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Published: August 27th 2013
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Nuremberg
Imperial Castle We had a pleasant, uneventful bus trip to Nuremberg. Locating the bus 'station' in Prague where the coach we were to catch was to leave from was a little challenging . . . there isn't one. Just three bus 'stops' on the derelict side of the Holesovice Nazradi train station. Not sure how we found it but we did thank goodness because more transport issues we don't need.
Nuremberg is another beautiful medieval walled city. It also has a wealth of Nazi history including of course the Nuremberg Trials. We spent the morning of our first full day in Nuremberg in Old Town. We walked up to the Imperial Castle, considered to be one of the most important castles of the Holy Roman Empire. It was a fairly punishing 'walk'. . . felt more like a climb! The thing about all these castles is that they are always on the top of a hill and this hill was steeper than most! Well worth the effort because the view of the Old Town from the castle was stunning as were the castle courtyard and gardens. We went on to visit the Craftsmen's Courtyard, where pewterers, glass engravers, potters, silversmiths and gingerbread
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Standing at the top of the Imperial Castle with Old Town in the background. makers all show their skills in pretty Franconian half-timbered houses. We stopped by the busy Marketplace with its medieval fountain and wishing ring. Legend is that if you turn the ring three times you can make a wish and it Will come true. We'll just have to see won't we! We stopped by St Lawrence's Church and watched its glockenspiel chime and also the home in which the famous German painter Albrecht Durer lived. We had lunch in a traditional sausage restaurant and had Nuremberg bratwurst with sauerkraut. Clive has developed a real 'thing' for sauerkraut. This could prove lethal!
In the afternoon we took the bus to the infamous Nazi Party Rally grounds, At the Rally Grounds we saw Nuremberg's former World War I memorial. The Memorial was changed from being a memorial to that war after WWII as Hitler had glorified it during his propaganda rallies at Nuremberg. It is now a memorial for those who lost their lives at the hands of the Nazis. Next to the Rally Grounds was the unfinished Luitpold Arena shown in Hitler's propaganda film 'Triumph of the Will'. Interestingly even back when Triumph of the Will was made film makers were
Nuremberg
Albrecht Durer's house. able to give the illusion of things being bigger and more grandiose through the use of various film techniques. The size of the Rally Grounds and the Third Reich buildings, even the number of people attending the rallies, were all exaggerated for propaganda purposes.
We spent time at the Documentation Centre, located in the unfinished Nazi Congress Hall which was designed to look like the Colosseum of Rome (but bigger of course) and hold 50,000 people. The Centre provides information about the causes contexts and consequences of the Nazi's reign of terror. The number and quality of the photographs and documents are staggering.
The weather turned ugly on our second day in Nuremberg. Cold and wet. Our first day of really bad weather since we have been in Europe. No matter though because we had planned to catch the Metro and spend the day at the Memoriam Nuremberg Trials. It has only been open since 2010 and is located in the Palace of Justice where the trials took place. The detailed information about the history, course and repercussions of the trials is unbelievable and the historical sounds and film documents are extraordinary. To see and listen to Goering
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St Lawrence's Church and Glokenspiel and Hess in the witness stand was fascinating. They look and sound like the madmen that they were. There is even an exhibit of the original dock in which they sat during the trial. Courtroom 600, the main courtroom used during the trails, is open to the public on days when it is not being used. (The Courts here are still operating.) We were fortunate that being a Sunday we could view Courtroom 600. Much of the Courtroom is as it was during the Trials. We learnt a great deal at the Memoriam especially about the role of the Allies during and after the trials. Surprisingly many Nazi War Criminals were not pursued or punished, mostly as a result of the cold war but also because of a lack of finances. Many were allowed to go back to their pre WWII professions and live normal lives. Many who found themselves imprisoned in West Germany, in the charge of the Western Allies, were released before they had completed their sentences. Not so those in the charge of the Soviets and imprisoned in East Germany.
We ended up being at the Memoriam for hours! While we were waiting for the Metro
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Nuremberg bratwurst and sauerkraut! back to out hotel Clive may just have asked if that was the last of our Nazi tour of Europe. Cheeky. It probably is but I'm not promising anything!
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