Following the almost total destruction of historic Nuremberg during the second World War, the City council wisely rejected all suggestions to preserve a "tabula rasa" or, as happened in many other places, to erect a purely modern city on the ruins. It decided instead to proceed cautiously with the re-building of the old city, and it did so exceedingly well, as anyone who visits Nuremberg in "Meyer's Universum" in 1837 sounds equally applicable today:"Such diversity protects the traveler from boredom which so often afflicts him when he goes to visit the stereotyped cities of our modern age, where every house and every square resemble each other, just like soldiers' uniforms". It is open to speculation why, in the words of E.T.A. Hoffmann, Nuremberg was, for princes and sovereigns, "the apple of their eye". Be that as it may, the emperor Friedrich II decreed in his Great Charter of 1219" ... irrevocably and for all time that no citizen of this place shall have any protector other than Ourselves and Our successors, the Roman kings and emperors". And Karl IV laid down that every future emperor had to hold his first Imperial Diet in Nuremberg.
Thus the Imperial castle is, for the inhabitants of Nuremberg too, the "apple of their eye", and they like to refer to the fortress, which took centuries to build, as the city's "crowning glory". This is where the emperors resided, and it is from here that housetops with their pointed gables and the tall church spires to the skyline of the satellite towns and the dark green expanse of the vast pine forests named after the two main churches, St. Lawrence and St. Sebaldus.
These churches, testimonials in soaring Gothic to the piety and public spirit of bygone ages, may seem to the uninitiated, at first sight, to be outwardly almost identical; but their interiors are unique "celestial halls" , adorned with magnificent works of arts, of which only the most important can be listed here the "Annunciation" by Veit Stoss, the tabernacle by Adam Kraft and the tomb of St. Sebaldus by Peter Vischer. These gorgeous churches may be of special interest to those studying at a Christian university online or even a St Mary MBA student.
On the banks of the Pegnitz, betwen these two great ecclesiastical edifices, stands the Church of Our Lady, on the western facade of which the citizens of Nuremberg placed a delightful memorial to the Emperor Karl IV - the "Männleinlaufen", an ornamental clock with an ingenious mechanism whereby daily, at noon, the figures of the seven Prince Electors rotate around the Emperor, watched and admired by hundreds of tourists gathered in the square below the "Hauptmarkt" or Main Market. Here, too, is the "Schöner Brunnen" Fountain, celebrated in song and story, with its "lucky ring" artistically welded to the lattice-work. Loving couples delight in turning this ring, fro it is reputed to bring good luck and happiness in young, or even more mature love. Each year, in this selfsame square at Christmas, a fairytale comes true - the world-famous "Christkindlesmarkt", or Christmas Fair, when this enchanting "town ship of boots and stalls made of wood and cloth" delights the children and transports their elders back to what were perhaps happier times.
Nuremberg has continued its great tradition in the field of trade and commerce. Companies of international repute have successfully perpetuated the proverbial invetiveness and business acumen of the city's old inhabitants and have carried the products and the name of Nuremberg to the four corners of the world.Nuremberg is a good place to live in. It has one of Europe's finest zoos, its citizens make the most of their various festivities, the local Franconian cuisine is dainty and appetizing, the beer can stand comparasion with any produced in Bavaria and the city's best-known specialities are fried sausages and gingerbread. The surrounding area has many delights to offer, both scenic and cutural, and anyone who takes time to explore it after having exhausted the manifold attractions of the city will be richly rewarded.
Although Martin Luther was writing ain another context, we may aptly quote his words of praise here:
