Nuremberg’s museums boasts fine works of art and architecture as well as a darker side of the city, particularly its wartime history.
Nuremberg Museums
Germanic National Museum
With a collection of 1.2 million items, the Germanic National Museum (Kartäusergasse 1) is the largest one devoted to German culture. Inside, visitors will be treated to a Carthusian monastery, including the cloisters and monk’s rooms. This Nuremberg museum was founded in 1852 by Hans Freiherr von und zu Aufseß.
Reichsparteitagsgelände Documentation Center and Court Room 600
For those interested in delving into the history of the Nuremberg Trials, this museum is a must. The Reichsparteitagsgelände Documentation Center (Bayernstraße 110) showcases the dark history of the National Socialists, their racial laws and the resulting trials. The Court Room 600 (Fürther Straße 110) allows visitors to view the actual site of these historical trials.
Spielzeugmuseum (Nuremberg Toy Museum)
This Nuremberg museum is a popular choice with tourists. Over four million guests come to the Toy Museum (Karlstraße 13-15) every year. The showcase of toys is sure to delight both the young and the young-at-heart. You’ll see antique dolls made of wood or tin as well as wartime hand-made toys right up to the technological toys of today.
Nuremberg Galleries
Albrecht-Dürer-Haus
This pre-eminent German artist called the city home from 1509 to 1528. The Albrecht-Dürer-Haus (Albrecht-Dürer-Straße 39) is his former home and studio. You can see artist’s equipment from this time period on display here, as well as Dürer’s own paintings and sketches.
Historischer Kunstbunker (Historic Art Shelter)
For a more unusual art gallery experience, check out this Nuremberg museum. The Historic Art Shelter is the 900 square meter bunker where great works of art were hidden and protected during the destructive raids of World War Two.
These days the hidden works of art, which included the Crown Jewels, Veit Stoß’s “The Annunciation” and Albrecht Dürer’s engravings, are back in the museums and only the fixtures remain.
Kunsthalle Nürnberg
The Nuremberg art gallery (Lorenzer Straße) was originally opened in 1913 as an exhibition hall for local artists. Since 1960, it has showcased temporary exhibitions of international as well as homegrown art.
