Imperial Castle of Nuremberg
During the Middle Ages, the Imperial Castle in Nuremberg was one of the most important imperial palaces in the Holy Roman Empire. For centuries it stood at the heart of European history and was a secure base and prestigious residence for the Empire’s head of state. Erected over earlier buildings under the Hohenstaufen dynasty and its successors, the extensive castle complex is famous all over the world as the symbol of Nuremberg. The exhibition ‘Emperor – Empire – City’, with its tour of the historic rooms in the Imperial Castle, investigates how the Holy Roman Empire worked. It is presenting valuable works on loan and impressively staged in their authentic location, enabling visitors to experience Nuremberg’s golden age and the Castle’s unique history from the Middle Ages to the 19th century.
Double chapel and ‘Palas’
The Romanesque Imperial Chapel is the most important part of the castle in art-historical terms. It was built around 1200 along with the ‘Palas’. The latter consists of a hall structure with two chambers one above the other, along with a residential wing with several chambers. The ‘Palas’ and double chapel were skilfully adapted to the irregular contours of the cliff.
Double chapels characteristically consist of two chapels with an identical ground plan placed one above the other, and they may be linked by an opening in the centre. The Imperial Gallery – a special aspect of the Nuremberg double chapel – gave the head of state direct access to the chapel from the upper hall and the imperial chambers of the ‘Palas’, while maintaining his distance from the imperial household. An oratory provided with heating was incorporated into it for Emperor Charles V in 1520.
‘Kemenate’: Imperial Castle Museum
The Germanisches Nationalmuseum is the largest museum of cultural history in the German-speaking countries and holds one of Germany’s most important collections of historical weapons. The museum’s ‘Imperial Castle Museum’ annexe presents numerous original items from its holdings. The collection provides insights into developments in technological and cultural history and the importance of historical weapons from the 12th to the 19th centuries – weapons that were used not only inside castles.
These insights into the history of arms are accompanied by authentic views from the windows onto the surroundings of the castle and the city hinterland – providing visitors with excellent ways of visualizing everyday history around the castle and world-historical events on the horizon from the height of the ‘Kemenate’ (Ladies’ Apartments).
Sinwell Tower and Deep Well
The Sinwell Tower – the round tower in the outer bailey – was the keep that served for defensive and status purposes. Built in the late thirteenth century, the slim tower had an additional storey with a broad projecting platform and a Renaissance helm roof added to it in the 1560s. When the view of the Castle and the old town is compared with photographs from the period before and after the Second World War, the extent of the wartime damage and later reconstruction becomes clear.
The Deep Well at the centre of the outer bailey was very probably created in its earliest building period to provide an independent water supply for the Castle. The shaft goes down nearly 50 metres deep into the castle rock. A film showing a descent into it, and a vivid guided tour, enable visitors to appreciate its depth.
Castle Gardens
Address
Auf der Burg 17
90403 Nürnberg
0911 244659-0
www.kaiserburg-nuernberg.de
Opening hours
29 March-3 October: 9 am-6 pm
4 October-28 March: 10 am-4 pm
open daily
Closed on: January 1, Shrove Tuesday, December 24/25/31
General information on opening times and admission fees
Guided tours
The Deep Well can only be visited with a guided tour.
Visitors can go around on their own in the Palas and Kemenate.
There is an audio guide to the Palas (German, English, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Czech; with costs).
Admission fees 2024
Combination ticket
(Palas with Imperial Chapel / Imperial Castle Museum + Deep Well + Sinwell Tower)
9 euros regular
8 euros reduced
Palas with Imperial Chapel + Imperial Castle Museum
7 euros regular
6 euros reduced
Deep Well + Sinwell Tower
4 euros regular
3 euros reduced
Combination ticket
(Imperial Castle + Cadolzburg Castle)
14 euros regular
12 euros reduced
Children under 18 are admitted free of charge.
General tariff regulations (excerpt)
Annual season tickets/ 14-day tickets
Accessibility
Getting here / parking
Nuremberg
www.bahn.com
'Lorenzkirche'
Tram to 'Tiergärtnertor'
There are no parking facilities at the Imperial Castle; please use the signposted multi-storey car parks in the city centre.
Further information
Free wi-fi available
Event rooms at the Imperial Castle
Service (leaflets, photo/film, links…)
Kaiserburg-Museum
(Branch of the Germanisches Nationalmuseum)
Shop
www.kulturgut.de
Burg Café Beer
0911 99287833
info@burgcafebeer.de
Administrative office
Burgverwaltung Nürnberg
Auf der Burg 17
90403 Nürnberg
0911 244659-0
Fax 0911 244659-300
burgnuernberg@ bsv.bayern.de
www.kaiserburg-nuernberg.de
