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Vacation 2016 August 30, Nuremberg Germanic National Museum

Germanic National Museum

Germanic Compass

Right at the Way of Human Rights is the Germanic National Museum, the largest museum of cultural history in any German speaking country. It was founded in 1852 by Franconian baron Hans von und zu Aufsess (right). The museum holds about 1.2 million objects - definitely one of the places I would like to live in for a year or two!

The museum illustrates the history of the German people from the stone age to the Revolution of 1848. At the time of the revolution, Germany was divided into 38 kingdoms and small principalities. Hans von und zu Aufsess was a strong supporter of a unified Germany. When the revolution failed to unite the country, he turned his vast private collection into a museum to demonstrate that the German tribes had more commonalities than differences and to create at least a "cultural unification." It is impossible to see everything in this museum at one visit. Here is list of all the exhibitions and collections.

At the entrance is a collection of 14th century carvings, including statues of Moses with the tablet of the Ten Commandments and the prophet Isaia. From here, we start a journey through the centuries with only a few pictures of each era.

Stone Age (until 1800 B.C.)

Bronze Age (1800 B.C. - 800 B.C.)

Most artifacts from the Bronze age were found in graves. It was a time during which influential people were buried with their most valuable possessions. To the left is the golden crown of a bronze-age sun-priest, engraved with 25 different sun symbols. to the right is a dinos (from the Greek word deinos = huge), the largest wine goblet of its time. Ordinary people were buried in a more rustic way, as these tree caskets (below) demonstrate.

Iron Age (after 800 B.C.)

The Roman Period (31 B.C. - 476 A.D.)

The Merovingian Dynasty (476-751)

For 300 years, the Merovingians ruled a land that stretched from Gaul to the southern part of Germania. In 496, their King Clovis I converted to the Catholic faith, heralding the Christianization of the Frankish and (later) Germanic tribes. Thus, the exhibits of the period not only showcast weapond and armor, but also christian relics like a jeweled cross from the 8th century, the cover of a liturgical book from the 9th century and some of the oldest depictions of the crucified Jesus Christ.

It took three hours to get from the Stone Age to the beginnings of Christianity. After admiring the museum's impressive collection of early Madonna statues, I decidet to save the remaining 1,000 years for a future visit and left the museum deeply impressed. A number of relics at the exit pay tribute to the Revolution of 1848. A large painting, depicting Lady Germania was done for the first meeting of the Frankfurt National Assembly, the first (short-lived) freely elected German parliament. Next to it is a chair that was once part of the first German National Convention.

From here, I went on to see some of Nuremberg's oldest churches. Click the left turn sign to get back to the Germanic National Museum. Or click the right turn signal to move on to walk 100 feet on the Way of St. James.

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