NUREMBERG

THE CASTLE CONTROLS EVERYTHING!

Nuremberg, as one of the most important free imperial cities in Germany, is not lacking its Kaiserburgor imperial castle.Located in the eastern part of the city and provided with up to a five-kilometre-long network of walls, it is an impregnable military fortress that only the World War II bombs were able to damage but not to destroy.Places such as the chapel or the Sinwellturn, or Sin Tower, remained intact.The Kaiserburgoverlooks the entire city from the top of a sandstone hill, as if it were watching over you from above.The Imperial Diets, something similar to a parliament meeting, were held here to no wonder.


Also, the jewels and symbols of the Germanic Holy Roman Empire were kept here.Such was its importance that emperors like Charles IV and his namesake Emperor Charles V stayed here.Access to the gardens and courtyards is free of charge. Fortunately, from here, at an altitude of 385 metres above the city, you have an impressive overview of the historic centre, which is enclosed by the city walls.


Once you have reached this point, Europamundo encourages you to visit the interior of the castle, with its chapel, imperial rooms, museum, and the 48-metre deep well.But above all, be sure to climb its imposing round tower known as the Sin Tower, from the top you will be redeemed from your idem.The so-called Sin Tower provides an extraordinary panoramic view over the rooftops of Nuremberg and reveals what the city looked like at the end of the World War II bombings, which turned such a once mighty city into a real skeleton.It makes one´s soul cringe to think that if this city is so beautiful today, what it must have been like before 1940.If you want to say you´ve been to Nuremberg, you can´t miss the castle and the views from the top.Your photos will be amazing, but the sight that will remain in your eyes will fascinate you.


You will overlook the orange roofs at the top of the medieval buildings, some of them original, others restored, and the city´s church towers rising above them.


If you want to visit the castle´s inside, you can visit it from 9 A.M. to 6 P.M. For 7 € .


Address:


Burg 17, 90403 Nürnberg, Germany He traducido torre del pecado como Sin Tower com iniciales mayúsculas por tratarse de um nombre propio

MINI SAUSAGES!

A German gastronomy classic is its famous sausages and it is said that there are about 1,500 different varieties of these sausages.Here in Nuremberg, we recommend mini sausages that are very different to anything else you´ll usually find - you´ll want to eat a cartload of them!Nürnberger Rostbratwurstl are probably the city´s most internationally renowned culinary speciality, so much so that they can be found all over the country. Just as in Spain you can eat Valencian paella in Malaga, here you can eat Nuremberg sausages in Berlin.


They are so renowned that those made in this Bavarian town have an appellation of origin.These mini sausages are traditionally filled with pork meat seasoned with marjoram and stuffed into thin lamb casings.It is this spice, which is used as a flavouring, that gives the sausages their characteristic flavour and distinguishes them from other German sausages. They are about 7 to 9 centimetres in size weighing approximately 25 grams.These grilled sausages have been served for centuries in the city´s restaurants, usually in dozens or half-dozens with mustard sauce and potato salad or the famous sauerkraut as a side dish.We recommend you taste them in any of the oldest restaurants in the city, which have been serving this delicacy for centuries.


They are usually served on the typical South German tin plate and if possible, accompanied by a nice beer - glorious!If you don´t want to stop to have lunch in a restaurant, you can also eat them in the many street stalls that you will find all around.This way of eating them is called Drei im Weggla, which means three in a bun. Quick, tasty, traditional and cheap!But what is most peculiar about this sausage is the story behind its origin, as German sausages are usually thick and consistent, especially in the bratwurstvariety to which the Nürnbergerbelongs.However, this variety is very small and, especially, very thin, almost like fingers. Legend has it that these sausages were created like this to fit through a keyhole.


As it turned out, the former Nuremberg innkeepers had very limited opening hours and were restricted by a curfew, after which they could no longer serve food to their customers and had to close the establishment until the next morning.Apparently, in order to escape from this law, they created this type of sausage, so that they could give food to travellers through the locks of their doors, and thus be able to continue their "bussiness" after the curfew.


The law is made, the devil is in the detail!

IN THE BIRTHPLACE OF PLAYMOBIL

What a lot of childhood memories when you´re at school come to mind in this city! Who has never held a yellow pencil with black stripes?How many have chewed on it during an exam? Remember the brand name? Staedler! Remember the most famous toy pirate ship ever? Playmobil!Both are from Nuremberg and for many generations they were and are an icon. In the birthplace of these symbols that have become part of our lives, we will take you back to childhood in the city of the famous toy.


Playmobil cliksorigins can be traced back to the company Geobra Brandstater, which produced ornamental articles, cash registers and telephones. In 1954, the company switched its production to plastic and developed the famous Hula Hoop, among many other products.Who has never had fun with this famous toy? Due to the oil crisis in the seventies, the company decided to reduce the size of its products, so in 1974, Hans Breek (the toy´s creative father) created small figures that could fit in a child´s hand, 7.5 cm.


In 1974, the year when the first Playmobil was presented to the public, westerns movies could be seen almost every day in most homes, on the only television channel we had.If you are aged 30-50, you will remember those afternoons in front of the TV watching the 7th Cavalry chase the Indians across the prairie while one of them shouted "Geronimo!!!!" It is not surprising then that the first Playmobil subject was the West. Nowadays, we can find them in any subject, profession or historical period.There are 2.7 billionclicksworldwide, as many as the population in China and India! and it is present in more than 70 countries.


Its success is due to the fact that it is a simple product, a small toy that fits in a pocket, and was designed by observing the cartoons of the youngest children.The figure is always cheerful, easy to manipulate and transform into characters from any period or profession, thanks to its many accessories.Here in Nuremberg, there is the factory, an amusement park and the famous clicks can be found everywhere, in souvenir shops, shopping centres or toy shops.Even when you go to the Haupmarkt tourist office, you´ll find that two special editions of this little toy are on sale, depicting historical figures associated with the city: Martin Luther and Albrecht Dürer.


A priori they are a gift for kids, ideal for children, grandchildren, nephews and nieces, but many of these figurines have become classics, original and perfect for adults as well.Don´t miss the chance to buy one, because apart from being a perfect and cheap souvenir, they are a true pop icon.


GO BACK IN TIME AND FEEL LIKE A CHILD AGAIN!

FROM THE PEGNITZ RIVER

With a strong medieval characteristics, Nuremberg is a highly photogenic city, but if you don´t have a picture with the Executioner´s Bridgein the background, you haven´t been to Nuremberg.This is probably the most famous postcard in the Franconian capital.To get this magnificent snapshot we recommend you take it from the Maxbrückeover the Pegnitz River,from where you can see the most beautiful view, made up by the famous wooden Executioner´s Bridge (Henhersteg) and the old wine warehouse (Weinstadel).


Executioner´s Bridge was built in 1457 to connect the city with the Isle of Trödelmarkt. Right next to the bridge there is a huge tower, which used to be the executioner´s house.His job of executing prisoners was not very popular so everyone tried to avoid meeting him - there have always been ungrateful jobs!Just next to the tower stands the former wine warehouse (Weinstadel), recognisable by its half-timbered walls and large gabled roof.This building was apparently erected in the mid-XV century and served for a long time as a hospice for lepers before it was entirely used to store wine.


The Weinstadel, as well as the Executioner´s Bridge, is one of the city´s iconic landmarks where many people go to take photos at any time of the day. Don´t miss out on your Nuremberg postcard!If this beautiful view of the city was not enough for you, look beyond the Maxbrücke and you will find another interesting panorama over the Pegnitz river, the Fronvesteand the Schlayerturm.The Fronveste, built between 1489 and 1494, was considered a technical achievement at the time, a large bridge-like sandstone block structure.


It was originally used as an arsenal, and in the XIX century, it was used as a prison and from 1938, it was converted into a nursing home.It was razed to the ground after the war, but fortunately, it was rebuilt as the original, thanks to Albrecht Dürer´s beautiful 1494 watercolour drawing of the Fronveste and the Schlayerturm.A real fortune to restore the building to its original appearance!


Address:


Maxbrücke, 90403 Nürnberg, Germany

ZEPPELIN FIELD OR NAZI MEGALOMANIA

Nuremberg´s historic past was the main reason why Hitler chose this city for holding the party congresses, in order to show the world his strength and the thousands of followers he had.Years before the World War II, Nazis used this city for walkabouts, as Hitler considered it to be "the most German city in Germany".This city was the seat of the Reichsparteitagand the annual congresses. How many times have you seen those images of Hitler haranguing his "groupies" from a concrete pulpit? Well, this is the place!The Zeppelin Field,designed by Albert Speer, was located outside the historic city centre in the Luitpolhain area.


Originally, this spot was the place where the flying machines created by Ferdinand von Zeppelin himself were tested years before.But in 1934, when the large authorities´ tribune crowned by a huge swastika was built, its use changed radically and it became a Nazi parade ground.It was the ideal venue for these large gatherings, as it was a large open space that allowed meetings of up to 300,000 people.Although this area was systematically bombed, it is still in fairly good condition today, where one can go back in time to remember the horrors of Nazism.You can even climb the very pulpit from which Hitler held his choleric speeches.


Much of the grandstand is covered by grass, although you can see the seats, but the VIP tribune remains intact, so you can see the scale of pure Nazi archaeology for everyone to see.The Documentation Centrein the former National Socialist Party Congress Grounds is just a short walk from Zeppelin Field.It is one of the icons of Nazi megalomania, a huge building in the shape of a Roman coliseum, which could not be completed because of the war.It was prepared to hold 50,000 people, who never actually got to meet there.Today, you will find a very interesting documentation centre where you can follow the chronological development of the III Reich until its fall.


Admission to the Zeppelin Field is free, while the documentation centre costs €5 and is open from 9 A.M. to 6 P.M.Although it is very worthwhile, if you don´t want to pay the entrance fee, come anyway, its megalomaniac architecture is breathtaking.To get to Zeppelin Field from the main station, take the S2 train and stop at the Nürnberg Frankenstadion Sonderbahnsteig station.


Address:


Zeppelinstraße, 90471 Nürnberg, Germany

PATERNOSTER IN KAUFHOF

There are indelible memories about that moment you experienced, when you did or saw something for the first time in your life. Europamundo suggests an experience that has been common and popular in Germany for years, but unknown or bizarre in other parts of the world.Feel the sensation of getting on a paternoster(lift), and hopefully, you wouldn´t have to pray for it, although it may help.Have you ever been in a paternosterin a public building? We recommend you feel the tingling sensation when you dare to stay in the lift past the top floor and then turn around and go back down.


Years ago, the paternosteror circulating lift was a practical and communicative device, and sometimes, it is still so today.There are hundreds of these lifts in Germany, and you´ ll find one in Nuremberg in the Kaufhof department store. If you have never seen one before, you´ll be astonished.Basically, this lift is a monotonous, continuous, non-stop ascent or descent system of constant speed which is not at all slow.It circulates cabin after cabin, hanging from a long closed chain, like a rosary. That is why it is called the "Lord´s Prayer" or, in Latin, paternoster.As a closed and constant chain, they were originally widely used in the mining industry to load sacks.The first one was put into operation in England around 1876. Eight years later, it was approved for passenger transport.


Just two years later, it began its triumphal march through Germany. In Hamburg, for example, there should still be around 350 of them.The popular Kaufhof department store is a symbol of consumerism and shopping in Germany.Founded in 1879 in Stralsund in the north of the country, it became one of the country´s most popular department stores in the XX century, together with Karstadt, which curiously merged with in 2019.After this union, they have become the largest department store group in Germany.


They are equivalent to the popular Galeries Lafayette in France, El Corte Inglés in Spain or Galerías Liverpool in Mexico.We encourage you to visit them in the very centre of the city, not only for being a shopping paradise but also for its popular paternoster, a unique chance to discover one of these curious, eye-catching and archaic lifts in danger of extinction.Will you dare go up?


We recommend a short stroll to this point, as the shopping centre is in the heart of the city.But if you want to take the underground, you should take the U1 to Königstraße station.


Address:


Königstraße 42-52, 90402 Nürnberg, Germany

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FOUNTAIN OF THEM ALL

Standing out among all the monuments in Nuremberg is one of the city´s many fountains, the Schoner Brünenn, or Beautiful Fountain.The name says it all, and it is probably the most valued and loved monument by the locals.You will be amazed by this curious fountain, which by the way, looks like anything but a fountain, given its rich and ornate Gothic decoration with a simply spectacular polychromy.


Such is the beauty and peculiarity of the monument that when, at the end of the World War II, the Soviet soldiers entered the city, razing everything in their path like Attila, they did not want to touch or destroy this precious fountain.This beautiful work of art was built in the late XIV century on the Market Square by the master builder Heinrich Beheim. It is an octagonal, pyramid-shaped water basin almost 20 metres high.


Forty sculptures are represented in it, dedicated to Philosophy, the Seven Liberal Arts, the 4 Evangelists, the 4 Fathers of the Church, the 7 Electing Princes, the 9 heroes, Moses and the 7 Prophets.These sculptures we can see today are a replica of the originals, which are kept in the German National Museum as a true gem of Gothic sculpture. An iron grille, dating from the late XVI century, surrounds the fountain and the stone pyramid, which makes it somewhat difficult to appreciate, but it is probably necessary to protect such an important monument.At the top of the gate, there is a golden ring that can be rotated and you will quickly recognise it by the number of tourists crowded around the ring.


Thank goodness Frodo Bolson is not around, otherwise he would take it with him!Legend has it that if you spin this golden ring three times while making a wish, it will come true, similar to throwing coins into the Trevi Fountain in Rome. In Rome, do as the Romans do, so you have to follow tradition and make your wish and hopefully, it will come true.This monument is located in a privileged spot at a corner of the Hauptmarkt or Market Square.


If you want another typical photo, this is one of the most popular views of the city, with the Schoner Brünenn and the Frauenkirche in the background.


IF YOU COME TO NUREMBERG, LOOK FOR THE GOLDEN RING AND ASK FOR YOUR WISH!

A GOTHIC STROLL

Nuremberg was always a city-state open to new ideas, born out as a result of its intensive trade relations with other European cities.This led to various diets being held in the city during the XVI century in which the unstoppable rise of Martin Luther´s reformist theories was discussed.Indeed, Nuremberg was one of the first cities to accept the Protestant theses, despite Charles V´s opposition.Nuremberg, a city with a Protestant majority, has almost thirty churches in its city centre, three of which stand out for their exceptional Gothic architecture.


This gothic triad is so spectacular that if you had to choose one, you wouldn´t know which one.We suggest you start this Gothic stroll from the Lutheran church of St. Lawrenceor Lorenzkirche.Built in the XIII century, it stands out for the doorway on its main façade and for the huge rose window that dominates the building. Don´t miss its interior, considered a late Gothic gem.Down the Konigstraße, you will reach the Museumsbrücke over the river Pegnitz, from here, you will have another of the most beautiful images of the city, the Holy Spirit Hospitalor Heilig-Geist-Spital.


It was the largest hospital in the former Free Imperial City of Nuremberg and had the privilege of being the keeper of the Reich´s jewels for centuries.Once you reach the Hauptmarkt, your gaze will immediately be drawn to the wonderful FraunkircheCatholic Church.This striking church with a square floor plan and three naves was built in 1350 by order of Emperor Charles IV on the remains of an old Jewish synagogue.It is believed to have been designed by Peter Parler, the same man who built St. Vitus Cathedral and Charles Bridge in Prague.


The leading architect during the XIV century in the Holy Roman Empire built it in brick and filled it with statues constantly referring to Emperor Charles IV.Before leaving the square, and if it´s midday, be sure to see the Electing Princes circling around the Emperor in the beautiful Frauenkirche carillon.On the other side of the Hauptmarkt, crossing through the market stalls and the Schoner Brünenn, we start the climb up to the castle, where you will immediately find the Church of St. Sebald.The oldest church in Nuremberg, also Lutheran, is considered to be St. Lawrence´s twin.


Its late Romanesque origin is evident, although it has a large number of Gothic elements. Inside, the remains of Saint Sebald, a hermit who preached in Franconia and died in Nuremberg, are preserved in a tomb.

HAUPTMARKT, THE BEATING HEART

If you had to find the heart of Nuremberg to measure the heartbeat of this beautiful city, you would have to go to the Hauptmarkt, where the city´s main market has been held since the Middle Ages.You will certainly be mesmerised by the unmistakable red and white stripes of the stalls, which flood it all year round.Its wonderful location is due to the fact that it is in the very heart of the old town where the Jewish quarter of the city once stood.


In 1349, with the consent of Emperor Charles IV, the ghetto was sacked and a massacre took place in which about 600 Jews were killed and the ghetto was destroyed.As a result, a huge square was built here, almost trapezoidal in shape, with a length of about 56 metres on the north side, about 75 metres on the east and south sides and about 85 metres on the west side.Although it was one of the most damaged areas after World War II, it still retains the charm of a German market square.


As in the olden days, the Hauptmarkt is very busy all year round, with such well-known markets as the autumn farmer´s market, the Easter market and the internationally renowned Christmas market.It is worth browsing the colourful market stalls with fresh fruit and vegetables, colourful flowers, crusty bread and many other local products.On weekdays, you can buy regional and international specialities in the Main Market Square and enjoy a pleasant conversation with the stallholders - this is the best way to know what life is like in this city.


The Hauptmarktis the ideal place to appreciate the medieval style of this space in the heart of the city, under the watchful eye of the Church of Our Lady (Frauenkirche)which presides over each and every one of the scenes that take place in this immense square. Every day at 12:00 A.M., countless locals and tourists gather to watch the famous figures parade on the church clock.This square is the perfect place to watch city life unfold. Besides the market and the Fraunkirche, the many souvenir shops here will make your day.


But if you really want to watch life go by, take a seat in one of the beautiful cafés or terraces on the square, any time of the year is worth it - the real Nuremberg will unfold in front of your eyes!


Address:


Hauptmarkt, 90403 Nürnberg, Germany