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Sights

HAUPTMARKT

This bustling square in the heart of the Altstadt is the site of markets including the famous Chriskindlesmarkt (Christmas market). The ornate Gothic Pfarrkirche Unsere Liebe Frau (1350–58), better known as the Frauenkirche, was built on the site of a razed synagogue as a repository for the crown jewels of Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV who, fearing theft, sent them instead to his native Prague for safekeeping. Beneath the clock the seven electoral princes march around Charles IV every day at noon.

Protruding from the northwest corner of the square like a half-buried church spire is the 19m Schöner Brunnen (Beautiful Fountain). A replica of the late-14th-century original, it is a stunning golden vision of 40 electors, prophets, Jewish and Christian heroes and other allegorical figures. The original, made of badly eroded sandstone, stands in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum. A local superstition has it that if you turn the small golden rings on its sides three times your wish will come true.

ALTES RATHAUS & ST SEBALDUSKIRCHE

Beneath the Altes Rathaus (1616–22), a hulk of a building with lovely Renaissance-style interiors, you’ll find the macabre Lochgefängnisse (Medieval Dungeons; 231 2690; Rathausplatz 2; tours adult/concession €3/1.50; 10am-4.30pm Tue-Sun Apr-Oct, daily during Christkindlesmarkt). This 12-cell death row and torture chamber must be seen on a 30-minute guided tour (held every half-hour) and might easily put you off lunch.

Across the cobbles from the Altes Rathaus rises the 13th-century St Sebalduskirche, Nuremberg’s oldest church. Check out the ornate carvings over the Bridal Doorway to the north, depicting the Wise and Foolish Virgins. The highlight inside is the bronze shrine of St Sebald, a Gothic and Renaissance masterpiece that took its maker, Peter Vischer the Elder, as well as his two sons, more than 11 years to complete. The entire piece is carried by a posse of giant snails.

STADTMUSEUM FEMBOHAUS

Set in an ornate 16th-century merchant house, the Stadtmuseum Fembohaus (Fembo House Municipal Museum; 231 2595; Burgstrasse 15; adult/concession €5/2.50; 10am-5pm Tue-Fri, 10am-6pm Sat & Sun) provides an entertaining overview of Nuremberg’s 950-year history against the backdrop of the restored historic rooms of this 16th-century merchant house. The most innovative part of the museum, a flashy multimedia show called ‘Noricama’, is a both dramatic and witty 52-minute dash through the main events that have shaped the city.

FELSENGÄNGE

Under the Albrecht Dürer Monument on Albrecht-Dürer-Platz are four storeys of dank passageways called the Felsengänge ( 227 066; adult/concession €4.50/3.50; tours at 11am, 1pm, 3pm & 5pm, 3-person minimum). Burrowed into the sandstone in the 14th century to house a brewery and beer cellar, they also served as an air-raid shelter during WWII. Down in the tunnels, which can only be seen on a tour, things can get pretty chilly even in summer, so take a jacket. Buy tickets from the brewpub Hausbrauerei Altstadthof (Bergstrasse 19).

TIERGÄRTNERPLATZ

Framed by charming half-timbered houses, the Tiergärtnertor is a square tower from the 16th century. The long, dark passage underneath gives a suitable impression of the city’s walls, in places up to 6m thick. On the square stands the beautiful late-Gothic half-timbered Pilatushaus, owned by a wealthy maker of armour for kings and nobles. In front is Jürgen Goetz’ bronze sculpture Der Hase – Hommage à Dürer (The Hare – A Tribute to Dürer; 1984). This nod to Dürer’s watercolour original, called Junger Feldhase (1502), shows the dire results of tampering with nature.

A few steps further east is the Historischer Kunstbunker ( 227 066; Obere Schmiedgasse 52; tours adult/concession €4.50/3.50; tours 2pm), a climate-controlled bomb shelter used to protect art treasures during WWII. Works by Albrecht Dürer, sculptor Veit Stoss and Martin Behaim, the maker of a bafflingly