Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/811

* NUREMBERG. 689 NUREMBERG. Nuremberg artists, and in the court stands a fine fountain datin;; from the sixteenth century. Among the numerous old private houses of Nuremberg may bo mentioned the Nassauer Haus, a Gothic building of the fourteenth century, the houses of Diirer and Hans Sachs. and the Rup- precht House. The chief moilern buildings are the tlieatre, the law courts, and the cliamber of commerce. Many of the s(|uares of Nuremberg are adorned with beautiful fountains and statues, of which the most notewiuthy arc the Schijne Brun- ncn, a Gothic pyramid (fourteenth century) cov- ered with numerois statues, the statue of Diirer by Rauch, the fountain in the goose mar- ket, the Tugendbrunnen (1589), near the Church of Saint Lawrence, the statue of the poet Konrad Griibel. and the Kraft stations near Saint .John's Cemetery, consisting of a number of pillars adorned with reliefs by Kraft. The National Germanic Aluscum, for the pur- pose of preserving the monuments and promoting llie knowledge of German art and culture in prehistoric and historic times, was founded at a congress of German antiquaries in 1852. The plan was approved by the Havarian and other German governments, and found enthusiastic sup- port among the general ]iublic. In 1857 the museum was definitely" located in its present site at Nuremberg, a former Carthu- sian monastery being purchased to house its col- lections. The neighboring i)riory of the Augus- tines has been recently restored and made a part of the museum, which now forms a picturesque feature in the mediaeval quarter of the city. Valuable private art collections, like those of the city of Nuremberg, have been placed in cus- tody of the museum. The collections are concerned with Germanic antiquities, and are divided into over thirty groups, most of which are accessible to the gen- eral public. Among the most important are the collection of Christian and early mediaeval an- ti<piities; the gallery of paintings, especially rich in the early German school : the collection of sculptures, including the famous "Nuremberg Madonna," by Peter V'ischer the Younger; the cabinet of engravings, containing over 200,000 specimens: collections of stained glass, seals, medals, etc. The nniseum is especially rich in plaster casts, showing the development of archi- tectural ornament, sculpture, and sepulchral mon- uments. The library contains over 200.000 vol- imies ; the archives possess a large collection of documents and autographs. The museum has is- sued many important illustrated publications treating Germanic antiquities, and has a quar- terly journal, Anzeifier des germanischen "Nation- (iliiiiiseiims. The educational institutions comprise the old gj-mnasiuiu, whose foundation is ascribed to Me- lanchthon. the new gyuuiasium, a number of spe- cial schools, the valuable lilirary of about 80,000 volumes, the Bavarian Industrial Museum, with valuable collections, and the interesting mu- nicipal archives. The industrial fame of Nuremberg is of long standing. Its wares, comprising chiefly toys. lead pencils, small articles of gold, silver, and ivory, gold leaf, watches, hardware, hal)ordash- ery, etc., are still the main products of the city, b>it there are also extensive machine works, chemical works, manufactures of ultraiuarine and other paints, railway cars, electrical sup- plies, lithographs, chromos, etc. The bronze foundry of Professor Lenz is noted for its artistic ca.stings. The trade of Nuremberg, although of less rela- tive importance than formerly, is still extensive. Besides trading in local manufactures, the city exports large quantities of hops and the small products of the house industry embraced in "Nu- remberg wares," and it imports groceries, gi'ain, tlour, etc. The trade is facilitated by strong financial institutions and good communication facilities. The municipal afl'airs are administered by a first and a second burgomaster, a board of magis- trates of 27, and a nnniieipal council of 51 mem- bers. The municipality owns and operates a gas and an electric plant, the water-works, and an abattoir. The city is equipped with electric rail- ways. Like most large cities in Kurope and the United States, Nuremberg has annexed latterly a large number of adjacent coiuniunities. with the result that its populatiim has increased from 00,519 in 1880 to 142,.5nO in 1890, and 201,081 in 1900. The inhabitants are mostly Protestants. HiSTOKY. Nureiuberg is mentioned for the first time in 1050. Henry 111. conferred upon it the privileges of a mint, a market, and a custom- house, and Emperor Lothair granted it to Henry the Proud of Bavaria. Conrad III. annexed it to the Empire and Frederick II. raised it in 1219 to the rank of a free city of the Empire. Its importance increased with its political free- dom, and it was the seat of the Diet at which the Golden Bull of Charles I'. was promul- gated in 1356. The burgraves of Nuremberg (the counts of Zolre or Zollern since 1 191 ; see Hohen- zollern) interfered but little with the affairs of the city. Nuremberg became a very important factor in the trade between Italy and Northern Europe, and its material prosperity found expression in that splendor which characterizes its private dwell- ings so well preserved to our day. In 1427 the city acquired the castle from the burgraves of Nuremberg, who had become margraves of Bran- denburg. The foretuost centre of German art and one of the wealthiest cities of the Em|)ire. Nurem- berg also played a prominent part in tlie religious struggles in the period after the Reformation, which the city accepted in 1524. It was at Nuremberg that peace was for the first time con- cluded between Charles V. and tlie Protestants in 1532. and it was also here that Charles V. entered into a union with the Catholics against the Protestants in 1538. The conuneicial im- portance of the city, however, had already been dealt a serious bloiv by the discovery of the sea route to India in 1497. The Thirty Years' War, during which Nurem- berg was occupied by Gustavus Adolphus, who made vain efforts to dislodge Wallenstein from his intrenched position before the city (1(532), and finally the wars of the French Revolution, completely exhausted the resources of the city republic, so that it olfered itself to the King of Prussia in 1796 in order to be relieved of its enormous debt — an ofTer which was declined. The city was annexed to Havaria in 1806. Nuremberg is noted for the many important inventions cred- ited to its inhabitants, stieh as the watch, which was originally called the 'Nuremberg egg,' the air gun. the gun-lock, the terrestrial and celestial globes, etc.