Judgement at Nuremberg

St Sebald

One of my colleagues was going to be travelling through Germany, Bamberg, so I hopped on a train and headed north.  I had decided to spend a day in the medieval city of  Nuremberg, which is just and hour south of Bamberg.

Nuremberg is significant for many reasons. For one, it was the unofficial capital of the Holy Roman Empire and it soon became, with Augsburg, one of the two great trade centers on the route from Italy to Northern Europe.

Flower Market

Nuremberg also held great significance during the Nazi Germany era. Because of its relevance to the Holy Roman Empire, and its location in the center of Germany, it was chosen to be the site of the huge Nazi Party conventions known as the Nuremberg Rallies.

Flower at Tiergarden

The rallies were held annually from 1927-1938 and had become huge Nazi propaganda events. In 1934 Leni Riefenstahl immortalized these events in the documentary film Triumph of the Will.  At the 1935 rally, Hitler passed the Nuremberg Laws which revoked German citizenship of all Jews.

Subsequently, Nuremberg was chosen as the site where German officials involved in the Holocaust and other war crimes were brought before an international tribunal known as the Nuremberg Trials, and was also used as a venue for the Nuremberg Military Tribunals organized by the United States.

There was a delightful toy museum that I was able to tour.  Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed inside.  The city was world renouned for its toy making, especially the Dochenmachers (doll makers) of medieval times to tin toy producing in the industrial age, all the way to the International Toy Fair.

The Heilig-Geist-Spital (House of the Holy Spirit), which was a hospital established between 1332 & 1339.

The entrance to Frauenkirche.

Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) It is an example of brick Gothic architecture and was built on the initiative of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor between 1352 & 1362.

Crucifix in St Sebaldus.

There was a free organ concert in St Sebaldus. Until its destruction during Allied bombing in WWII, it was one of the oldest playable organs in the world, having first been built in the 14th century.

A view of the city from Numemberg's Imperial Castle.

Imperial Castle Tower in the Tiergarden.

Tee hee.

Strolling through the Old Town.

Sinwell Tower

 Ducks building their nest.

The Hangman's Bridge (Henkersteg) was constructed in 1457 as a wooden bridge.  Between the 16th & 19th century, the Nuremberg hangman lived in the tower and the  roofed walk above the river Pegnitz.

The Narrenschrffbrunnen" or the Ship of Fools.  Its message is that 'no matter how beautiful you are or how accomplished you are in this life, you cannot outrun death.  In other words, "We are all in the same boat."

Street musicians

Nazi Party rally ground