From Fürth to Nuremberg along the Pegnitz

From the main railway station, walk along Fürther Freiheit in the direction of Nürnberger Straße. For a refreshment beforehand with a cappuccino, cake or savoury snack, head to Fürther Markt or the charming Milchhäusle café. Once on Nürnberger Straße, turn left behind the Babylon cinema and after a few metres you will reach the city park.

Fürth's city park is considered the "secret love of the people of Fürth". Anyone who strolls through the varied park will share this enthusiasm. As early as 1867, the factory owner Johann Willhelm Engelhardt received permission to transform the then fallow land into a green space. The "Engelhardt grounds" were created. Numerous trees and shrubs were planted on the banks of today's Stadtparkweiher pond. After the death of the factory owner, his widow donated the funds for a pond with a waterfall, the Schwanenweiher. In 1911, the park was developed into a spacious recreational landscape. The park was given the Lion Gate, several baroque stone statues, a fountain and a school garden.

However, the foundation stone for the close relationship between the people of Fürth and their park was laid by the city garden director Hans Schiller in 1951 with the "Green and Blooming" garden show. His designs were followed: Rose Garden, Reception Garden, Fountain Courtyard and Rhododendron Garden. They all enchant people every year with their floral splendour. The municipal school garden was also redesigned. Here there are sections for medicinal plants, vegetables and spices, aquatic plants and many different species of native and exotic flora. The large playgrounds, an open-air stage and the Stadtparkcafé invite visitors to spend their leisure time in a fulfilling way, enjoying exercise and fun, peace and culture. The educational tree trail, which is open all year round, offers intellectual nourishment for those hungry for knowledge. Visitors can relax with a glass of wine or a cappuccino in the Stadtparkcafé.

On the south-eastern edge of the park is Fürth's second oldest church, the Protestant Church of the Resurrection, built between 1825 and 1826, when the Catholic and Jewish communities also helped to finance its construction. In this respect, this church also symbolises ecumenism in action.

From the Church of the Resurrection, turn right along the avenue to the school garden and from there down to the Pegnitz. Cross the river and follow the path to the right. About 200 metres further on you come to a crossroads. A small "brook" points the way to the small Mainau (POI 2), a hidden park with a healing spring temple - the perfect place to relax and enjoy the sun. Along the Pegnitz, you cross the Fuchslochsteg footbridge and pass the Pegnitztal West nature reserve to reach the city limits of Nuremberg. Following the Pegnitz, you pass the water wheel at the Lederersteg and walk a short distance through a residential area. Continue along the Pegnitz under the subway, over the Maxbrücke bridge and then left to the Henkersteg footbridge. The hangman - who was not allowed to have anything to do with honourable citizens in the Middle Ages - used to sneak across this wooden footbridge from his home in the hangman's house into the city. Today, visitors to the town stroll over the footbridge to the flea market.

One of the most beautiful places in Nuremberg is located on the small Pegnitz island: the flea market. Markets have been held here since the Middle Ages. Initially, it was used as a transhipment centre for pigs - hence its old name "Säumarkt". From the 16th century onwards, second-hand goods were sold at the flea market, which is how the square got its current name. Today, you won't see any junk here, instead small, fine shops, galleries and restaurants are lined up in lovingly restored buildings and invite you to stroll and linger. After a chat in one of the lovely cafés, you can take a leisurely stroll to the eastern tip of the flea market island, also known as "Love Island" by the people of Nuremberg. Venetian gondolas on the Liebesinsel invite you to take a trip on the Pegnitz.

You continue over the Schleifersteg bridge along the Pegnitz and cross the Fleischbrücke bridge into the Lorenz district. To reach your next destination and the church that gives its name to the old town district - the Lorenzkirche - turn right along Kaiserstraße to Königstraße. Opposite the Nassauer-Haus and Tugend-Brunnen fountain, you can already see the delicately decorated façade of the time-honoured church.

It is one of the most beautiful sacred buildings of the German Gothic period: the imposing Church of St Lawrence, one of the city's landmarks. There was a Romanesque chapel on the site of today's St Lawrence Church. Nuremberg continued to grow in the Middle Ages and so a prestigious civic church was built between 1250 and 1477 with donations and endowments from the citizens.

The "Star of St Lawrence" - a stone rose window - and the imperial coat of arms greet visitors as they enter via the west façade. Inside the church are precious artefacts by Nuremberg artists, including the Angel's Greeting by Veit Stoß and one of the largest organs in the world. When the three-part Lorenz organ with its more than 12,000 pipes and 165 stops is played, it is a very special sound experience. The bells of St Lorenz are just as impressive, with the oldest of the 16 bells dating back to the 14th century.

The main service takes place on Sundays at 10 a.m. and on Thursdays guests are cordially invited to the service with communion (6.30 p.m.). Visits are not possible during the other services and devotions.

Continue along Königstraße, past the Fränk'ness restaurant, which invites you to take a break and savour its regionally inspired, top-quality cuisine from the stone oven. Before the Königstor gate, turn right to the Handwerkerhof.

"Small town at the Königstor": this is what the people of Nuremberg call their Handwerkerhof, a charming ensemble of alleyways, shops and half-timbered houses at the foot of the Frauentorturm tower. Once the armoury belonging to the tower was located here, today locals and visitors stroll along the historic cobblestones and enjoy the medieval flair of the place. The Handwerkerhof was built in 1971, the year Dürer was born - as a tourist attraction, but also as a reminder of the old craftsmen's town of Nuremberg.

Among the many shops that invite you to browse, you will also find a gingerbread bakery, a wine bar and a bratwurst restaurant. If you are looking for a typical souvenir, you are sure to find it among the craftsmen. There are pewterers, leather makers, glass cutters, potters, wax artists, gold and silversmiths, glass painters, gingerbread bakers and doll makers who have set up their workshops in the impressively reconstructed half-timbered houses.

Before you make your way back to the main station, the traditional Bratwurstglöcklein restaurant in the Handwerkerhof offers you the last opportunity to try some real Nuremberg specialities of the hearty kind - be it the widely praised grilled sausages or delicacies for those who like to try them, such as salted heart and Züngerl. If you leave the Handwerkerhof through the Frauentor, you will find yourself directly at the Bahnhofsplatz.