Tucherschloss, 1946

Stadtarchiv Nürnberg, A40_L_10_10
The Tucherschloss after its destruction in the Second World War, view of the west and south sides

The British air raid on Nuremberg on 2 January 1945 had hit the eastern part of Sebalder Altstadt particularly hard and reduced it almost completely to rubble. Once the debris from the bombing had been cleared, the inner city area stretching from the Kaiserburg to the Pegnitz became popularly known as the "Sebald Steppe" due to its treeless wasteland and sparse ground cover – the epitome of desolation until well into the 1960s.

Along Hirschelgasse, the bombing had wiped out almost all the buildings up to the Laufer Gate Tower. Of the late medieval patrician mansions situated along this road, only the Tucher castle with gardens had remained at least partially intact on the northeastern edge of the "Sebalder Steppe".

From the Renaissance property’s main building, only the outer wall in the west facing the courtyard, the south façade facing Hirschelgasse with the so-called Chörlein, the special Nuremberg oriel, and the wall in the east had withstood the devastating fire. A large part of the striking staircase tower, which was built based on the French model and is located in the courtyard, had also been preserved. The former commercial wings adjoining the main building to the west and east, on the other hand, were completely destroyed, as were all the castle’s roofs, ceilings and floors.

Ulrike Berninger