The Trip That Keeps Growing: Danube River Christmas Market Cruise

15-16 December 2022 Nuremberg Our Post Trip

This morning we started our own post trip of Nuremberg. A taxi took us from the cruise port to our hotel, the Leonardo Royal Hotel, just across the street from the old town and next to the train station. As our rooms were not yet ready, we embarked on our walking tour of the Old Town Nuremberg.

We started our tour at the Central Train Station (Hauptbahnof) which is the largest train station in northern Bavaria. Originally built between 1844-1847 in the neo-Gothic style, it was rebuilt in the early 1900s in a neo-baroque style. During WWII it was heavily damaged and had to be rebuilt again. It was because of this train station and its ability to link all of Germany by rail that Hitler chose Nuremberg as his Nazi rallying grounds. Also located in the station is the main subway, the U1, which runs through the Old Town. At the station we bought a 2-day transportation pass that allowed us to use the subway, buses and trams.

From the station we walked through the pedestrian tunnel to the Old Town. We were at the Old City Walls. During the Middle Ages, beginning in the 11th century, the citizens of the village of Nuremberg began to circle the independent settlements on each side of Pegnitz River. In 1320, settlements on both sides of the river merged into what is Nuremberg today, and the wall as we see it today began to emerge. By 1452, most of the wall was completed. In the 1500s many of the large towers were added to the wall, with four gate towers being built at the four corner points. When first constructed it had 128 towers of which approximately half are still standing. This defensive system helped Nuremberg escape capture by military force until the American army liberated the city from the Nazis in 1945. Although the Old Town was heavily damaged during WWII, much of the wall survived – approximately 2 ½ miles of the original 3 miles are still intact and 71 of the original 128 defensive towers survived. Although damaged during the bombing in WWII, it was restored using detailed pre-war photography.

When we exited the pedestrian tunnel, we were near the Frauentorturm (Woman’s Tower), the tower that guarded the Frauentor Gate. Today it is also known as the Königstor Tower. Built in 1388 during the last extension of the city wall, the Frauentorturm was one of 160 towers constructed. It also served as the gateway and toll stop for visitors coming from Regensburg and Munich. Originally built as a square, it was rebuilt in 1556 as a round tower to give it more protection against artillery fire. It is unique in that it features arched windows and a round top window. It became known as a Woman’s Tower because all kinds of women could find shelter there regardless of the work they were doing.

Walking through the entrance near the tower, we were in the Handwerkerhof or Crafts Yard where you can visit German style workshops and find original handmade souvenirs, such as dolls, glasswork, gingerbread, jewelry, leather goods, etc. In 1971, it was built inside the former armory’s gun yard to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the birthday of Albrecht Durer, a local artist. It was only meant to be in existence for a year, but it was so popular that it has now become part of Nuremberg. It is also the best place for fresh beer and Nuremberg sausages. Unfortunately, it was still very early in the morning so most of the shops were not yet open.

Walking through the Handwerkerhof, we soon found ourselves at the Frauentor Gate (Women’s Gate). This gate served as the entry into the city from the south/east. It was considered the most vulnerable gate in the city walls as its road led directly to Regensburg and Munich This gate is adorned with the Black Eagle Imperial Coats of Arms.: Today the gate is also referred to as Konigstor or King’s Gate. If you were to walk from the Train Station across (and not under) the main road, you would cross over a bridge that spanned the moat which once encircled the town. When built it was to be 40 feet deep and 65 feet wide, but it was never filled with water. Today it is a lovely green grassy area around the Old Town, except today it was white with snow.

The are many small (and large) churches in Nuremberg, most of them built in the Middle Ages. As we walked into the Old Town, the first church we came to was St. Clara’s Church, built in 1241. It was a protestant church from 1591 to 1854, when it became a Roman Catholic church. It features a beautiful altar with a wooden statue of the Madonna. It had to be rebuilt after incurring heavy damage during a 1945 bombing raid.

As we continued our walk, we came to the Mauthalle building which was once Germany’s largest granary. It also served as a customs house before becoming a restaurant in 1953.

Walking up Konigstrasse , you cannot miss St. Lorenz (St. Lawrence) Church with its twin-towers soaring over the Old Town. One of the most prominent Evangelical Lutheran churches in Bavaria, it is the largest and grandest church in Nuremberg. In the portal above the main entrance are sculptures relating to Redemption – from Adam and Eve to the Last Judgment. Inside the church are beautiful 14th and 15th century altarpieces, the oldest dating back to 1316. The 15^th century stone tabernacle, built in 1493-1496, features carvings depicting the Passion of Christ. At the bottom of the carving is a sculpture of the artist. In addition to its high vaulted ceiling , the church contains many stained-glass windows from the 15th century. On the doorway of the West portal is a 30-foot-wide rose window.

Originally built as a Roman Catholic church, it became one of Germany’s earliest churches to convert to Lutheranism in 1525. The church was originally built and furnished by wealthy citizens and the city council of Nuremberg. Interestingly, during the iconoclastic period of the Reformation, when most converted churches were stripped of their statues, icons and other art treasures, the wealthy citizens refused to remove these treasures from the church, wanting instead to preserve the memory of their ancestors who had donated much of art treasures found inside the church.

From the church it was a short walk to the Pegnitz River which runs through the center of the city and is one of the most beautiful sites in Nuremberg. Many little old bridges cross over the river. The bridge we came to was called the Museum Bridge which connects the Old Town with Hauptmarkt (Nuremberg’s main square) and the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady). Many of the beautiful quaint homes that line the river’s edge were built in the Middle Ages. One of the more picturesque viewpoints from the bridge is that of the Heilig-Geist-Spital (Hospice of the Holy Spirit). Once a 13th century hospital, it is now a restaurant.

Instead of crossing the Museum Bridge, we walked along a river pathway to another small bridge, the Fleischbrucke (Meat Bridge). Built in 1596-98, this bridge is known for the innovative and advanced (for its time) building techniques that were used. When first built it was the largest masonry bridge arch in Germany. As it is a flat bridge, it required 2000 wooden piles and abutments to support it. It has remained almost unchanged since it was completed. Unlike most of the Old Town it did not incur any damage during WWII. It has a rather interesting inscription which when translated into English reads: “All things have a beginning and grow, but the ox upon whom you now look was never a calf.” Not sure I know what they were trying to say.

After a quick stop for lunch, we walked to the Frauenkirche to see the clock’s noon procession of elector’s paying respect to Charles IV, We were not the only ones that wanted to see it. This part of Hauptmarkt was crowded with people and their cameras. It was quite a show. We then walked inside to view the church. It certainly wasn’t as ornate as St. Lawrence’s Church.

We continued our walk back across the Museum Bridge, but first stopping to admire the Rathaus Building. The City Hall was constructed between the 14th and 17th centuries. As part of its 16^th century renovations, the façade was painted by Albrecht Durer. The figures decorating the building symbolize Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome and the Roman Catholic Church.

The last church we visited was St. Sebald’s. Named after an 8^th century hermit who was also a missionary and became the patron saint of Nuremberg, the church was built in 1230 in the Romanesque style, making it one of the oldest churches in Nuremburg. The two towers were added in the 15^th century. In the 17^th century, the interior was remodeled in the Baroque style. Its original organ was built in 1440 and until it was destroyed in WW II, was one of the oldest playable organs in the world. The church itself also sustained considerable damage, but the Shrine of St. Sebaldus, the stained-glass windows, and some works of art did survive. The church itself has been rebuilt.

By now we were walked out so we headed back to the U1 subway station that was located close to the Christmas Market. Just passed the market booths we came to a statue called the Ship of Fools Statue. Sculpted around 1495, this gloomy sculpture shows an expelled Adam and Eve, their murderous son Cain, and other violent figures. The artist depicted the world as a ship which is steered to ruin by fools. Boy is that a commentary appropriate in today’s world!

The next morning, we headed out by subway to visit the Red Beer Underground Nuremberg. Beneath the cobblestone streets and the Nuremberg Castle lies a whole other world of underground passageways and cellar vaults, dating back to the 14^th century. Many of these cellars are four stories deep. Their original purpose was the storage of Nuremberg’s red beer in the cellar vaults that were carved from the sandstone located under the castle. During WWII, these underground passageways took on a new and more critical purpose – providing safety for Nuremberg’s residence during bombing raids on the city.

Nuremberg’s beer making dates back to the late 13^th century. In 1290, Nuremberg’s city council enacted a law to preserve the purity of beer – only barley malt could be used for brewing beer. This was the first Purity Law, but only applied Nuremberg. One reason given for this law was to ensure that the other valuable bread cereals (oats, wheat, and rye) would be available for bread making. In 1516, a new Purity Law was enacted that expanded its application to all of Bavaria, but it was gradually adopted by all the other German states. Today it is the standard (and law) governing the brewing of beer throughout Germany. While the original law stated only barley, hops and water could be used, it has since been expanded to include yeast and sugar.

The first mention of these cellars was in 1380 when a certificate of brewing rights stated that anyone who brewed and sold beer was required to have a cellar in which to store the beer. In Nuremberg, red beer was the staple food along with bread, and these cellars were used up to the 19^th century to mature the beer. As water was a main ingredient, the beer makers cut their passageways along the water-bearing layers of sandstone so that they would have a constant supply of water. And even today, the Hausbrauerei Altstadthof Brewery still uses these cellars and passageways to store their beer.

Red beer is a special type of beer that Nuremberg brewers have been making since the Middle Ages. The beer is bottom-fermented, very slowly and at low temperatures. This allows the yeast that is added to fall to the bottom.

The was quite interesting, but if you were claustrophobic, you would not enjoy it. The first obstacle was getting down the entrance to the caves which entails walking down steep steps (which today were snowy and icy). Then you had to transverse some low passageways to get to the rooms that were used as storage (but at least you did not have to duck-walk like we did in the pyramids of Egypt). Our guide told us not only how they made the beer, but also how the caves were used in WWII. For the lucky ones who made it into the caves, this was their only escape from the bombing in the city. Most people only had between 5-10 minutes of warning to get to a safe shelter. As we walked to the actual brewery, our guide pointed to an old building that had a 6 pointed star on one side of the house. It was not the Star of David as you might suppose, but a sign that that house was a brewery. The tour then ended in the brewery where they make not only red beer, but also red beer whiskey and red beer brandy. After the tour, we ate lunch in the brewery’s restaurant where Bill got a flight of their beer. He said the red beer was quite good.

From the brewery we walked to the Toy Museum. Long considered one of the great Toy capitals of Europe, Nuremberg’s Toy Museum has a very extensive collection of toys dating back more than 200 years. It is a child’s delight and there were many children playing with the toys that were set out for them. Bill was quite enamored with the train display on the top story.

We then walked down what some have called the most beautiful street in Nuremberg – Weiβgerbergasse. This street has some of the best examples of the half-timbered homes. The street is named for the white tanners who lived here during the Middle Ages. However, we would not have wanted to live there then, as the process of tanning white leather had a rather unpleasant odor. Prior to the 1970s, most of these homes were covered with plaster. Many of the owners and the Nuremberg Old Town Friends organization began an effort(which lasted into the early 2000s) to restore these homes to their original half-timbered construction. The snow and the Christmas decorations only made it more beautiful.

From here we crossed over the Pegnitz River and to the left of us was the Hangman’s Bridge. This wooden bridge was built in 1457 for the town’s hangman, who lived in a tower (Wasserturm) outside the town on the little island in the middle of the Pegnitz River during the 16^th -19^th centuries. He was known as the “Henker,” hence the name of the bridge, and he was not allowed to have contact with the honorable citizens of Nuremberg. In 1597, following a flood, the bridge was rebuilt and its tile roof was added. Just to the left of the bridge and the tower is the Weinstadel (former wine depot) that is one of the largest half-timbered houses in German. Together with the bridge it is the setting of one of Nuremberg’s iconic vistas.

From the bridge it was a short walk to Ludwigsplatz (Ludwig’s Square) where there is a subway stop that will take us back to the hotel. The subway is located in the Weisser Turm (White Tower), a remnant of the city’s fortifications. The tower was built in 1250 but rebuilt after it was damaged in WWII. In front of the Tower is the Ehekarussell (Marriage-Merry-Go-Round) Fountain erected in 1981. It has been the subject of controversy ever since as people think it is mocking marriage. In the center of the fountain is a statue of its creator, Professor Jurgen Weber, who is surrounded by mocking figures of a couple throughout their married life. There is one scene of the happy couple dating and/or newlywed, but from there the scenes take a dark turn. The couples become old, frail, and fat before dying and then becoming gruesome skeletons. As in many marriages, not everyone agrees all the time – some hat it, some love it, but it is a very popular site.

Behind the Tower is St. Jacob’s Church, originally built in 1209 as a Catholic Church. In 1810 it became the third protestant church in Nuremberg. In front of the church I found a live nativity scene with camels that children were feeding.

We returned to the hotel for a little while, but then decided to go back and have dinner at a restaurant we had seen by the Christmas markets earlier, but which was not open for lunch. As we walked through the Christmas Market at night, it was very, very crowded. You could hardly get close to the booths. We thought that without a reservation our chances at the restaurant were very slim, but surprisingly the manager found a table for us. We have learned that the wiener schnitzel entrée is large, so we split one and had more than enough to eat. And the wine here was very good. A great ending to our time in Nuremberg!