Historical Information

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From 1050 to 1571, the city expanded and rose dramatically in importance due to its location on key trade routes. It is often referred to as having been the 'unofficial capital' of the Holy Roman Empire, particularly because Reichstage (Imperial Diets) and courts met at Nuremberg Castle. The Diets of Nuremberg were an important part of the administrative structure of the empire. In 1219 Nuremberg became an Imperial Free City under Emperor Frederick II.[1] Nuremberg soon became, with Augsburg, one of the two great trade centers on the route from Italy to Northern Europe.

In 1298, the Jews of the town were accused of having desecrated the host and 698 were slain in one of the many Rintfleisch Massacres. Behind the massacre in 1298 was also the desire to combine the northern and southern parts of the city, which were divided by the Pegnitz River. Jews had been settled in that flood-prone area, but as the city leaders realized, this center of town was crucial to its future development. Hence, the Jewish population had to be removed. This area is now the place of the City Market, Frauenkirche and Rathaus (City Hall).


[edit] Early modern age

Nuremberg in 1493
(from the Nuremberg Chronicle).
De revolutionibus, 1543
Jews being exiled from Nuremberg, 1670.The cultural flowering of Nuremberg, in the 15th and 16th centuries, made it the center of the German Renaissance.