7 Specialty Museums in Altstadt - St. Sebald That You Shouldn't Miss

In the Amber Museum Nuremberg, visitors experience a fascinating world of amber: an extensive collection of amber, amber jewelry, amber with insects and plants included. Exhibits that were passionately collected by the museum founders for more than 30 years. In the attached Amber Shop, guests can choose from a wide range of amber pieces.

Nuremberg has been a city of toys since the Middle Ages. With an abundance of extraordinary exhibits from antiquity to the present, Nuremberg's world famous Toy Museum presents the "world in miniature" in 1,400 square meters of space, featuring dolls, shops, tin figures and tin toys, wooden toys and a large model train set (Track S), as well as more recent toys, such as Lego, Barbie, Playmobil, and Matchbox. The imaginatively designed children's area in the attic is staffed with trained educational personnel. Summer attractions include a large outdoor playground and a museum cafe in the secluded inner courtyard. There are audio guides tailored for adults and children to escort you through the museum, and also a droll photographic treasure hunt.

Merchant's House, Patrician's Palatial Residence, Map Publishers – built between 1591 and 1596, Fembo's House has seen many uses. Since 1953, Nuremberg's only remaining large merchant's house from the Late Renaissance – situated partway to the Imperial Castle – serves as a municipal museum and takes visitors on a trip through the city's eventful past. More than 950 years of history come alive through valuable original rooms, room staging and audio presentations – from the city's first documentary mention in 1050 up to today. For guests in a hurry: Around the superb reproductions of the Imperial Regalia the exhibition space "A Crown – Power – History" presents the main chapters of Nuremberg's history via media guide in only 30 minutes and in any of 9 languages.

This museum brings to life the world of Nuremberg's 16th century merchant families. The collection, which is owned by the patrician Tucher family, includes valuable furniture, tapestries, paintings and handicrafts. The picturesque Renaissance garden is the perfect setting for a picnic and offers a spectacular view of the Hirsvogel Hall (built in 1534, destroyed in 1945, restored in 2001). Magnificent wall paneling by Peter Flotner, the famous ceiling painting by Durer's student Georg Pencz and busts of the 12 first Roman emperors make the Hall one of Germany's most beautiful Renaissance interiors. On Sundays, Katharina Tucher (played by an actress) offers guided tours of the mansion.

Thanks to medieval cellars dug into the sandstone of Nuremberg's castle hill, much of the city's artistic heritage survived the devastating aerial bombardments of World War II. Immediately after the outbreak of the war, a large former beer cellar about 24 meters beneath the Imperial Castle was transformed into a unique storage facility where irreplaceable art treasures could be protected against damage, looting and preserved for future generations. Deep inside the castle hill, a simple but effective air-conditioning system was installed, as were moisture-proof storage cells and personnel facilities, insuring optimal protection for Nuremberg's rich store of historic works of art. Both the air raids which destroyed old Nuremberg and the unparalleled salvage of the city's artistic heritage are documented with original photos and an audio-visual presentation.