Nürnberger Wasserstollen und Kasematten

Nuremberg Water Adits and Kasemats


Useful Information

Location: Nuremberg city center, Burgberg (castle rock).
Open: APR to OCT daily 16.
Other times for groups after appointment.
[2009]
Fee: Adults EUR 6.
[2009]
Classification: SubterraneaWater Supply SubterraneaCasemates
Light: none, electric torches provided, you may bring your own.
Dimension:
Guided tours: Max. 10 pers. per tour.
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address: Förderverein Nürnberger Felsengänge e.V., Bergstraße 19, D-90403 Nürnberg, Tel: +49-911-227066, Fax: +49-911-2305591.
NKG GmbH Nürnberger Kellerverwaltungsgesellschaft, Bergstraße 19, 90403 Nürnberg, Tel: +49-911-2449859, Fax: +49-911-23555365. E-mail: contact
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History


Description

The castle rock of Nuremberg is honeycombed with adits and cellars. A special kind of adits are the medieval water adits, built to provide water for the citizens, They were maintained by water wardens, and of course they were a weak spot of the city, so their actual position was top secret.

In certain layers of the rock, layers of clay, which are impermeable, block and collect the water. This places were used to get drinking water for the city, several springs were connected by adits and then the water was conducted to public fountains all over the northern city. The famous Schöner Brunnen (beautiful fountain) on the Hauptmarkt was feeded this way. The ground water was important, because of its purity after being filtered by the sandstone.

But the number of inhabitants, producing waste water, often overexert the ability of the rocks to filter. This shows us, how adapted the people must have been to those contamination. But the poor quality of the water also made beer the most natural alternative. It was heated and thus sterilized, so it was used as an replacement for water. Today a sewing system swallows all waste water, but modern pollution still makes the water undrinkable. And the sealing of the surface by buildings, streets and plaster, reduced the amount of water drastically.

A short introduction into the rights and duties of the water wardens is given on a tour to the Nuremberg Rock-cut Cellars. But this tour is the only possibility to see such an adit in real.