as mute witnesses to National Socialist megalomania.