Culture of Nurnberg. Places to visit - old town, temples, theaters, museums and palaces

» St. Lawrence’s Church stands on the foundation of ancient St. Lawrence’s Chapel. It dates back to 1235.
»  In 1350, the construction of a full-fledged church began. It was during these years that an openwork stone rosette with a diameter of 10 metres was created on the facade between the two towers. Later, people started to call it St. Lawrence’s star.
»  The towers of the temple often caused fires started by lightning that struck high spires. The bombing of 1943-1945 was just as destructive for the church.
»  The church’s valuables were prudently hidden in city cellars. The restoration of the church ended in 1952.
»  Today, you can see the 1477 stained-glass windows and a wonderful 20-metre tabernacle of 1496 in the St. Lawrence Church. The tabernacle is decorated with carvings and sculptural scenes from Christ’s life. Besides, there’s a valuable old sculpture of the Holy Mother (1290) and many other ancient treasures.

Location on the map:   Facts: » St. Sebaldus’ Church was named after a simple person, a hermit who lived in a forest near the city. The place of his burial became a place of pilgrimage for local residents, near which a basilica was built in 1248.
»  In 1379, it was expanded and named after St. Sebaldus.
»  During the World War II bombing, the church was badly damaged. However, many valuable historic artefacts were preserved by residents of the city and brought back after the restoration of the church.
»  Those were a bronze monument of St. Sebaldus (1508-1519) with a silver shrine storing a sack with the saint’s relics, a font for baptism (1430), an altar (1480), stained-glass windows based on drawings by Albrecht Dürer, and other valuables.

» The Nuremberg Castle is an oldest construction that began to be built on a hilltop in the 11th century. The fortress can be divided into three parts: the Imperial Castle, The Burgraves’ Castle, and the Imperial City fortress. Each of them was erected at a different time.
»  The first and oldest one is the Pentagonal Tower (1105). Later, in the 12-13th century, the Walburga Chapel was built. It still exists and holds religious services.
»  The Sinwell Tower has an observation deck that has a wonderful view of Old Town.
»  A rock in the centre of the fortress has a 47-metre-deep well hollowed through it. A stone thrown down flies for 5 seconds till splash.
»  During the Second World War, the allied troops that occupied Nuremberg found a cache of looted valuables from European museums in the cellars of the castle. After the war, they were returned to their owners.
»  During recent archaeological research in the castle area, foundations dating back to 1,000 AD were found.

Location on the map:   Facts: » The Church of Our Lady stands on the site of the synagogue destroyed during the pogrom of 1349. The old foundation fragments were used during the construction of a new church. The drawing of the Star of David can still be seen on the floor.
»  The church was consecrated in 1358. In 1509, the facade of the church was decorated with a unique clock. At noon, a group of human figures appear from the clockwork and take an oath.
»  In 1806, when the Lutherans transferred the church to the Catholic community, the interior decorations (the organ, altars, benches) were removed. Including the clock figures.
»  The interior of the church was gradually restored with the help of monastic communities’ donations. The clock was also restored twenty years later.
»  The British bombings during the war destroyed the church building. Only the walls managed to survive. The church had been restored up until 1955. The last renovation took place in 2003.

Location on the map:   Facts: » The Staatstheater Nürnberg is Germany’s largest theatre. Its construction was led by architect Heinrich Seeling. The grand opening took place in 1905.
»  The foyer of the theatre used to be decorated with a painting by Anselm Feuerbach called Battle of the Amazons. After the war, the building was reconstructed in 1936.
»  In 1959, a separate building of a drama chamber theatre was built. Another theatre stage called Blue Box has recently been erected to show premiere performances.
»  120 artists of various genres and 90 orchestra members work on these stages. The theatre’s annual repertoire includes 650 performances.
»  The auditorium has 1,000 seats. In 2003, the Nuremberg Theatre became the State Theatre.