2013-7-21 - Nuremberg, Germany

German Flag

 

This is gonna be a rather long blog - there was so much to see in Nuremberg - an incredible city with amazing history.
As George said almost everyday, "have a cracker day".
At 8:30 we boarded buses to tour the town of Nuremberg. Wayne signed up for the optional tour of Nuremberg Palace of Justice. "The building was the location of the Nuremberg Trials that were held in 1945-1949 after World War II for the main Nazi Germany personalities presumed to be still alive. The trials took place in courtroom number 600, situated in the eastern wing of the Palace. The courtroom is still used, especially for murder trials...Among the indicted who made their appearance were Hermann Göring (suicide by potassium cyanide), Rudolf Hess (life internment), Franz von Papen (Vice-Chancellor under Hitler, acquitted), Arthur Seyss-Inquart (Austrian Chancellor, Nazi Commissioner, hanged) & Joachim von Ribbentrop (Foreign Minister, hanged). Göring was not hanged as sentenced, but committed suicide by taking a cyanide pill smuggled into his cell. His suicide note stated that "being hanged is not appropriate for a man of [his] status".



 

Room 600

 

Courthouse door



The rest of us went to the Nazi party Rally grounds 



"The Nuremberg Rally (officially Reichsparteitag, meaning Reich party convention) was the annual rally of the Nazi Party in Germany, held from 1923 to 1938.  They were large Nazi propaganda events, especially after Hitler's rise to power in 1933. These events were held at the Nazi party rally grounds in Nuremberg from 1933 to 1938... The primary aspect of the Nuremberg Rallies was to strengthen the personality cult of Adolf Hitler, portraying him as Germany's saviour, chosen by providence. The gathered masses listened to the Führer's speeches, swore loyalty and marched before him. Representing the Volksgemeinschaft as a whole, the rallies served to demonstrate the might of the German people. The visitors of the rallies by their own free will were subordinate to the discipline & order in which they should be reborn as a new people".

  

 

 

This is how the brick building was to have looked like if completed

I was amazed & in awe learning about the history of this place & terrified at the same time to think how much raw power Hitler had over people. What if he succeeded with his plans? I didn't know much about his early life, this place, the rallies & his goals for a new world so this tour was an eye-opener.

 

Picture of a picture our guide had of a rally

 

 

 

Nazi party stadium for sports & olympics if completed

"The Aryan Games were a proposed replacement for the Olympic Games by the National Socialist (Nazi) government of the Third Reich, to be housed permanently in Nuremberg at the German Stadium that was designed, but never built, by Albert Speer. Adolf Hitler told Albert Speer that after the German Stadium was built, there would be no more Olympic Games, only the Aryan Games".

 



If interested in this history, I strongly suggest you check it out on Wikipedia.

We moved on to the Hauptmarkt area where Viking treated us to lunch in a lovely & very large restaurant-I think we had some sort-of wurst & kraut..& beer, of course.

 

This was the smaller, outside area where I have preferred to eat

For a change, we had plenty of time to wander around the Nuremberg Hauptmarkt. It was Sunday & the center was bustling & full of people & many vendors selling everything from fresh bread to whole baked fish. The large catholic church, facing the Beautiful Fountain, was the anchor in the center. The church is probably best known for its the Glockenspiel which plays at noon with an entertaining march of historical figures around the clock. 

 

 

 

 

 

Won't eat these in my lifetime - but many love these whole fish

 

 

From the Web

 

Reluctantly, we left this vibrant area & headed to the "Nuremberg Castle... is a historical building on a sandstone rock in the north of the historical city of Nuremberg. It comprises three sections: the imperial castle ("Kaiserburg"), some buildings of the Burgraves of Nuremberg ("Burggrafenburg"), and the municipal buildings of the Imperial City at the eastern site ("Reichsstädtische Bauten"). The castle together with the City walls of Nuremberg is meant to be one of Europes most considerable medieval weir systems".

 

Castle walls

 

 

Moat around the Grand Castle

 

Grand castle area- Kaisrburg area

 

 

There were gorgeous flowers everywhere

 

this shows what the merchant was selling or making - armor in this case

 

 This building used to hold grain but now is a hostile for $30 / night

 

 

 

Old city Nuremberg - Aldstadt - 95% destroyed during the war & rebuilt as seen from the castle

 

 Picture of old town after 1945 bombing that destroyed 90% of the town but the statue was untouched

 

In Aldstadt (old town) - statue today

  

Albrecht Durer's bunny rabbit - the big bunny represents how commercial the bunny became

 

 Taken at the Hauptmarkt

"Charlemagne's Dream: First envisioned by Charlemagne in the 8th century, the Main-Danube Canal is a feat of modern engineering that has transformed travel & trade in Europe. Its stair-step locks allow ships to cross Europe's Continental Divide between the Main & Danube rivers. It runs from Bamberg via Nuremberg to Kelheim, connecting the North Sea & Atlantic Ocean to the Black Sea. 106 miles long, the Main-Danube Canal took 32 years to construct & was completed in 1992".