Overwhelmed at the German National Museum, Nuremberg

It’s easy to be overwhelmed at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum (German national history museum): whether it’s the richness of the collections, the original masterworks by Dürer or Rembrandt, or the fact there’s a whole monastery inside it. I can see why guides have said it’s one of the country’s most important collections.

We entered by walking along Kornmarkt where dozens of people skateboarded in the afternoon sun. From there, we turned into the Way of Human Rights – a permanent installation by Dani Karavan. The main entry to the German National Museum is off that and we then proceeded to get lost.

Over the next two hours we explored rooms containing clothes, musical instrument, folk masks, Gothic sculpture, Roman-era silver and glassworks, Renaissance paintings, Celtic graves, and a hundred other works all well displayed and curated in a logical fashion. And I mentioned the monastery: cloisters, chapels and courtyards are all there, housing more than a thousand years of religious art.

Of special interest to travellers are the world’s two oldest globes – the oldest predating the discovery of the Americas. The second, dating from a few years later, includes the new world.

Of course, a national museum in the city of Dürer has to have some of his works: a few original portraits, sculptures based on his designs, and a display of copies and forgeries too.

A casual visitor could pass an interesting hour or two without problem, while a museum or art fan could possibly move in… If they could evade the security team.

[box]Entry to the German National Museum is included in the Nuremberg Card or €6 per person. Free entry between 6pm and 9pm on Wednesdays![/box]