Nuremberg Castle is a historical building on a sandstone

Sandstone

Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...

 rock in the north of the historical city of Nuremberg

Nuremberg

Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...

, Bavaria

Bavaria

Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. It comprises three sections: the imperial castle ("Kaiserburg"), some buildings of the Burgraves of Nuremberg ("Burggrafenburg"), and the municipal buildings of the Imperial City

Imperial City of Nuremberg

The Imperial City of Nuremberg was a free imperial city — independent city-state — within the Holy Roman Empire. After Nuremberg gained piecemeal independence from the Burgraviate of Nuremberg in the High Middle Ages and gaining considerable territory from Bavaria in the Landshut War of...

 at the eastern site ("Reichsstädtische Bauten").

History

Archeological investigations during recent days indicate that the place was already settled around the year 1000, although this has not been backed up by any documentary proof. Nuremberg was first recorded in 1050, when Henry III

Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor

Henry III , called the Black or the Pious, was a member of the Salian Dynasty of Holy Roman Emperors...

 visited the town, but there is no specific mention of the castle. The castle does not appear in any documents until 1105.

In 1140, King Conrad III

Conrad III of Germany

Conrad III was the first King of Germany of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. He was the son of Frederick I, Duke of Swabia, and Agnes, a daughter of the Salian Emperor Henry IV.-Life and reign:...

 started building a second castle on the site, to be used as a royal residence.

In the 13th century, Nuremberg became an Imperial Free City, and the castle fell into the care of the city. Of all the parts of the castle built during this time, the Luginsland Tower ("watch-over-the-land" Tower), begun in 1377, stands out.
Legend has it that in 1381, the robber baron Eppelein von Gailingen

Eppelein von Gailingen

Eppelein von Gailingen was a famous German robber baron in the Middle Ages....

 escaped death on the gallows

Gallows

A gallows is a frame, typically wooden, used for execution by hanging, or by means to torture before execution, as was used when being hanged, drawn and quartered...

 when his horse leapt into the castle moat. It is said that at this certain place the imprints of his horse's hoofs are still visible in the fortification wall.

In the second quarter of the 19th century, measures were taken to preserve the buildings, in particular by Carl Alexander Heideloff

Carl Alexander Heideloff

Carl Alexander Heideloff , also known as Karl Alexander von Heideloff, was a German architect, and master builder of Nuremberg. He is also known for his restoration of buildings and monuments.-Life:...

, August von Voit

August von Voit

Richard Jakob August von Voit was a German architect.Voit designed the city hall of Annweiler am Trifels , the Fruchthalle in Kaiserslautern , the Neue Pinakothek and the Glaspalast for the Erste Allgemeine Deutsche...

 and August Essenwein.

In World War II, the castle was damaged in 1944-45, with only the Roman double chapel and the Sinwell Tower remaining entirely intact. After the war, the castle was restored under the direction of Rudolf Esterer and Julius Lincke to its historical form, including the Luginsland tower which had been completely destroyed. The additions of the 19th century has been partly removed in 1934/35.

Today, the eastern municipal buildings of the castle (Kaiserstallung and Luginsland) are used as a youth hostel.

Sources

• Mummenhoff, Ernst, 1926: Die Burg zu Nürnberg. Geschichtlicher Führer für Einheimische und Fremde (4th edition, reprinted 1997, with an afterword by the editor G. Ulrich Grossmann) Nuremberg

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