Nürnberg

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Nürnberg (Nuremberg), the second largest city of Bavaria, into which it was incorporated in 1806 on the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire (see Deutsches Reich, Altes), having been a Free Imperial City (Freie Reichsstadt) since 1472. Founded c.1000, it was ruled from 1105 to 1472 by Burggrafen, who from 1191 were Zollerns, ancestors of the Hohenzollern dynasty of Prussia. The city, being rich, acquired its independence by purchase. It was an important centre of trade in the Middle Ages and had outstanding local craftsmen, among them V. Stoß; (c.1445-1533), A. Krafft (c.1460-c.1508), and P. Vischer (c.1460-1529), some of whose work can still be seen in the city churches, St Sebaldus and St Lorenz.

Nuremberg was the birthplace and home of Albrecht Dürer, and is well known for its guild of Meistersinger (see Meistergesang), who are idealistically presented in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Hans Sachs and H. Folz are the best-known members of the guild. Nuremberg was also the centre of 16th-c. humanism (see Humanismus), represented by W. Pirkheimer and C. Celtis.

In 1835 the first German steam railway was opened between Nuremberg and Fürth 4 miles away (Ludwigs-Eisenbahn, named after Ludwig I of Bavaria). Nuremberg's maze of medieval streets made it a favourite city of the Romantics, beginning with Wackenroder and L. Tieck. In the 20th c. the National Socialist regime exploited the city's prestige by its annual rallies (Reichsparteitage). The war-crime trials following the 1939-45 War were held in Nuremberg, which lost most of its old houses through bombing in the later stages of the war. The principal larger buildings, including churches and the city walls, have either survived or been restored.