The story of Nuremberg Castle

In the Middle Ages, German kings had no capital. They travelled from one imperial castle to the next, and this castle on its sandstone ridge became one of the most important: in the following centuries, all German kings and emperors stayed here, most of them several times.

The first fortified buildings seem to date from around 1000, and the first written record is from 1050. In the courtyard, find the Deep Well, the castle's only source of water, whose shaft reaches water at a depth of 50 metres. The round Sinwell Tower, from the second half of the 13th century, takes its name from an old word meaning perfectly round.

Don't miss the Imperial Chapel, built around 1200: it is a double chapel, one above the other, linked only by an opening in the ceiling, reflecting the ranks of medieval society. In the air raids of 1944/1945 much of the castle was ruined, and rebuilding took some thirty years.