Frauenkirche – Church of Our Lady, Nürnberg

Frauenkirche’s Männleinlaufen Is Very Popular With Visitors:

Frauenkirche © Travel Signposts

One of the charming attractions in Nürnberg’s Hauptmarkt is the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady), a beautiful Gothic church on the eastern side of the main square. The Frauenkirche was commissioned by Emperor Charles IV as a court chapel around 1355, and it was the first Gothic church in Franconia.

Nürnberg’s Church of Our Lady was built in place of a synagogue which was destroyed during a violent riot in 1349. Peter Parler, the Master Stone Mason who worked on the Prague Cathedral, was selected by the Emperor for the building works.  Wenceslas, the short-lived son of Charles IV was baptized here in 1361.

The church’s rich interior houses the Peringsdoerfer Epitaph with Madonna, 1498 and Hans Rebeck´s Epitaph with the Coronation of the Virgin Mary by Adam Kraft.  The noteworthy Gothic Tucher Altar is a fine example of the pre-Duerer epoch of 1445.

The Church of Our Lady was given to the Catholic parish in Nuremberg in 1816.

Frauenkirche’s Männleinlaufen

One of the Frauenkirche’s most notable features is its Männleinlaufen, a mechanical clock that commemorates the Golden Bull of 1356. This was a decree issued by the Nuremberg Reichstag in regard to important aspects of the constitutional structure of the Holy Roman Empire.

Every day, without fail, at 12 noon precisely, a little gate on the clock opens and scenes depicting the Golden Bull take place with the seven electors bowing before the emperor. The Männleinlaufen clock pageant has taken place everyday since 1509.  This Nuremberg attraction is very popular with visitors to Nürnberg.

Address:
Hauptmarkt 14
Phone: +49 (0) 911 / 20656-0

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