Nuremberg
Nuremberg (Ger. Nurnberg; Lat. Norimberga or Norica), a fortified city of the Bavarian province of Middle Franconia, situated in 49° 28' N. lat. and 11° 5' long., and now havinig a population of 114,891, is noted in ecclesiastical history as the seat of several important Church councils; two of which in the Reformation period decided the fate of the new movement. Aside from this relation to ecclesiastical history, Nuremberg is famed as one of the most remarkable and interesting cities of Germany, on account of the numerous remains of medieval architecture which it presents in its picturesque streets, with their gabled houses, stone balconies, and quaint carvings. Indeed, no city retained until the Austrian-Prussian war of 1866 a stronger impress of the characteristics which distinguished the wealthy burgher classes in the Middle Ages; and its double lines of fortified walls, separated from each other by public walks and gardens, and guarded by seventy towers, together with the numerous bridges which span the Pegnitz, on whose banks the city is built, gave it distinctive features of its own. At present the demolition of the old walls is fast removing many of the ancient landmarks, and there remain only the houses to trace the age of this quaint old city, once an independent, sovereignty. Among the most remarkable of its numerous public buildings are the old palace or castle, commanding: from its high position a magnificent view of the surrounding country, and interesting for its antiquity and for its gallery of paintings, rich in gems of early German art; the town-hall, which ranks among the noblest of its kind in Germany, and is adorned with works of Albert Durer and Gabriel Weyher; the noble Gothic fountain opposite the cathedral by Schonhofer, with its numerous groups of figures, beautifully restored in modern times; and many other. fountains deserving notice. Of its numerous churches, the most remarkable is the St. Lawrence, a Gothic structure, built between 1270 and 1478, with its beautiful painted-glass windows; its noble towers and doorway, and the celebrated stone pyx, completed in 1500, by Adam Kraft, after five years' assiduous labor. Other notable Protestant churches are those of St. Sibaldus, St. James, and St. AEgidius, all more or less distinguished for their works of art. The. church of the Holy Ghost, which was. restored in 1850, contained the jewels of the imperial German crown from 1424 until 1806, when they were removed to Vienna. The Roman Catholic church, or Frauenkirche, is remarkable for its richly ornamented Gothic portal.
