Grand Circle River Tour 11: Nürnberg [Sky Watch Friday]

I am back from winter vacation and ready to continue our itinerary. Our next port of call was Nürnberg, (in)famous for the Nazi rallies in the 1930s and 40s, as well as for the post war trials. Our first bus stop was to visit Zeppelin Field where those massive rallies were held [the name derives from the fact that Count Zeppelin once landed his dirigible there]. Surrounding this enormous field are the stands that held 150,000 spectators; just a small number of the pedestals for the light and flag towers is shown [top image]. The bottom image is of the tribune where the Nazi hierarchy sat and delivered their speeches. It is illegal today to make the Nazi salute, and someone taking a selfie might be mistaken for making the salute gesture…and end up speaking to authorities.

We left the field and drove to the hall of justice, hoping to gain entrance into courtroom where the original trial took place. Since the room is still used today, we were fortunate that it was available for tour groups to enter. The present courtroom [top image] has undergone some changes from the original [bottom image]. Still, it was an emotional experience being there.

After the lecture we headed for the main market place. It was at this point that Rosemarie and I separated from the group to meet with her cousin, Hans Jürgen, and his wife, Maria, who happen to live in Nürnberg. Our meeting place was at the famous Schöner Brunnen [Beautiful Fountain], a 14th century stone structure that was originally supposed to be the tower for the Frauenkirche located behind it. It turned out to be way too heavy, so a Plan B had to be devised; viz. make it a fountain and leave it there. Closeups of some of the fountain’s stone figures are shown. Getting those shots was difficult due to the fencing surrounding the fountain.

We passed the next several hours walking around, having lunch and catching up on family news. Eventually it was necessary to say Auf Wiedersehen, as we had to join up with our group on the bus.
In closing, I have to say here that to me Nürnberg is one of the most fascinating small cities in Germany. I know from several prior visits that there is so much more in the way of religious, cultural and art historical significance than I have shown here.  For example, there are two other churches [the Sebaldus Kirche and Lorenz Kirche] that contain some wonderful works of the late 15th century  stone sculptor and architect, Adam Kraft. His masterpiece is a tabernacle in the Lorenz church. At its base is a figure that is his 'self-portrait'. Since there was not enough time to revisit either church this trip, I will show a pair of photos from 2012 illustrating this unusual work.

So, if you are ever planning a trip to Germany, I recommend that you do a little research beforehand; I trust you will want to add Nürnberg to your itinerary.