This painting shows the appearance of the main marketplace more than 400 years ago. The Frauenkirche (Church of our Lady) and the Schöner Brunnen fountain which are depicted remain major landmarks in the cityscape to this day.

This central marketplace occupies the site of a pogrom which targeted Nuremberg's Jews in 1349. Emperor Karl IV had granted the city permission to demolish the Jewish quarter and establish the marketplace in its stead. Almost 600 Jewish women, men, and children were murdered by an angry mob.

A variety of goods were sold on the marketplace, the Hauptmarkt. These included vegetables and other agricultural products. Sheaves of corn are visible in the picture. The stall at lower left is selling smoked fish.

The men in black which can be discerned at the left edge of the picture are substantial merchants. This part of the marketplace, the Herrenmarkt, was used for financial and monetary transactions. It became the nucleus for the Nuremberg stock exchange. Bartholomäus Viatis, the founder of the Banco Publico is presented at the next station.

Bartholomäus Viatis was born in Venice in 1538. He moved to Nuremberg and obtained its citizenship. Throughout his life, he was an active merchant who bought and sold wares in different places. Together with his son-in-law, Martin Peller, he founded a large and influential trading house.

Viatis and Peller are considered the founders of the Banco Publico, a bank which allowed its clients to make cash-free monetary transfers. In an age when payment by coins was the norm, the transfer of large sums posed a considerable risk as silver and gold had to be carried by coach across considerable distances. One way to avoid this was to draw a bill of exchange at a stock exchange. This note would record a business transaction on paper which could then be exchanged into coinage at a bank in another location.

The free imperial city of Nuremberg was an important site for financial transactions. It was also renowned for its trade in textile and metal goods. In order to guarantee the quality of these products, an assay office (the so-called Schau) was established.

The assay offices of the Gewürzschau and Safranschau were primarily concerned with monitoring the quality of wares. This kind of quality control had existed since the Middle Ages. Spices intended for sale in the city could be presented from 9-11 am from Monday to Saturday in the Untere Waage, close to today's Hauptmarkt. The painting allows you to follow the procedure of the Schau from left to right. Merchants would present their wares, and so-called Unterkäufel officials would inspect, weigh, and tax them. Once the spices and saffron had undergone this procedure, the Zeichenmeister would stamp the goods with the city's seal. They were now ready to be sold in Nuremberg.

A close-up look: Nuremberg and the spice trade

Saffron, pepper, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom were popular spices during the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Era. They were imported from the Orient, India, Ceylon (today's Sri Lanka), and other places. Nuremberg held an important position in the European spice trade. The city maintained a tightly structured trade network which enjoyed numerous tax exemptions. The connections to Italy were particularly important, as the great Italian maritime cities such as Venice and Genoa were the dominant hubs of the spice trade. Later, Antwerp became an important emporium for the growing trade with the New World (America).

The great merchant houses of Nuremberg had bought and sold spices since the Middle Ages. This flourishing trade led to the creation of one of the most renowned specialities of the city: the Lebkuchen gingerbread. They had been produced in Nuremberg since the Middle Ages, but an important milestone in the history of this delicacy was the imperial diet held in Nuremberg in 1486.

Emperor Friedrich III gave a way 4000 pieces of gingerbread imprinted with his image to children. It was known as Kaiserlein (little emperors). In remembrance of this event, the Kaiserlein were baked every year up until the 18th century. This variant exists to this day.

If you proceed to the next room, you will find out more about Nuremberg's principal products. These include the metal goods which made the city a household name since the Early Modern Era.

As the courts of princes and rulers grew ever larger and more splendid in the Renaissance era, a system for the exchange of ambassadors became established. Diplomacy grew ever more important. Gifts and reciprocal gifts were a vital component of such exchanges. They were meant to consolidate political alliances, express loyalty and respect, or serve as a medium of representation. Works of art were particularly useful in this respect, as they were imbued with significance.

Works of the goldsmiths' craft were highly valued by the city council of Nuremberg when it came to presenting gifts to high-status visitors. The craftsmen would fashion goblets, cups, or tankards according to the specifications of the council. Elaborate glass objects were another favourite. The city liked to show off its wealth with these expensive gifts, but it also used them to advertise the skill of its craftsmen.