(Germ. *Nürnberg*), a town of Bavaria, in the circle of Middle Franconia, stands on the Pegnitz, an affluent of the Regnitz, 95 miles N. by W. of Munich. It is built on both sides of the river, which is crossed by several bridges, on a sandy but fertile plain, about 1000 feet above the level of the sea; and from whatever side it is viewed, the towers of its churches present a very fine appearance. No other German town retains so much of the appearance and character of the middle ages; indeed, the principal feature of the town is the air of antiquity which pervades it. It is encircled by a high wall, from which rise numerous turrets, said to have formerly been 865, but now about 100 in number. Outside of the wall is a dry ditch, 50 feet deep and 100 broad, the sides of which are lined with masonry. The town is entered by four principal gates, which are flanked by large round watch-towers, no longer necessary for purposes of defence, but adding to the picturesque appearance of the place. The streets are narrow and irregular, lined with antique houses, having in general narrow but highly-ornamented fronts, and pointed gables fronting the street. The ground stories are low, and generally employed as warehouses; but the upper apartments, occupied as dwellings, are often richly adorned with carving and stucco, while many of the larger houses include two or three open courts. There are numerous public squares, of which the chief are—the principal market, in one corner of which is a fountain surmounted by a Gothic obelisk, with statues in stone; St Giles' Square, which contains a statue of Melanchthon; and the Goose Market, adorned with a fountain and bronze image. The largest and finest church in Nuremberg is that of St Lawrence a Protestant place of worship, which stands on the south side of the river, and gives its name to that part of the town, as the church of St Schald does to the other. It was built at the desire of the Emperor Adolphus of Nassau, in the thirteenth century, and has recently been completely restored. It is in the Gothic style, with two elegant towers surmounted by tapering spires. The portal at the west end is most profusely adorned with sculptures, and over it is a fine circular window 30 feet in diameter; while the interior is very rich in stained glass and ancient pictures. Its principal ornament, however, is a tabernacle, or repository for the sacramental wafer, a pyramidal erection of stone, 64 feet high, adorned with most exquisite carving. The church of St Schald, though inferior to the former, is still one of the finest Gothic buildings in Germany, the west end being in the round style of the tenth century, while the towers, nave, and east end are of a later date, in the pointed style. The bronze shrine of St Schald, the masterpiece of the celebrated Peter Vischer, who completed it, with the assistance of his sons, in 1519, after thirteen years' labour, is the chief object of interest here. It consists of a rich Gothic canopy supported by slender pillars, having beneath it the oaken coffin of the saint, adorned with silver plates; and although the church is now used for the Lutheran service, this magnificent monument is allowed to retain its place. The Catholic church, or *Frauenkirche*, was founded by the Emperor Charles IV., and completed in 1361, in the best style of German-Gothic architecture. It contains many ancient monuments, and a complicated clock, which shows the movements of the sun and moon. Besides these, there is also a Gothic chapel, dedicated to St Maurice, which is now used as a picture gallery. The town-hall, a building in the Italian style, erected in 1619, contains Nurpoor within an older portion, built in 1340. The great hall, which is 76 feet long and 28 wide, is adorned with paintings by Albert Dürer; and there is a smaller council-chamber above. Underneath the building there are dismal dungeons and a torture-chamber; and subterranean passages have recently been discovered leading beneath the city to the town ditch. To the north of the town, on a sandstone rock, stands the castle, built in 1030 by the Emperor Conrad II., and presented by the town in 1853 to the king. It is now used as a royal palace; and contains a linden tree, said to have been planted by Queen Kunigunda 700 years ago.

Nuremberg has a grammar school, founded by Melanchthon, whose statue adorns its front; a public library, with 30,000 volumes; a school of design; polytechnic, industrial, and other schools; a theatre; a general and a military hospital; a deaf-and-dumb asylum; orphan hospital; and other benevolent institutions. There are also several scientific societies. The churchyard of St John, about half a mile to the N.W. of the town, is remarkable as having been the burial-place for several centuries of the aristocracy of Nuremberg. It contains 3500 grave-stones, all regularly numbered, and most of them adorned with the armorial bearings of the dead. Between this and the city gate stand seven stone pillars, with sculptures representing scenes in the passion of our Saviour. Nuremberg is at present the most important manufacturing and commercial town in Bavaria. Cloth, brass, bronze, and steel-ware, wires, needles, musical and mathematical instruments, toys, and black-lead pencils are the principal articles made; and in these an extensive trade is carried on, as this place is the chief mart for goods passing between the north and the south of Europe. It was formerly a much more important city, and in the middle ages rose to a great height in wealth and prosperity. The earliest mention of the town is about the middle of the eleventh century, when it received from Henry III. the privileges of a free market, and the right of coining money and levying toll. From this time it steadily increased in wealth and population, and obtained further privileges from subsequent emperors. In 1219 it was made a free city, independent of any European power; and as such it continued till it was given over by Napoleon in 1806 to the King of Bavaria. The period of its highest prosperity was during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, when it was able to furnish 6000 men to the imperial army. But the discovery of the passage to India by the Cape of Good Hope, by directing the commerce with the East into a different channel, led to the decline of Nuremberg as a place of trade; and though it has recently again risen in importance, it has never regained its mediæval prosperity.

At the Reformation the inhabitants early embraced the Protestant cause; and in the Thirty Years' War they were on the side of the Swedes, and suffered much in 1632, during the blockade which Gustavus Adolphus endured from the imperial forces under Wallenstein. Nuremberg was the birthplace of many remarkable men, among whom the most distinguished is Albert Dürer the painter, whose house is still to be seen. Pop. (1843) 45,381; (1855) about 50,000.