Nuremberg

A fascinating treasury of German culture. It was the setting for the first German parliament. During the Renaissance, artists made it a bastion of the arts, later a Richard Wahner's opera. Unfortunately it was the favoured venue for the Nazi party rallies.

We went to the Zepplinfield where we saw the congress building Hilter had partly built in the shape of the Colosseum in Rome, it now houses the Documentation Centre that covers the Third Reich and the subsequent trails of war criminals in Nuremburg. Nearby is the Luitpoldain where Hitler held his party rallies.

After leaving the Zepplinfield the bus took us past various points of interest including the law courts where the WW11 War Trails took place, and various other attractions before stopping off at the Imperial Castle. We walked over the moat and through the defensive tunnel before entering into an area in front of the main gate to the courtyard. Here we had a great vantage point to see the views  of the city alongside one of the 5 round towers which help complete this impressive fortification. In the courtyard we saw the Castle Chapel and various half timbered service buildings decorated with pretty flowerboxes at the windows.

Nuremberg is also famous for its Christmas Markets in the city marketplace, however it was still full of brightly striped red and white roofed stalls selling all sorts of wares. Just a few steps from the marketstalls there were numerous shops selling all one would require. Shoes, clothes, household goods, electrical goods, electronics and more to mention. Dominating the marketplace is Our Lady's Church which at 12 noon the bells rang and the little figures of 'Imperial Electors' filing past the 'Emperor' Very cute.