NUREMBERG 539 larger being called the Lorenzer side and the northern the Sebalder side. The impression of quaintness and antiquity which the general aspect of the city produces is heightened by the old Gothic style of architecture, and the old-fashioned internal arrangement of many of the houses, their narrow fronts in many instances adorned with paintings. To this day nearly every modern structure within the walls is also built in mediaeval style. Nuremberg ceased to be a fortified town after the war of 1866, when it was occupied for some time by Prussian troops ; and the demolition of the old walls, with their hundreds of square and round towers and a moat, now in progress (1875), has already made room for new and handsome suburbs. A large municipal loan has been contracted for a park, new bridges and canals, and for other improvements and extensions. Among the most notable Protestant churches are those of St. Sebaldus, St. James, and St. ^Egidius, all more or less distinguished for their works of art. The finest and largest of them all is that of St. Lawrence, a Gothic building of the 13th century. The church of the Holy Ghost, which was restored in 1850, contained the jewels of the imperial German crown from 1424 until 1806, when they were removed to Vienna. The Roman Catholic church, or Frau- enkirche, is remarkable for its richly orna- mented Gothic portal. There is also a Re- formed church and a Jewish synagogue. The The Walls and Moat, Nuremberg. town hall is one of the most remarkable build- ings of the kind in Europe, on account of its large size, as well as of its collection of paint- ings by Albert Diirer and other masters. Be- neath the building are secret and subterraneous passages; also the dungeons, scarcely six feet square, and the torture chamber, in which up to the commencement of the present century prisoners were put to the rack. A bronze statue of Dtirer was erected in 1840 on the Al- brecht Diirer's Platz, near the house where he resided, and a street bears the name of Hans Sachs. Nuremberg has several elegant public fountains, that on the Hauptmarlct (the prin- cipal square) being appropriately known as der schone Brunnen. The Gansemarlct, remarka- ble for the immense numbers of geese offered for sale, contains also an interesting fountain called Gdnsemannchen. The public library con- tains upward of 50,000 volumes. Among the educational institutions are an excellent gym- nasium founded by Melanchthon, mercantile and normal schools, and a school of design. A communal school founded in 1870 contained in 1875 nearly 1,000 pupils. Baron Aufsess founded in 1853 the Germanic museum for researches into national history, literature, and art, for collections of art and antiquities, and for publications relating to ancient history ; it publishes a monthly periodical. Another great institution is the Bavarian museum of industry, which has lately superseded the industrial so- ciety. Nuremberg was once one of the most prosperous of the free imperial cities, with a population of 100,000 and an extensive trade with the East and other remote parts of the world. It was not less celebrated in the his- tory of art and literature, and in the 16th cen- tury it was the headquarters of the master singers. The reminiscences and traces of its former glories continue to make Nuremberg one of the most interesting cities of Germany. Watches were first made here, and they were long known as Nuremberg eggs. It suffered
Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XII.djvu/553
This page needs to be proofread.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/18/The_American_Cyclop%C3%A6dia_%281879%29_Volume_XII.djvu/page553-1024px-The_American_Cyclop%C3%A6dia_%281879%29_Volume_XII.djvu.jpg)