Museum Tucher Mansion and Hirsvogel Hall

The Patrician Hirsvogel Family

In the early 16th century, the Hirsvogel family numbered among the wealthiest Nuremberg Patrician families. The family, documented in Nuremberg from 1380 on, are presumed to have come from Upper Italy. The family name refers to a species of greenfinch, called "Hirsevogel" (millet bird) in that region.

The family soon established an important trading firm in the city. They traded in every commodity: spices, textiles, metals. They were an international firm with foreign trading posts throughout Europe.

By taking part in the first trade mission to India by South German merchants in 1505/1506, the Hirsvogel family went down in economic history. The formerly flourishing company ceased trading with the death of Lienhard III Hirsvogel (1504-1549).

Patrician Banqueting Hall

In 1513, Lienhard III Hirsvogel purchased a Gothic residence in Hirschelgasse, and by 1534 had a hall annexe erected on the building's north side. The annexe consisted of a ground floor room with a lower ceiling and a high-ceilinged hall above, measuring 16 x 6.6 metres. The façade was divided in the style of the Italian Renaissance, a style then novel to Nuremberg.

The representative Hirsvogel Hall was meant to serve leisure and social purposes - similar to the Tucher Mansion which was erected simultaneously nearby - but was principally a gift from Lienhard to his bride, Sabine Welser, daughter of the Augsburg Patrician family, after their wedding in 1535 in Augsburg, shortly after the building had been completed. The marriage did not last long, though: Sabine returned to Augsburg only 18 months later. Lienhard had to leave his hometown because of scandalous divorce proceedings and ensuing debts.

The Hirsvogel Hall survives as a splendid testimony to this time. It is acclaimed as "both the most painstaking and most beautiful creation of the entire German Early Renaissance" (Fritz Traugott Schulz). The richly carved wall panelling created by Peter Flötner (active 1522-1546) with elements in the ancient style, the stone "fireplace", really a passageway to the garden, and the ceiling painting by Dürer's pupil, Georg Pencz, representing the Downfall of Phaeton, are the centre pieces of this unique ensemble.

Reconstruction

In the early 20th century, the Hirsvogel Hall was considered a top tourist attraction - as well-known as Nuremberg's world-famous churches.

The Hirsvogel residence, however, did not survive the air raids of World War II, although the majority of its valuable interior fittings were saved.

After temporary display of the furnishings in the Fembohaus City Museum, the reconstruction of the Hall was completed many years later, in 2000, thanks to generous sponsors. The new Hall stands in the Tucher Mansion's gardens, only a few steps away from its original site, and provides an architectural framework for the extremely complex reconstruction and restoration of the original interior.

The new building is equipped with a foyer, cloakrooms and modern service rooms, and may be hired for functions.

Hire
<http://www.museen.nuernberg.de/tucherschloss/vermietungen.html>

The Gardens

The carefully devised new design for the gardens aimed at a balance between historic Renaissance gardens and contemporary horticulture. Generously proportioned stairs and terraces provide a unified ensemble, both functional and atmospheric, connecting the Tucher Mansion and the Hirsvogel Hall. Thus an attractive "Renaissance Island" has been created in Nuremberg's university quarter, delighting both citizens and visitors.

In 2004, the garden design was honoured with the City of Nuremberg Architectural Award.