Touring Nuremberg, Germany, a city devoted to its past

View Photo Gallery Touring the markets and architecture of Nuremberg:The southern Germany city is famous for its holiday markets, and its devotion to history.

I am, my map tells me, standing on the meat bridge. Its not nearly as exciting an experience as that name suggests. Actually, the gently arched late-Renaissance Fleischbrcke one o many bridges that cross the !egnit" Ri#er in $uremberg is made o stone, not lesh% its name deri#es rom the meat market that once stood nearby.&y disappointment subsiding, I stroll to'ard the nearby (auptmarkt, the citys main s)uare. Its here that the *hristmas &arket probably +ermanys most amous holiday market, 'ith roots stretching back to the ,-th century is held. .his years *hristkindlesmarkt /the e#ent is traditionally opened by a young 'oman dressed as the *hristkind, the *hristmas gi t-bringer0 opened on $o#. 12, illing this large cobblestone pla"a 'ith stalls selling traditional Franconian products3 'ooden *hristmas decorations, gingerbread, mulled 'ine, brat'urst.

4ut during my #isit, the s)uare is mostly empty, gi#e or take a e' ruit and #egetable #endors, so I continue 'alking up the hill to'ard the Imperial *astle, 'hich has loomed o#er the city since the &iddle Ages. Reminders o $urembergs golden age in the ,5th and ,-th centuries, 'hen it 'as one o 6uropes most important trading centers and the heart o the (oly Roman 6mpire, are e#ery'here. I pass the medie#al 7t. 7ebaldus *hurch, one o the citys most signi icant places o 'orship, and the 4rat'ursth8usle /a restaurant ser#ing the local specialty, $rnberger Rostbrat'urst, in the time-honored ashion, cooked o#er a 'ood- ired grill0 be ore I reach my destination3 the 7tadtmuseum Fembohaus, the city museum, 'hich is housed in the only remaining large late-Renaissance merchants house. I buy a ticket and take the ele#ator to the top loor. .he door opens and there it is, right in ront o me, the thing Id come to see3 a 'ooden model o the citys medie#al center, built in the ,29:s by our master cra tsmen, on a scale o ,35::. .he attention to detail is astounding3 .he *hurch o 7t. ;oren"s +othic acade and lying buttresses, or example, ha#e been re-created in painstaking ashion. Its a remarkable piece o 'ork. <ou might also call it propaganda. =ne o the citys most signi icant pre'ar buildings is missing, despite being 'ell-kno'n enough to eature on >eimar-era postcards3 $urembergs magni icent domed synagogue, inaugurated in ,?@A and torn do'n in ,29? on the orders o local thug and $a"i kingpin Bulius 7treicher. &uch o the rest o $uremberg ollo'ed soon a ter. .he model 'as completed in ,292% six years later, on the night o Ban. 1, ,2A5, a huge chunk o $urembergs historic center 'as

obliterated in an Allied air raid. .he area around 7t. 7ebaldus *hurch, one local tells me, came to be kno'n as 7t. 7ebalduss Cesert, such 'as the de#astation. Holding on to the pastI you stroll around the city, youll see that 'hat could be repaired 'as repaired, but much o the medie#al character that once de ined $uremberg is gone. !erhaps this is 'hy $uremberg seems so de#oted to its past. <ou only ha#e to look at the 'ide #ariety o museums /not only those de#oted to the city, $a"ism and arts and cra ts, but also to hats, trams, pencils and 'heat-beer glasses, and thats only touching the sur ace0 to see that. And its not Dust museums. It seems that $uremberg lost so much so )uickly that it re uses to let anything else go..hat hadnt been ob#ious on my irst day in the city. A ter arri#ing at the airport and taking the ast modern sub'ay to the central station /a be'ildering, cramped mixture o ast- ood outlets and huge ne's agents, 'hich appear to be a +erman specialty0, I 'alked the short distance to my minimalist hotel. 7o ar, so modern +ermany, I thought.It took 10 minutes on the S-Bahn from Nurembergs

central station to the neighborhood of Dutzendteich in the south to bring me face to face with Nurembergs darkest hour. I was on m wa to the site of the former Nazi !arade grounds" where #dolf $itler s!oke before huge" adoring crowds and where %eni &iefenstahl shot her infamous film" '(rium!h of the )ill"* in 1+,-..he day I #isited, amilies 'ere streaming o
trains and trams to'ard an area slightly to the north o the parade grounds, 'here a air 'as taking place. .he shrill, tinny sound o automated music 'as Dust about audible, and o#er a large ence I spotted a Ferris 'heel and other stomach-churning carni#al rides.As the cro'd passed the Cocumentation *enter $a"i !arty Rally +rounds, I peeled o and ollo'ed a large group o +erman teenagers inside, glad to ha#e the music out o earshot. (ere, the $a"i period is recorded in orensic detail. 6#en those 'ho belie#e that they#e seen and heard it all about that dismal era 'ill ind something to surprise and shock them3 ootage o $a"i soldiers marching through the center o $uremberg, perhaps, or a grotes)ue black marble representation o (itler..he exhibition is housed in the un inished *ongress (all, 'hich 'as designed to accommodate 5:,::: people. At the end o the tour, I got a glimpse o the huge hall itsel , in its much reduced, some'hat shabby state, open to the elements and 'ith trees and shrubs springing up here and there. !art o the site is no' used as a parking garage, an amusingly mundane purpose or such a grandiose structure. A short 'alk a'ay are the Rally +rounds themsel#es, 'hose uture seems assured a ter the current $uremberg mayor, Elrich &aly, recently announced that @: million euros, or about F25 million, 'ould be in#ested in reno#ating the complex and preser#ing it or uture generations. It should be money 'ell spent3 .here are e' better 'ays to appreciate 'hat happened in +ermany during the ,29:s than by taking in the ull magnitude o this space. Its also a potent example o the citys desire to hold on to its past, the bad as 'ell as the good. Crafts and bratsA rather Cisney ied #ersion o the good part o $urembergs past can be ound at the (and'erkerho $rnberg, the cra tsmans courtyard on the south bank o the

!egnit". 7urrounded by city 'alls and o#erseen by the impressi#e circular stone to'er, the courtyard is a year-round #ersion o the *hristmas &arket% there are hal -timbered 'orkshops producing dolls, glass, *hristmas trinkets and many other items..heres also a baker producing $urembergs traditional ;ebkuchen, a spicy, moist gingerbread. 4ut the ood that most interests me /and the one that locals seem most attached to0 is brat'urst. >alking into the courtyard, Im met by a #ision o per ect 4a#arian kitsch the steeproo ed 4rat'urstglGcklein. .he restaurant is signi icant because the original, pre'ar 4rat'urstglGcklein, 'hich stood propped up by the *hapel o 7t. &orit", 'as the irst o $urembergs amous 4rat'urst-Hchen, the dining halls 'here sausages and gentle bonhomie are the order o the day.

#s I enter the restaurant" theres a !eal of laughter. (o m left is a grou! of retirement-age men" .oking and working their wa through tin !lates of bratwurst and bottles of wheat beer. I take a seat at the back. If this Bratwurstgl/cklein is a bit of a cheat" the interior doesnt let on0 (he furniture is solid and comfortable" an o!en grill stands in full !ublic 1iew" and the dark wood walls are adorned with 1arious locall significant items. (he waitresses are e1en wearing dirndls" the traditional 2erman folk dress.3 bratwursts 4 all 10 of them 4 come ser1ed on a bell-sha!ed tin !late" with sauerkraut on the side. (he beer" a bread " somewhat s!ic dark brew made b (ucher" the last big brewer in town" is decent but not great. 5Nuremberg is fairl uni6ue in the !ro1ince of 7ranconia in that the beer .ust isnt that good.8>hats most
interesting are the rituals that go 'ith eating these small but delicious marDoram- la#ored sausages. According to the 7ociety or the !rotection o $uremberg 4rat'urst, they must be bet'een @ and 2 centimeters /19 I A to 9, I 1 inches0 in length and can 'eigh no more than 15 grams /about :.2 ounces0. +ood luck, too, to anyone 'ho tries to order anything other than -, ?, ,: or ,1.7imilar rules dictate 'hat you can eat in the street. A ter lunch, I orgo any o the traditional arts and cra ts and head or Harolinen 7trasse, a shopping street perhaps i#e minutes 'alk a'ay. Im expecting to ind modern +ermany here, and indeed there are plenty o shops selling athletic shoes and mobile phones, but theres also more brat'urst. About e#ery 5:: yards or so, it seems, theres a booth selling JCrei im >ecklaK3 three $uremberg brat'ursts in a crusty 'hite roll.I sit and 'atch one o the stalls, named &ora'ski, as customer a ter customer approaches and orders. 7ome go or a spicy .hringer 4rat'urst, but the #ast maDority go o to 'indo'-shop clutching a Crei im >eckla. *learly, brat'ursts are a big deal in $uremberg% the Fembohaus 'ill host an exhibition all about them next year, to celebrate their @::th anni#ersary. .hey are, any $uremberger 'orth his or her salt 'ill tell you, +ermanys original sausage, ha#ing been mentioned in a city ordinance o ,9,9. Art and beautyIts apt, gi#en all this history, that the largest museum o cultural history in the +erman-speaking 'orld should be ound in $uremberg. .he +ermanisches $ational &useum is a mar#el, containing e#erything rom historical musical instruments to ,-th-century 'eapons, rom 4auhaus urniture to a ,5th-century globe.Im most taken by the section dealing 'ith +erman art and culture in the 1:th century. .he contrast

bet'een the progressi#e art that lourished during the ill- ated >eimar Republic, such as (annah (Gchs sel -consciously modernist ,21, piece, J&an and &achine,K and some o the stu that 'as produced in the ,29:s a #anilla-bland depiction o Aryan youth at har#est time, another that sho's scheming Be'ish inanciers tricking an old +erman couple could not be greater.Co'nstairs, mean'hile, I ind it hard to miss a reminder o some more recent history3 Ra ael Rheinsbergs J*apital *ity,K a collage o old street signs rom 6ast 4erlin, collected as 6ast +ermany ell apart in ,2?2. It to'ers o#er the central atrium, a orce ul reminder that or all $urembergs historical signi icance, the real action in +ermany takes place else'here no'.Im still pondering that thought as, on my 'ay back to the hotel, Im stopped by a young 'oman selling credit cards. A ter I establish that Im neither +erman nor interested in a credit card, 'e talk brie ly about the city. 7hes rom another part o the country, but she enthuses about $uremberg. JI think its the most beauti ul +erman city I#e #isited,K she tells me, smiling. I dont disagree. Cespite the trauma o ,2A5, $uremberg is beauti ul and likely to stay that 'ay. Hawkes is a freelance writer based in London.