June 21, 2023 - Germany
Nuremburg Germanic National Museum

 

Nuremburg is known for it's Germanic National Museum, so we checked it out.

Hans Freiherr von and zu Aufsess, a Franconian lawyer with a passion for history and collecting, had been crusading for a central museum of German history since 1830.  This bore fruit and in 1852 the German National Museum was founded with its location in Nuremburg.  The beginnings of the museum were characterized by a romantic, patriotic glorification of the Middle Ages.  Now it is dedicated to the cultural history of the German-speaking world.
   
A hounskill (helmet) takes its name from the pointed visor, resembling the face of a dog.   The helmet was supposedly found on the battlefield of Sempach, where the Swiss Confederates defeated the Habsburgs in 1386.  It was possibly worn by an Austrian knight.  The sword and the spurs were part of the knight's military equipment as well as symbols of his rank.  The short grip of the sword make it a one-handed weapon.  The broad, only slightly tapered blade characterizes it as a hacking weapon.  Spurs were vital for the knight's tight control of his mount in combat.
   
The targe was a late medieval type of shield.  This small version was especially useful for mounted action.  The painted black cross indicates that it might have been carried by a member of the Teutonic Order, a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society c. 1190 in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem.
   
The imperial treasure, consisting of insignia and relics with power of salvation, was kept by each emperor as the pledge of legitimate rule.  Emperor Sigsimund entrusted these imperial regalia to the Imperial City of Nuremberg for safekeeping in 1424.  The sacred relics were placed in this silver and gold shrine, which was suspended in the choir of the church.
   
Memorial shield of Wilhelm I. of Wolfstein.  Memorial shields bore the coat of arms, name, age and date of death of the deceased.  They hung over the knight's tomb or served as memorial plaques in churches.
   
A large fresco depicting the moment when Emperor Otto III has the crypt of Charlemagne opened and sees for the first time the body of the old emperor:  Not decomposed but sitting on the throne with the Gospels resting on his knees and with the imperial sword in his hand.
   
Lance points and sword.
   
Double-edged long sword.
   
Enamel art pieces, usually of Mary, Mother of God or saints.
   
Migration of German peoples from 375 to 476.  Eventually Germanic warlords took control of virtually all of the West Roman Empire.
   

We moved into the Roman era in what is now Germany section.

A Roman villa in Wiesenburg, Middle Franconia.  Franconia makes up a large chunck of Bavaria.  Nuremburg is Franconia's largest city.

On completing their 20-year service, Roman veterans often settled as farmers in the hinterland of forts.  They were provided with land grants as part of their dismissal reward.
   
A model of a Roman fort that once stood where the Limes wall met the Danube River at Eining.
   
The inscriptions on this helmet name Lucius Lucretius Celer as its owner.  He was a soldier in the century of Gaius Mumius Lolianus, a unit of the Legio I Adiutrix (First Legion - "The Assistant").  The First Legion was raised in 68 AD and was recorded for the last time in 444 AD.
   
Roman artifacts.
   
Iron artifacts of the Franks:  a throwing ax, long sword and fighting knife.
   
German migration during 450 to 465.
   

Moving backward in time, we entered the Bronze Age section.

This is a bronze helmet of the Negau type, named after a hoard find in 1811 near Negau, Slovenia.  The Negau type helmet was developed by the Etruscans in sixth-century BC.
   
The top sword is iron, but the bottom three are bronze.
   
A golden headdress of a bronze age sun priest, discovered in 1953 by a worker clearing tree stubs.  The thin gold foil, covered with solar symbols, was originally made from a single lump of gold weighing 310 grams (.68 pounds or 10.9 ounces).
   

More bronze weapons.  Copper technology is first developed in the Near East inthe 7th and 6th centuries BC.   Pure copper is pliable.  It only starts melting at more than 1,000 degrees C.  By adding tin, bronze is created.  This alloy is not only tougher, it also melts far quicker than copper, at 700-800 degrees C.  It is also easier to cast.  Polished bronze shines like gold.

Unrestricted trade is a precondition for bronze production.  Copper can only be mined in a few locations in Europe, while tin is even rarer.  Mining and smelting also demand great effort.
   

Now we move back into the Stone Age era, by far the longest period of man's history, the Early Stone Age (600,000 to 6,500 BC) and Middle Stone Age (6,500 BC to 5,500 BC) when hunters and gatherers roamed throughout Europe.

Here we have flint lance heads on the left and flint daggers on the right, all found somewhere in Germany.
   
A lakeside settlement on the Swiss side of Lake Constance around 3370 BC.
   
Ground stone axes.
   
Lynnette checking out the Stone Age artifacts.
   
Wax sculpture of an important person in Nuremburg.
   
Now we get into the museum's art area.
   
The Sculpture of Paris, sculpted by Gabriël Grupello (1644-1730).  According to the classical legend, Paris selects Venus as the most beautiful goddess by handing her the apple.
   
 
   
 
   
The prince is eating oysters for breakfast.
   
Portrait and bust collection.
   
 
   
I found this painting titled "The Ill-Matched Pair" interesting.  It was painted around 1530 by Lucas Cranach.  "The doting old man has become the victim of a young woman.  She looks at the viewer slyly, making him her accomplice.  The topic of the Ill-Matched Couple was depicted in many variations.  It warns the beholder to restrict his urges."
   
Martin Behaim, Nuremburg native, created this oldest surviving globe in the world in 1492.  Since he was unaware of Columbus's voyage, the Americas are conspicuously missing.
   
Close-up of Europe, the Med, and Africa.
   
Asia on the left.  No new world.
   
Lynnette standing next to a slightly newer globe, created in 1520 by Schoner.  This globe was the first to show the Americas:  South America and part of the North America east coast.
   
Europe and Africa.
   
A little bit of North America, the Caribbean, and South America.
   
A silver model made in 1503 of a three-masted carrack, the most common type of merchant vessel of the period.  It's primarily an elaborate table centerpiece with which the owner can demonstrate his status and wealth but it can also hold two liters of drink!
   
 
   
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