Old Continental TownsGallichan, Walter M. (Walter Matthew)
History
Old Continental Towns
Gallichan, Walter M. (Walter Matthew)
Cities and towns -- Europe; Europe -- Description and travel
An interesting memorial of Albert Durer is the old gabled house in which
he lived and worked. Here he toiled with the brush and the graver's
tools, and received as his guests the cultured men of the city. His life
was simple and industrious, and his nature gentle and retiring. Durer
had several pupils at Nuremberg, who carried on his tradition in
painting and copper and wood engraving.
The art treasures of the churches are very numerous. St Sebald's Church
is a splendid Gothic pile, with many architectural triumphs, such as the
highly decorated bride's door, with its finely carved effigies, the high
pillars, Krafft's statuary and reliefs, and the crucifix by Stoss.
The splendid western door of the Frauenkirche must be seen by the
visitor, for it is an instructive example of Gothic work of the richest
design. St Lawrence has two figures, Adam and Eve, on its chief doorway;
and some Scriptural reliefs adorn the entrance. The windows are
beautifully painted.
There is a notable picture of "Christ and Mary" in the Imhoff Gallery.
There are several other churches in Nuremberg containing works of art,
and offering study for the lover of architecture and painting. The work
of the craftsmen of the Middle Ages is seen everywhere in these
buildings, and a detailed description would fill a volume.
The Museum is in an ancient monastery, and in its numerous rooms will be
found Roman antiquities, old metal work, pottery, furniture of the
Middle Ages, weapons, a collection of books, some of them illustrated by
Durer, and an array of paintings of the German school. A full and
excellent catalogue is issued.
The castle, with its stirring chronicle, is a feudal fortress dominating
the plain, and forming the chief rampart of the town's defences. Walls
and towers protect Nuremberg on every side, as in the ancient days of
peril. The view from the towers is very remarkable, and from one of
these points of outlook, one gains a long-remembered impression of the
old town, with its towers and steeples, and the surrounding country,
watered by the Pegnitz and clothed with forests. The fortifications were
finished in the fifteenth century, and provided a strong protection to
the town in time of siege.
Among the buildings of this "quaint old town of art and song," as
Longfellow describes it, the Rathaus must be visited. The west façade is
very handsome Renaissance work by the Brothers Wolf, with three towers,
and three ornate entrances. The fresco paintings within are the work of
Durer and his pupils, but they are in poor preservation. There is a
beautiful ceiling, by Beheim, in the council chamber. A fountain, with a
statue of Apollo, by Peter Vischer, is in one of the courtyards. The god
is splendidly modelled, and graceful, and the pedestal of the statue has
several mythological figures.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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