Sorry folks but I'm two days behind after a wonderful but very full day in Salzburg yesterday. It's another sunny morning on Monday 6th May and we are at the small town of Melk on the Danube awaiting a visit to an Abbey. A more leisurely day today so I will try to catch-up although we have a Strudel Making demonstration this afternoon to attend and we are sailing through the Wachau Valley just after lunch – the Danube equivalent of the Rhine Gorge that we sailed through a week ago today. My how time flies when you are enjoying yourself!!
I am sure most of you will be familiar with Nuremberg and its part in WWII so will again precis parts of the Wikipedia entry with a few additional comments.
This was my 3rd visit to Nuremberg. As a family we visited in 1985(?) whilst I attended an academic conference. The second visit was in 1998, if my memory serves me correctly, when I took my sons on an extended road trip around Germany or was that to Bamberg? I can hear the groans now it wasn't one of my best ideas! Lots of time on the road but I will continue that story when I post about Salzburg.
Nuremberg sits on the Regnitz and its confluence with the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, that connects the North Sea to the Black Sea.
The first documentary mention of the city, in 1050. From 1050 to 1572 the city expanded and rose dramatically in importance due to its location on key trade-routes.
The city, today, forms a continuous conurbation with the neighbouring cities Furth, Erlangen and Schwabach and is the heart of an urban area region with around 1.4 million inhabitants.
Nuremberg and Fürth were once connected by the Bavarian Ludwig Railway, the first steam-hauled and overall second railway opened in Germany (1835). Today, Nuremberg sits at the heart of the German railway network and this was to play a key role in encouraging young men in particular, for all over Germany from attending the Hitler Rallies. Nuremberg has one of the largest train marshalling yards on the world and played a key role in the supply of armaments and soldiers during WWII.
Nuremberg held great significance during the Nazi Germany era because of its central position and rail links. The city was chosen to be the site of huge Nazi Party conventions: the Nuremberg rallies. It was at the 1935 rally that Hitler ordered the Reichstag to convene at Nuremberg to pass the Nuremberg Laws which revoked German citizenship for all Jews and other non-Aryans.
During the WWII Nuremberg was the headquarters of Wehrkreis (military district) XIII, and an important site for military production, including aircraft, submarines, and tank engines.
On 2 January 1945, the medieval city centre was systematically bombed by the RAF and the US AirForce. Ninety percent of the city was destroyed in only one hour. Despite the devastation, the city was rebuilt after the war and restored to its pre-war appearance, including the reconstruction of some of its medieval buildings. What you see in my photos is, therefore, reconstructions of the majority of buildings including the Castle that incidentally sits on the top of huge red sandstone rock.
Nuremberg remains a centre for its traditional gingerbread (Lebkuchen) products, sausages, and handmade toys. Pocket watches — Nuremberg eggs — were made here in the 16th century by Peter Henlein. In the 19th century Nuremberg became the "industrial heart" of Bavaria with companies such as Siemens and MAN. Nuremberg is still an important industrial centre with items manufactured in the area including electrical equipment, mechanical and optical products, motor vehicles (BMW & Audi), writing and drawing paraphernalia, stationery products and printed materials.
I should add here that the Lebkuchen were sampled and came up to standard as I sat in the Hauptmarkt, dominated by the front of the unique Gothic Frauenkirche (Our Lady's Church), that houses the famous clock with the revolving figures that operates once a day at 12.00noon to chime and come alive.
The clock commemorates the Golden Bull of 1356 a decree which fixed, for a period of more than four hundred years, important aspects of the constitutional structure of the Holy Roman Empire. It was named the Golden Bull for the heavy golden seal it carried. The clock was installed in the church between 1506 and 1509. The Holy Roman Emperor is shown seated with the prince-electors surrounding him. The clock mechanism is activated at midday, when a bell is rung to start the sequence and is followed by the trumpeters and drummer. Then there is a procession of the electors around the figure of the Holy Roman Emperor. I have a video of the whole sequence including the sounds but I have not yet fathomed how to enable you to access this on the Blog site.
The main square is also the site of the Gothic Schöner Brunnen (Beautiful Fountain) which was erected around 1385 but subsequently replaced with a replica.
It's now 23.25 0n 6th May and a storm has blown up over the Danube. The wind is very strong and it feels like it's going to 'blow the doors off' my balcony.
Vienna in the morning so expect more coffee and chocolate cake.
