The Sebalder Altstadt is the northern part of Nuremberg's Old Town, bounded by the city wall and Kaiserburg to the north and the Pegnitz to the south.
The Sebalder Altstadt is the northern part of Nuremberg's Old Town, bounded by the city wall and Kaiserburg to the north and the Pegnitz to the south. It is named after Saint Sebaldus, whose tomb lies in St. Sebald, the city's oldest parish church. During World War II, the district was so severely destroyed by air raids that in the early post-war years it was called the 'Sebalder Steppe'. Today, many historical, partly reconstructed houses stand alongside plain buildings from the 1950s and 1960s, and over half of the stations on the Historical Mile are located on this side of the Pegnitz.You climb from Hauptmarkt up to the Castle, admire the timber-framed and sandstone ensemble around Dürer-Haus and Pilatushaus at Tiergärtnertor, and stroll through Weißgerbergasse with its cafés, bars, and small shops. Beneath your feet lie the Felsengänge, cellars, and galleries that have been carved into the sandstone since the 14th century. At Weinstadel and Henkersteg, the Old Town reveals itself from the riverside. The next subway station is Lorenzkirche (U1) on the Lorenzer side, from there you cross over the Pegnitz.
Sebald Old Town stretches from the Pegnitz up to the Imperial Castle, bringing together many Nuremberg classics in a compact area. Between Hauptmarkt, St. Sebald and Tiergärtnertor are churches, burgher houses and museums like the City Museum in Fembo House. The Weißgerbergasse is the city's largest ensemble of medieval half-timbered houses. In Advent, the Christkindlesmarkt is held on Hauptmarkt.
Sights in Sebald's Old Town
Discover the most important sights and attractions
Museum
1City Museum in the Fembo House
Built between 1591 and 1596, the house on Burgstraße is Nuremberg's only preserved grand merchant's house of the Late Renaissance. As a city museum, it tells Nuremberg's story; a large, animated city model with light, sound, and images guides through the Old Town.
The building on Trödelmarktinsel, constructed as a defensive tower between 1320 and 1325, was from the 15th century the official residence of Nuremberg's executioner. Today, an exhibition presents medieval criminal law and the lives of executioner families. The executioner crossed into the city via the Henkersteg, rebuilt after the 1595 flood.
The Tiergärtnertor tower probably dates to the late 13th century; two upper floors with oriels were added in 1516. Together with the Albrecht-Dürer-Haus and Pilatushaus, the square below the Kaiserburg forms a half-timber and sandstone ensemble and is a stop on the Historical Mile.
Am Maxplatz an der Pegnitz steht der 1446 bis 1448 errichtete Weinstadel, der zunächst Leprakranke beherbergte und ab etwa 1571 im Erdgeschoss als Weinlager diente. Ein Fachwerkgang verbindet ihn mit dem Wasserturm, seit 1950 ist er ein Studentenwohnheim.
The hall church on the east side of the main market square was built from 1352 to 1362 by order of Emperor Charles IV on the site of a synagogue destroyed in 1349. Daily at noon, the Männleinlaufen on the gable begins its movement, a mechanical clock completed in 1509 commemorating the Golden Bull.
