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NUREMBERG by the middle of the fifteenth century had grown from a small village nestling at the foot of the sandstone rock crowned by the castle built by the Emperor Conrad II. into one of the most famous and wealthiest cities of the Empire.(1) Her merchants were the rivals of those of Augsburg and Frankfurt, and much of the profitable spice-trade, of which Venice still enjoyed an almost undisputed monopoly, passed through their hands. They had branch establishments in Italy, France and the Low Countries. The artisans of the city were renowned for their skill and ingenuity. Noble churches and striking civic buildings, which are still the delight of visitors to the old Imperial city, existed even then, and bore witness to the piety, taste and prosperity of its citizens. And the ensuing century brought to the front quite a number of men-natives of Nuremberg or residents - whose reputations, after the lapse of more than four centuries, are still green among the living. Prominent among these were Adam Krafft (1430-1507), whose statues, renovated, still adorn the road to the cemetery of St. John; Michael Wolgemut (1434-1519), and his more famous pupil Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), one of whose designs, thanks to the kindness of Baron Behaim, ornaments this volume; Peter Vischer (1455-1529), the sturdy sculptor and founder; Veit Hirschvogel (1461-1525), the painter on glass; Johannes Müller of Monteregio (Königsberg), the most famous astronomer of his age, who, though not a native of Nuremberg, resided in that city from 1471-75, and would have returned to it had not death carried him off prematurely at Rome, in 1476; Bernhard Walther (1430-1504), the wealthy merchant, who built an observatory for his friend and teacher Johannes Müller; Willibrand Pirkheimer (1470-1530), the learned statesman, warrior and patron of artists and men of science; Johann Werner (1468-1528), the astronomer; Hans Sachs (1494-1576), the Meistersinger; Anthoni Koberger, who, between 1470 and 1513, printed and published 276 books, and many others of less note.
And Nuremberg was not only the centre of a far reaching commerce, the seat of flourishing industries and of the arts; the city was likewise politically one of the most important in all Germany. The Imperial Parliament or Reichstag had met there repeatedly ever since 1073; the Emperors frequently took up their quarters in its Burg; and in 1424 the city authorities were entrusted with the custody of the crown jewels, which remained there up to 1796, when they were removed to Vienna.
The government of the city was frankly oligarchical, for, with the exception of eight representative craftsmen, admitted after an insurrection in 1349, only members of about fifty families were eligible for seats on the City Council or Rat. These patrician families or Geschlechter owed their privilege to the wealth acquired by trade or commerce; and a personal dignity at first conferred upon individuals of merit by their fellow-citizens in course of time became hereditary.(2) It must, however, be admitted that they exercised the powers usurped by them with honesty, fairness, and business capacity, which is more than can be said of the popularly elected Councils of certain of our modern cities, notorious for their extravagance, mismanagement and even corruption.
(1) In 1449 Nuremberg had 45,307 inhabitants, of whom 25,085 were "residents." back
(2) The Rat or City Council included 48 members, viz., 26 Burgomasters (13 Ratmannen, Consules or Councilmen, and 13 Schöffen, Assessors), 7 alte Herren ("old gentlemen"; aldermen or septem viri), 7 alte genannte (seniori), and 8 representatives of craftsmen. The Kleine Rat (Senatus) included 3 oberste Hauptleut (Captains or triumviri), 2 Losunger, who had charge of the finances and were the real heads of the city, and the 7 alte Herren. In addition to these privileged families there were those entitled to the title of Erbar (honourable or worshipful), related by marriage to the Geschlechter; merchants and manufacturers, land or houseowners, and members of the learned professions; shopkeepers, and handicraftsmen. back
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Last modified: Thu Feb 5 22:19:20 CET 2004