ADVERTISEMENT

Patrician residence in the Tucher Mansion

Nuremberg’s Zenith and Its Famous Citizens

In the early modern age, Nuremberg rose to great wealth and importance.

Crafts and trade prospered during the 15th and 16th century, science and the arts flourished. The Patricians, families which had become rich through trade, dominated the city council, and the city was entrusted for all time with the imperial regalia by the Emperor Sigismund.

Just below the Imperial Castle, painter genius Albrecht Dürer, the city's most famous son, had his home and studio. Dürer’s works were highly acclaimed, as were those by wood carver Veit Stoß or by stone mason Adam Kraft.

The city which by then had grown to 50,000 inhabitants demonstrated its innovative spirit in many areas: the first paper north of the Alps was produced here. The clarinet was invented in this city.

The earliest surviving globe was fashioned by Martin Behaim, and Peter Henlein invented the fob watch – both Nuremberg men. Astronomical devices, navigation instruments and maps developed and printed in the Free Imperial City led the world market. Copernicus praised Nuremberg’s central position in Europe ("quasi centrum europae"). Nuremberg's name was linked closely with German Humanism, especially in the person of Willibald Pirckheimer. Openness to new intellectual developments led to the city introducing Reformation in 1525. In 1575 in nearby Altdorf, Nuremberg City Council established the "publica et trivialis schola", which became the Free Imperial City's university in 1623.

Between 1533-44, Lawrence II Tucher had a garden mansion built in Hirschelgasse, the Tucher Mansion. Until its destruction in 1945, this building was considered the most beautiful example of a Patrician residence. Since its reconstruction, it has been a museum housing some furniture, carpets and original wall panelling from the time of construction. In the adjacent garden, the Hirsvogel Hall, also destroyed during World War II, was reconstructed. It is considered to be the most important Renaissance interior north of the Alps.

Nuremberg's Rise in the 19th Century