World War II Art Bunker
Topics - Art Treasures
- Stored sculptures from the churches in Nuremberg's Old Town, 1944.
Beneath 24 Metres of Rock
The "illicit structure" in the bedrock of the castle hill provided a bomb-proof shelter for Nuremberg's world-famous art treasures as well as for a number of valuable objects from elsewhere, including:
- he "Annunciation" by Veit Stoß from St Lawrence's Church
- the "Clockwork Men" from Our Lady's on the Main Market Square
- Nuremberg's most important fountain sculptures
- various altars and stained glass windows
- choir stalls from all churches in the Old Town
- the Lady Altar by Veit Stoß from Krakow (a stolen art treasure)
- the "Codex Manesse" from Heidelberg
- The so-called Behaim Globe of 1492.
From Museums and Archives
For safety reasons, the most precious art treasures kept in museums and archives were also transferred to the Art Shelter in good time. They included:
- paintings, prints and publications by Albrecht Dürer
- the oldest existing world globe, created by Martin Behaim in 1492
- scientific instruments and time pieces, including the "Nuremberg Egg", the first pocket watch invented by master clock maker, Peter Henlein, in the 16th century
- weapons and armour
- documents, deeds and manuscripts
- Some of the Imperial Insignia: crown, sceptre and orb.
The Imperial Insignia
In 1424, the City of Nuremberg - by order of Emperor Sigismund - was awarded the privilege of being the keeper of the valuable Imperial Insignia - orb, sceptre, imperial or Mauritius sword, ceremonial sword as well as the reliquaries and coronation robes of the Holy Roman Empire - "for ever, irrevocably and irrefutably". In 1796, in order to save the Imperial Insignia from Napoleon's conquering French troops, the treasures were first taken to Regensburg and then to Vienna in a secret operation.
- Checking the Imperial Insignia on the occasion of the hand-over in 1946 in the Vienna National Bank.
By order of Adolf Hitler, they were brought back from Vienna to Nuremberg - the "City of the Nazi Party Rallies" - in 1938, i.e. before the outbreak of the war. They were put on show in the St Catherine's Church. In 1945, the Imperial Insignia were discovered in the Art Shelter by US soldiers and officially returned to the Imperial Palace in Vienna on 4/5 January, 1946.
Today, copies of the most important Imperial Insignia - crown, sceptre and orb - can be seen in the City Hall ("Wolff'scher Bau").
