Nuremberg is known for its well-preserved Old Town with its imposing Imperial Castle, medieval half-timbered houses and picturesque alleyways. Tourists particularly appreciate the Christmas market, the Albrecht Dürer House and the many museums that bring the city's rich history to life. The city is a wonderful place to discover on a day trip.
The second largest Bavarian city was first mentioned in a document almost 1000 years ago. In the historical document dated 16 July 1050, the release of a serf named Sigena was sealed by Emperor Henry III at the court in Nuremberg. This day has been recognised as the town's birthday ever since.
In the late Middle Ages, the Holy Roman Empire included Germany, a large part of today's Benelux countries, the Netherlands and large parts of northern Italy. The laws that applied in the empire, including the procedures for the election and coronation of Roman-German kings, were laid down in an imperial code, the Golden Bull of 1356. Nuremberg was one of the most important cities in the empire: it was the place where every newly elected German king was to hold his first Imperial Diet and where the imperial insignia were kept from 1424 to 1796. In the late 15th and 16th centuries, the city experienced an economic and artistic heyday. World-famous artists such as Albrecht Dürer, Adam Kraft and Veit Stoß, humanists such as Willibald Pirckheimer and scientists such as the astronomer Johannes Regiomontanus lived and worked in the city.
After the Thirty Years' War came economic decline. The end of the empire in 1806 robbed the imperial city of its last support and enabled it to be annexed by Bavaria. At the same time, the Romantics discovered the city's rich cultural heritage and elevated Nuremberg to a symbol of old German history and culture (‘the Empire's treasure chest’).
In the 19th century, Nuremberg's entrepreneurial spirit once again ensured economic growth. The starting signal for the industrial upturn came in 1835 with the first German railway journey between Nuremberg and Fürth. Manufacturing boomed and the Noris became the leading industrial and working-class city in southern Germany (‘the industrial heart of Bavaria’) and one of the centres of the German labour movement (‘red Nürnberg’).
After culturally fruitful years during the Weimar Republic, the National Socialists used the romantic Nuremberg myth to further their aims in the 20th century. Hitler made Nürnberg the backdrop for the self-portrayal of National Socialism at the Reich Party Congresses, the inhumane ‘Nürnberg Race Laws’ were enacted here and, after the end of the war, the main war criminals of the Nazi terror regime stood trial here before the international military tribunal in the ‘Nuremberg Trials’.
The town, which was badly destroyed by bombs during the Second World War, is now an exciting combination of a vibrant past and a modern present.
Read up! You can look up dates and events in the city's history and its people in the Stadtlexikon Nuremberg and other publications from the city archives. In addition, the Association for the History of the City of Nuremberg, which is based at the City Archive, offers you a broad programme of events and publications on interesting aspects of the city's history.
Train connection: about 1hour and 10 minutes. More information under bahn.de
Car: about 2 hours via the A9 motorway
