The Tucher’sche Kulturstiftung

The Tucher’sche Kulturstiftung (Tucher Cultural Foundation) founded in 2012 represents the Tucher family's cultural interests. As a charitable foundation, it administers their inalienable, formerly baronial art and cultural heritage. It contributes to the preservation, scientific research and mediation of these collections, which have shaped Nuremberg and the region for centuries.

The work of the Tucher von Simmelsdorf patrician family, which is not one of the oldest but one of the most influential families in the former imperial city of Nuremberg, can be traced back to the 14th century. Berthold I Tucher (c. 1310-1379), the son of the progenitor Konrad, who died in 1326, was appointed to the Inner Council in 1340. The Tuchers had a presence in the city government, apart from brief interruptions, from then until the end of the imperial city period in 1806. Members of the family were also represented in the imperial knighthood of Franconia. After they acquired their main residence in Simmelsdorf in 1598, they called themselves "Tucher von Simmelsdorf" by their full name. In 1697 Emperor Leopold I recognised the name addition as a title of nobility, and after Nuremberg's transition to the kingdom of Bavaria, the family was accepted into the Bavarian nobility's baron class in 1815. Some of the Tucher barons served the kingdom in higher state offices.

The Tuchers experienced their heyday in the 15th and 16th centuries with trading activities throughout Europe, mainly with saffron, other spices and southern fruits, metal goods, cloths and furs. As one of the last of the patrician trading companies to be active on a larger scale, the Tuchers ran their company until 1648. They subsequently restricted themselves to exercising their manorial powers or preferred a legal or military career. With the acquisition of the Royal Weizenbräuhaus in 1855, they became active in the business world and thus continued their time in the imperial city.

The Tuchers were wealthy through long-distance trade, and over the centuries they proved to be generous donors to religious and charitable purposes. In 1503, Dr Lorenz I Tucher (1447-1503), the then provost of Nuremberg's Lorenzkirche, founded a foundation which is one of the oldest family foundations in Germany. It was this Dr. Lorenz Tucher'schen Foundation that finally led to the establishment of the non-profit cultural foundation in 2012.

The aim of the Tucher'sche Kulturstiftung is to document its holdings and guarantee their dissemination beyond research and networking. One of the collaborations with museums and research institutions is the Tucher Fellowship, a scholarship at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum for doctoral students who are dealing with a German cultural history subject.

The Tucher’sche Kulturstiftung is based at Schloss Schoppershof in Nuremberg, which was acquired by the Dr. Lorenz Tucher’sche Stiftung in 1875.

Bernhard von Tucher, Claudia Däubler-Hauschke

• The objects of the Tucher’sche Kulturstiftung available in bavarikon

Collections owned by the Tucher’sche Kulturstiftung available on bavarikon

• The art collection belonging to the Tucher von Simmelsdorf family
• The Tucher von Simmelsdorf family archive

Exhibitions of the Tucher’sche Kulturstiftung available in bavarikon

• The Tuchers. A patrician family from Nuremberg
• Hans Tucher and his Pilgrimage to the Holy Land 1479/80
  
• The Tucher family and consorts: 100 years of portrait photography