Museum Tucher Mansion and Hirsvogel Hall
Topics - Mansion
- Northern aspect of the mansion seen from the gardens.
The History of the Premises
The imposing sandstone building was originally not a permanent residence, but rather a garden residence for summer parties and leisure pursuits.
This is where "he built himself a large stone mansion right next to his garden", as a chronicler of the day reported. Between 1533 and 1544, Lorenz Tucher and his wife Katharina had their 14th century farmstead on Treiberg extended into an abode reflecting their status.
During World War II, the Tucher Mansion burnt to the ground, though the moveable furnishings, such as furniture, tapestries and decorations, were saved. Since 1969, they have been housed in the reconstructed Tucher Mansion - now a museum.
- The mansion's simple street façade.
In line with former Nuremberg building regulations, the house's street elevation was kept simple in style. The courtyard is surprisingly sumptuous, with its charming mix of architectural decorative and structural Renaissance elements from various countries. The main focus is on stairwell towers with its three towers projecting above the roof, reminiscent of French models and providing a picturesque aspect.
- Entrance Hall looking towards the Treasure Chambers.
Entrance Hall with Treasure Chambers
The impressive large vaulted entrance hall formerly had various uses, storage being one of them. The Gothic tracery window depicting the Annunciation is one of the most beautiful surviving pieces of early Nuremberg stained glass work, created about 1502/04, in the workshop of Veit Hirschvogel. It is based on a sketch provided by the Dürer workshop.
The two adjacent "treasure Chambers" contain portraits by Dürer's teacher, Michael Wolgemut, and Dürer's pupil, Hans Schäufelein, as well as important examples of endowments or memorial plaques. These include the Memorial to Adelheid Tucher painted in 1493, with its topographically surprisingly precise view of the city of Jerusalem, and the large altar painting with an Ecce Homo depiction by Matthäus Merian (1621-1687).
Today, the hall's uses include weddings, and it may be hired for celebrations. You may find further information on this under the heading "Vermietungen" (Hire) on the German website.
Hire
<http://www.museen.nuernberg.de/tucherschloss/vermietungen.html>
- Dining Hall with pillared cupboard by Peter Flötner.
Living Quarters on the First Floor
The rooms on the first floor used to be the Tucher family's living quarters. This is where today, family history is explained. The large Dining Hall is dominated by a pillared cupboard created by Peter Flötner, a contemporary of Dürer's, as well as by four unique stained glass panels relating the story of the Prodigal Son, created by famous Zurich glass painter Christoph Murer (1558-1614) in 1610.
- View of the so-called Baroque room.
An adjacent, elaborately furnished Baroque room and the 19th century study relate the Tucher family history in later years. In both rooms, high quality paintings are displayed: in the Baroque room, there are feudal family portraits from the 18th century, and in the late 19th century study, four large format paintings by the famous Munich painter, Franz von Lenbach.
The rooms evoke a lively atmosphere, as if the family has just left for a short time. The maid's silver cleaning paraphernalia are still on the table, her apron is draped over a chair, and sumptuous fruit bowls create a lush atmosphere.
- Reception room with period furnishings.
Representation Rooms on the Second Floor
The representation rooms are accessed via a winding stone staircase. This is where the Tuchers received envoys and business partners from all over the world, city council members and members of other Patrician families, and where family celebrations, christenings, weddings and engagements were held.
The "Byzantine-style" red reception room shows members of the family in elaborate garb in paintings by renowned Renaissance masters, Nicolaus Juvenel and Lorenz Strauch.
- Banqueting hall with large "Engagement Banquet Table".
The large Banqueting Hall is decorated with a sumptuously laid table where an illustrious circle of "virtual guests" have assembled for an engagement party. Renaissance music permeates the room. The clatter of valuable porcelain and mumbled table conversation underpin this banqueting scene.
The Engagement Banquet Table is set with the famous eight part "Tucher Ewers" and the fire-gilded silver "Doppelscheuer" - a double goblet which was a traditional Nuremberg wedding gift from husband to wife for a ceremonial wedding toast, consisting of two nearly identical bossed goblets.
Both were created by the most important Nuremberg goldsmith of the 16th century, Wenzel Jamnitzer (1508-1585), commissioned by Linhart Tucher for the wedding of his son Herdegen IV to Katharina Pfinzing in 1564. The ewers were first beaten from copper by Jamnitzer, and then enamelled by Pierre Reymond in Limoges in France.