GERMANY, NUREMBERG: AROUND TOWN

 May 19, 2025

After a heavy morning touring sites relevant to the days before and after World War II, we were ready for a change of pace. 

Today's Nuremberg is a large city of over a half-million people. Its roots are in the 11th century, and by the 14th century it had become one of the three most important cities of Germany. In the 15th and 16th centuries it was the center of the German Renaissance, a central city of the Holy Roman Empire, and a significant center of science and the arts.

Extensively damaged during World War II, much of medieval Nuremberg was subsequently restored, including its historic city walls and its impressive castle. Although many people, myself included, tend to connect the city to the Nuremberg Trials, there are a lot of sites to see that are unrelated to the war. 

We had already seen the old town area around the Market Square, so it was time to venture a bit farther out. 

On the left is a doorway dating to the late 16th century that served as an entry to the Fleischbrücke, or Meat Bridge--hence the steer on top. This bridge is one of the few structures that survived the bombings of WWII unscathed. Dancing Peasants (1980) is based on an engraving by Albrecht Dürer from 1514. The cute photobomber is married to me.

This is Hangman's Bridge, built in 1595. The hangman of Nuremberg lived in the tower on the right from the 16th to the 19th centuries. In the early days, the hangman was not allowed to live near honorable citizens, and so his house was built on a little island separated from the main city by the river Pegnitz. The bridge was badly damaged by bombs during the war but rebuilt to its original design in 1954.

Nowadays, no one is afraid of the hangman and so the steps next to the tower are a popular picnic spot.

This is what the bridge itself is like. Stan and Bob are enjoying the lovely view.

The glassy, reflective water bordered by Old German architecture reminds me of classic calendar photos.

We walked away from the river and onto Weissgerbergasse, a narrow cobblestone street noted for its collection of almost twenty half-timbered houses. Half-timber is a building technique in which wood is used to form the structure of a building, but the in-between spaces are filled with cheaper and easier-to-acquire plaster, brick, or stone. It was a popular building technique from the Middle Ages until the 17th century.

Built in the Medieval period and inhabited by tanners, the homes were rebuilt/restored after being damaged during World War II. Today the buildings house trendy shops and restaurants.

Even the neighborhood cats are upper-class.

My obsession with doors was well-fed here. This time it was not the door but the sculpture above the door.

I also loved the statues on the corners of buildings. How would one look on the corner of my house? Hmmm...

A little farther up the hill towards the city walls we came across the Albrecht Dürer House, where the artist lived much of his life.

One of Dürer's most iconic works is a watercolor entitled Young Hare, painted in 1502.

Sweet little tchotchke versions are available for sale in a gift shop near Dürer's house.

In the square in front of the Albrecht Dürer house is a the Dürer-Hase Skulptur, a brass sculpture created in 1984 by Jurgen Goertz depicting a hare breaking out of the walls of a house. I found it to be more than a little creepy. The rusty, wide-eyed stare of the massive beast breaking through collapsed walls is bad enough . . .

. . . but then there is this very human-looking lifeless foot (or hand?) covered by the hare's claws . . .

. . . and this emaciated bunny pressed against the hare's cheek.

It is hard to believe that this is supposed to be a tribute to the great artist. It seems a lot more like a satiric punch in the gut.

Down the street is a more fitting tribute to the great Renaissance Nuremberger artist. It is a bit hard to see in the photo, but he is holding a bunch of paintbrushes in his right hand.Born in 1471 and a contemporary of Raphael, Bellini, and da Vinci, Dürer died at age 56 in 1528.  

Well, there is only ONE WAY to end a day like this and to prepare for some serious, emotional days ahead.

Tomorrow it is off to Giengen, my mother's birthplace and the birthplace of at least 10 generations before her, going back to at least 1585.