This city in known to the world for its center of Nazi ideology and a homeland of the tastiest Bavarian sausages. Getting out of the railway station in Nuremberg city, you appear in the old city surrounded by walls of the castle – in Altstadt. Directly opposite you stands the defensive fortress-castle of the old city – Burg’s tower. The tower of Nuremberg’s castle wall greets the guests right from the station.
The main street of the city – Königstrasse – starts from here, which will take you to Nuremberg’s main sightseeing: luxurious Lorenzkirche, Church of St. Lorenz, world famous painter Albrecht Dürer’s house-museum, Rathaus (city council) Square and the Pegnitz river. St. Lorenz Church in Lorenzkirche. Königstrasse (Royal Street) is quite broad and beautifully lined street with paving stones. Although cars are running down the street but the pedestrians who are mainly tourists are so many that it seems that the street is only designed for the pedestrian. Of course, one can also take a metro from one end of the city to the other end but what you have lost in the underground when everything is so beautiful over the ground. A beautiful building in Nuremberg.
Nuremberg with the population of 500 thousand people is a city of wandering without haste to find new and interesting sights in small and big corners of the city. Other unique statues, interesting museums, magnificent churches, numerous beer and hotdog pubs… But please note that in the day time, some beer houses do not sell other things but beer. So, close to 3 pm, we entered one of the Nuremberg’s famous pubs – Altstadthof pub (the pub in the square of the Old Town) where the own production beer, whiskey and liquor are brewed locally which is not only a food facility but also a museum and a shop.
We as well as about other dozen tourists were warned at the entrance that the kitchen is closed until 17 pm but since we all were more interested in beer, we sat down at the tables located in the yard of the brewery and waited for the waitress to serve. About 20-25 minutes later, realizing that waiting is meaningless, we entered the building. It turned out that not only the kitchen staff had gone to “Siesta” – a daytime rest, but also the bartender. And the only living creature in this whole area who was also “running” the shop-showroom and was filling beer and was cleaning the tables was the waitress. We immediately asked for a beer at the bar counter and received a warning from the waitress-bartender not to leave a tip as she had not, in fact, served us. Here is such a German exactness. In fact, as a light snack for the beer, there were roasted barley grains in small plates on the table. They much tasted like our roasted grains of wheat and fit with beer.
In addition to the beer and the 700-years “Bratwurst” special type of Nuremberg sausages (the instructions claim that the sausages were first made in Nuremberg, moreover, mentioning the exact date – in 1313). Nuremberg is known for its “Schneeball” (snowball in English) and lebkuchen cookies. In the store of “Schneeball” and lebkuchen. All this about food, besides, Nuremberg has and is considered a center for song masters, in other words, a center of troubadours – “Meistersinger” (who used to sing and play everywhere). Incidentally, by a strange coincidence, before arriving in Nuremberg, we managed to listen to the overture of “Nuremberg Meistersinger” by Richard Wagner at the Berlin outdoor Waldbühne huge concert hall.
Meistersingers were not professional but master singers in the Middle Ages who were urban artisans unlike our troubadours and minstrels and were competing with each other like ours with singing a song, so to speak, they were coming out to the Mejlis to confirm their mastery. One of the best placed in Europe is the Nuremberg fair preceding the Christmas holidays. People not only from other sides of the world but even the Europeans having their Christmas fair in their own cities visit Nuremberg on Christmas because, in that period of the year, both the city and the fairs are one of the most luxurious places in Europe. Not only Albrecht Dürer but also many other famous artists were born and created in Nuremberg. This fountain is called a “Wonderful Fountain”.
The globe and pocket watch were created in this city. But the name Nuremberg is associated worldwide with the Nuremberg trial. But before it, this city has become the center of Nazi ideology for about ten years. In 1927, Hitler carried out his first National-Socialist Workers Party Congress in Nuremberg as he believed that the Nuremberg’s gothic architecture expresses the German culture at its best. In 1935, this city adopted the Nuremberg racial laws, by which the Jews were finally expelled from the life of German society. In 1938, the Nazis last congress was held here which was attended by about 1 million people. And after all, it is not surprising that in 1945 when the anti-Hitler coalition entered Germany, Nuremberg was almost completely destroyed. The bombing destroyed 90% of the Old city. The trial of perpetrators of the war was held in the ruins of this city in 1945-49. True, the residents of Nuremberg do not like to remember their city associated with the Nazis but they also do not escape the history. There is not only a museum of Nuremberg trial in the city but also a museum called a Documentation Centre of Nazi Party, which fairly presents one of the greatest evils of the 20th century – the roots, establishment and fruits of fascism. However, enough talking about evil. The Museum of Toys that is one of the best in Europe is located in Nuremberg.
National Museum of Germany in Nuremberg is the largest world museum of art and history of German-speaking nations. We can also enter a special store for mustard, which is more reminiscent of an exhibition, where a range of few dozens of mustard is exhibited, and the owners of the store are telling different stories about this spice. At the Mustard store, the shopkeeper tells tourists about the mustard. In the 1950s, when the restoration of the ruined city began, one of the first things to restore was the famous Dürer house in Nuremberg where there is now an exhibition hall.
Albrecht Dürer statue in front of his house. Albrecht Dürer’s house-museum. The famous Nuremberg hare right in front of the house of Albrecht Dürer. The author of this statue is Jürgen Hertz, he had given the hare human features and look of a beast, and although it is said that this statue is inspired by famous “Hare” by Dürer, however, at least in appearance they have nothing in common.
This is Dürer’s famous “Hare”. This is how Jürgen Hertz saw the hare. There is also an interesting statue next to the church of St. Klara, a naked man sitting concerned. It turns out that the author – Gerhard Marx – has depicted the biblical Hob – a man whom God sent many trials, deprived of wealth, health, family and everything but he did not turn away from serving God. Hob is sitting concerned with his head bowed: sick, dirty and nude. Hob’s statue
Besides Lorenzkirche, the Holy Virgin Church – Frauenkirche – also deserves attention. Frauenkirche is located in the Market Square. As it is known, in the medieval Europe, almost all the cities had a market square, which was the most beautiful and liveliest squares, which was surrounded by the town. Now, any European city that has historic “Old Town” definitely has its Market Square. In the Market Square in Nuremberg, the fruit and vegetables and flower market operated every day until 14:00-15:00, and in the evening, it turns into a square for festive and outdoor concerts. The Holy Virgin Cathedral – Frauenkirche – in the Market Square, Nuremberg. Fountain “A peasant with a goose.” It is difficult to describe all sights of attractions in Nuremberg in one article but you can manage to see them in one day.
MELANIA BARSEGHYAN
