We spent the morning on the ship, cruising along
the Main – Danube Canal. Because of the delay from the high water level a
couple of days ago, we have been behind on the touring schedule, but Petra
(Cruise Director) and the rest of the crew have done what they can to enable us
all to still do the day tours we had chosen. Today, we stopped at “no man’s
land” as Petra put it, so we could get of the ship and onto coaches and make
our way to Nuremburg. But the coaches were meeting the ship at 12.30pm which
would normally be lunch time, so we had “brunch” instead (between 10.00am and
12.30pm). It was not brunch as we know it, but instead the lunch time menu
served earlier!
 |
| the castle |
 |
| the castle |
 |
| the ornate fountain |
 |
| Alison's Babushka Dolls |
 |
| Dessert - Swan Lake |
 |
| a city street |
 |
| the city from the castle |
 |
| The MS AmaBella - our ship - docking to pick us up in "no man's land" |
|
 |
| looking to the city from Nuremberg castle |
Keith, Alison and I chose the Medieval Nuremberg
tour which started at the castle. The castle first appears in the records of
1050 and during the 13th century developed into one of Europe’s
greatest trade towns. The “Burg” (castle” was built in the 11th
century and the city’s medieval walls were completed in 1452 with a total of
126 towers (no more than 40 metres apart as that was the distance a cross bow
could be fired. As from the 16th century the city showed a
considerable cultural rise. The geographer Martin Behaim, maker of the first
globe, and Albrecht Durer, one of the great figures in the history of German
art, lived and worked here. Nuremberg
held great significance during the Nazi Germany era. Because of the city's
relevance to the Holy Roman Empire and its position in the centre of Germany,
the Nazi Party chose the city to be the site of huge Nazi Party conventions –
the Nuremburg rallies. The rallies were held 1927, 1929 and annually 1933-1938
in Nuremberg. After Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in 1933 the Nuremberg rallies
became huge Nazi propaganda events, a centre of Nazi ideals. At the 1935 rally,
Hitler specifically ordered the Reichstag to convene at Nuremberg to pass the
anti-Semitic Nuremberg Laws which revoked German citizenship for all Jews. A
number of premises were constructed solely for these assemblies, some of which
were not finished. During World War 11, Nuremberg was the headquarters of Wehrkreis
(military district) XIII, and an important site for military production,
including aircraft, submarines, and tank engines. Extensive use was made of
slave labour. The city was severely damaged in Allied strategic bombing from
1943–45. On 2 January 1945, the medieval city centre was systematically bombed
by the Royal Air Force and the US Army Air Forces and about ninety percent of
it was destroyed in only one hour, with 1,800 residents killed and roughly
100,000 displaced. In February 1945, additional attacks followed. In total,
about 6,000 Nuremberg residents are estimated to have been killed in air raids.
Despite this intense degree of destruction, the city was rebuilt after the war
and was to some extent, restored to its pre-war appearance including the
reconstruction of some of its medieval buildings. However, the biggest part of
the historic structural condition of the old Imperial Free City was lost
forever. Between 1945 and 1946, German officials involved in the Holocaust and
other war crimes were brought before an international tribunal in the Nuremberg
Trials. The Soviet Union had wanted these trials to take place in Berlin.
However, Nuremberg was chosen as the site for the trials for specific reasons: The
city had been the location of the Nazi Party's Nuremberg rallies and the laws
stripping Jews of their citizenship were passed there. There was symbolic value
in making it the place of Nazi demise; The Palace of Justice was spacious and
largely undamaged (one of the few that had remained largely intact despite
extensive Allied bombing of Germany). The already large courtroom was
reasonably easily expanded by the removal of the wall at the end opposite the
bench, thereby incorporating the adjoining room. A large prison was also part
of the complex. As a compromise, it was agreed that Berlin would become the
permanent seat of the International Military Tribunal and that the first trial
(several were planned) would take place in
Nuremberg.
We walked through one
of the gates into the medieval city and meandered our way through the grounds,
overlooking the city below, and then down to the town square over the cobble
stoned streets.
Even
though around 90% of the city was destroyed during World War 11, it has been
rebuilt using as much of the original material as possible. At the square we
saw the beautiful ornate fountain.
There was a market
on in the square so we spent the time we had before getting back on the coach
wandering around. Alison bought a set of Babushka dolls (10) & I got a tiny
little mouse to add to my collection.
Back
on the bus, we travelled for about 30 minutes to meet up with the ship in “no
man’s land”. We arrived before the ship, so were able to watch it come in to
the dock. It only stopped long enough for us to board then was off again. There
was not much time between getting back to the ship and dinner. Then after
dinner, we had a guest speaker telling us a little of the history of the
Main-Danube Canal and the locks on the canal. Then it was bed time because we
have an early morning tomorrow!
No comments:
Post a Comment