There is more to Nuremberg than its glorious Christmas Market.
Nuremberg has a long and interesting history. It was the seat for the Holy Roman Emporer in Germany, and it was also the seat of power for the Nazi Party.
This is no coincidence, as Hitler had ambitions to tie the Nazi party to the country's regal and proud history.
There are quite a few remnants of Nurembergs distant as well as recent past spread thoughout this fascinating and beautiful city.
Though much was destroyed in WWII, much has been rebuilt as it appeared before the war. Where a building was less than 60% destroyed, it was rebuilt as it was. Where it was destroyed more than that, it was built new. However then new construction seems to fit as it uses mostly traditional materials and styles.
The city was originally contained within a moated wall. Thankfully, the city decided not to tear it down, and today, they still have 90% of the original wall. It makes for a unique and beautiful feature in this town.
Our hotel was conveniently located near the train station which is on the west end of the town. From there, we could visit one of the drawbridges.
From there it was a nice walk down Konigstrasse (the main street) past one of the original massive grain houses. Here, grain was stored for the winter months. Today, there is a fun microbrewery in the basement. A testament to its history.
Further down, one comes to San Lorenzo Church, which was damaged during WWII, but has been restored.
It is a beautiful gothic church, with an amazing entrance door flanked by Adam and Eve, with a Virgin Mary in the center.
Inside, it is massive as it's high ceiling and arches reach heavenward. A small choir and orchestra were rehearsing for a service that evening. It was beautiful.
Directly across from the church is an old palace from some nobleman who felt the need to have a more fortified home. There is even a sun dial on the outside of it.
As you walk further, you cross a bridge with a view of the old town hospital. I'm not sure why it was built over the water, but the river wasn't navigable, but served mainly as the city's sewer system. Perhaps that is a reason.
If you follow the river downstream, you will come to the executioner's home. It is right on the edge of town, and is also built over the river.
This seems to be a running theme with some of the structures in Germany.
Nuremberg Cathedral overlooks the main square where the main Christmas Market is held. It was built by the Holy Roman Emporer Charles IV, and is another fantastic example of gothic architecture.
It is from the balcony of this church that the angel officially opens the Christmas Market.
Just across the square is the Schonen Brunen (pretty fountain). It was the source of clean drinking water in Nuremburg.
There is this little ring on the fountain, that if you spin it, you are supposed to have good luck. At the very least, you are guaranteed a good photo op.
Tony and I walked further up the hill past the city hall. It features prominently as a backdrop in the Nazi propaganda film "Triumph of the Will".
The crests over the doors show a blending of the Austro-Hungarian and Holy Roman Empire crests.
As we walked up the hill further, we came to San Sebaldus Church, which had been severely damaged in the war. Even now, it is still undergoing repair and restoration. Inside there is a fascinating computer display showing the evolution of this church's exterior starting in 1230 to the present.
At the top of the hill is Nuremberg Castle. It isn't large and lavish compared to many of the castles we've seen on our travels, but this was the German seat of the Holy Roman Emporer and goes back to around the 1100's.
It was built as a fort with its own water supply. It was heavily damaged during WWII, and had to be rebuilt and restored after the war.
Just a couple blocks from the castle is the home and studio of artist Albrecht Durer. Tony and I walked over to the beautiful square where it stands.
We both really liked it here as it felt like a quintessential German town square.
There is this really strange sculpture of a rotting rabbit in the square. The guidebook says that it was inspired by a Durer painting. Either way, it is creepy to look at.
This also represented the other end of the original walled town. There is a massive tunnel burrowed through the hillside that leads to another drawbridge.
With that, we ended our tour of the old Nuremberg, and decided to come forward a few centuries to look at Nuremberg during the period when it was the headquarters for the Nazi Party.
The original Zeppelin Fields parade grounds still stand as well as the main walls of what was to be a grand Congress Hall. This was all to be part of a huge Nazi Rally Grounds; and the grand plans Hitler and his Architect of choice Albert Speer had were massive.
Today, Zeppelin Fields is mostly used as a parking lot for the nearby Football Pitch, though it has also served as a location for a Rock Concert as well as part of a Motor Speedway.
In a strange way, it still impresses the visitor. Now it serves as a hollow reminder of a time when delusional fascists ran crazy in Europe living out their fantasies on the backs of the people.
The Nazi Convention Hall was never completed beyond its exterior walls. It was here that the Nazi party would have held it annual meetings with Hitler standing at its center.
It would have been a massive building with a huge freestanding dome roof.
One can see battle damage from the war marring its granite surface.
A visit is still impressive when you imagine the scope of the vision they had for this site.
Housed inside the north wing of the Congress Hall is the "Documentation Center", or what might otherwise be called the "Rise and Fall of the Nazi Party".
It documents the formation, expansion and ultimate collapse of one of the most powerful organizations on the planet, which orchestrated a World War and the deaths of millions of people.
The museum does a good job riding the fine line between horror and nostalgia. It isn't hard to understand why so many people followed this dictator into his madness.
The museum tour ends with a grim illustration of the human cost of the Nazi insanity. The tracks symbolize the rails by which so many people were taken to the Extermination Camps. The small chips each represent 100 people killed in them. They say that if the chips had each contained a name of an individual killed in the camps, it would fill the room to overflowing.
The structures in the site are all Class 2 historic buildings, which means that they can not be torn down and must be maintained. Perhaps they serve as a reminder to us of a period not so long ago where the human race went insane. I think Nuremberg, and in deed all mankind is still coming to grips with the meaning of this time in our recent history and I can only hope we have learned from it.
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