Nuernberg Guide

 

Check out our Google Map of Nürnberg – we’ve been keeping track of our favorite places and restaurants. 

Sights to see in Nürnberg:

  • Kaiserburg (the castle)
  • Nazi Documentation Center & Rally Grounds 
  • Christkindlesmarkt (Christmas Market) and Hauptmakrt (main square)
    • Lebkuchen, Glühwein, and Nürnbergers!
  • Churches (St. Sebaldus, Lorenzkirche, Frauenkirche)
  • Shopping - Königstraße, Karolinenstraße, and Trödlemarkt
  • German National Museum
  • Wöhrder Wiese – a park on an island in the river east of the city
  • Toy Museum (Spielzeugmueseum)

 Some quick links to read:

Here’s a nice little excerpt from a web site that discusses Nürnberg a little bit:

At first, Nuremberg’s Christmas market was a bit overwhelming, almost like hundreds of Christmas stores outside, one after another. It’s one of the largest and most famous Christmas markets of all, visited by two million people each year. It is also one of the oldest markets, dating back to the early 1600’s. There are about 200 stalls altogether located in the market square in front of the old church. The atmosphere is quite festive and crowded, and got even more so as the afternoon wore on. Sweet smells of gingerbread spices, mulled wine and bratwurst filled the air and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.

At least half of the stalls sold Christmas ornaments of every imaginable kind — angels, Santas, snowmen and even Titanic! — in wood, metal, paper and glass. But we quickly started seeing the same ornaments over and over again and it became a challenge to find unique ones that you couldn’t find at home and weren’t made in China.

Which is not to say we didn’t succeed — and ended up finding some unique ornaments, the best of which were the angels. That’s because angels are a big Nuremberg tradition. Originally designed and sold at the Christmas market over 400 years ago by a local doll maker who had just lost his beautiful young daughter, these gold foil angels with pleated skirts have come to symbolize the Christ Child market and are a wonderful souvenir to bring home for your Christmas tree.

My favorite stalls sold “prune men.” In the Nuremberg area these prune men are considered a patron saint of the family and are placed behind the window facing the outside to prevent any harm befalling the family members. Somewhat similar to gingerbread men, but much more fanciful, their bodies are made of figs, the arms and legs of dried prunes and the heads of walnuts. They are whimsically dressed as chimney sweeps, bride and bridegrooms, leprechauns, and other lively characters.

By far the liveliest spots in the Christmas market were the Gluhwein stands, which sell hot mulled wine in souvenir mugs which some fellow passengers began collecting (they are different at each market). Another local specialty to try is the Nuremberg sausage. It’s typically sold “three in a bun,” as they are no bigger than your pinky finger. Legend has it that during medieval times, there was an 8 p.m. curfew and the sausages were made that small in order to sell and pass them through keyholes after curfew and into jail cells.

And, you can’t leave Nuremberg, known as the “gingerbread capital of the world,” without tasting the local specialty — here called Lebkuchen. You’ll find dozens of gingerbread stalls at the market, with intricately decorated cookies decorative tins and several different varieties. The best, sweetest and moistest gingerbread is called Elisen (it also comes with vanilla and chocolate icing).

Here’s a tip: Before you buy any to take home, you may want to check out a couple of the gingerbread stores on the edges of the marketplace or at a local supermarket where the prices are less expensive.

More about the rest of the city:

Our ship stayed docked in Nuremberg overnight, and today we started our tour of the city at 8:30 a.m. after an early breakfast. Leaving by bus from our ship, we had an excellent local guide onboard who told us about the local history of Nuremberg, which dates back to 1050. From 1216 until 1806, when it became part of the kingdom of Bavaria, Nuremberg was a free imperial city, whose citizens elected their local leaders and the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of German Nations, who lived in the local castle for 500 years. As such the city developed quite independently of any heavy church or outside influence, and during the 1500s was known as the Venice of the north for its art and culture.

Nuremberg is well known in Germany and Europe for its toy making, which dates back to the 13th century. Up until 100 years ago, over 250 local toy factories were still operating. Many of the Christmas toys and traditions we enjoy today, such as nutcrackers, the nutcracker ballet, gingerbread houses, gingerbread men and the concept of Christmas tree ornaments, originated in Nuremberg and are still popular in the Christmas market.

In the U.S., Nuremberg is known more for the Nazi war crime trials that took place after World War II, and that was the focus of our morning tour, in which we had the opportunity to visit the Nazi Party Rally Grounds, Congress Hall and the Hall of Justice where the trials took place. Today was a particularly gray day, which somehow seemed fitting for this “gloomy period” — as our guide put it — of Nuremberg’s history.

Interestingly enough, Hitler chose Nuremberg as the capital of the Nazi party efforts in part because of the fact that it was less cosmopolitan, less influenced by the church and more purely German. It was also chosen because it was a centrally located city with an excellent network of trains to transport the million party members who were brought in for the annual Nazi party rallies.

Our tour continued on to the Nuremberg Castle (or Kaiserburg), where we briefly toured the exterior and enjoyed panoramic views of the city. The castle overlooks the old city, which is surrounded by a virtually intact wall that’s three miles long. Unfortunately, 90 percent of the city was destroyed by bombing during World War II, as was most of the castle — though it has, however, been restored.

From the castle we walked downhill on cobblestone streets to the Christmas market for more shopping! Today we arrived at the market around 10:45 a.m. and it was quieter, less festive and much less crowded. That quickly changed around lunchtime when the shoppers started arriving in full force and the Gluhwein stands were once again hopping. At noon in the market square, a crowd gathered to watch the Glockenspiel (a huge clock framed with all sorts of mechanical toys — drummers and horn-blowing angels — that offer a cacophony of sound on the hour) at the front of the church.