Romantic Danube: Nuremberg, Germany

Romantic Danube: Overview
Romantic Danube: Flying United from Chicago to Brussels
Romantic Danube: Brussels and continuing to Prague
Romantic Danube: Marriott Courtyard Prague
Romantic Danube: Exploring Prague
Romantic Danube: Boscolo, Autograph Collection
Romantic Danube: Prague to Erlangen
Romantic Danube: Viking Longships
Romantic Danube: Nuremberg, Germany

In a previous installment I detailed our journey from Prague to Nuremberg to Erlangen, where we boarded the Njord.  Since Erlangen was only about 20 minutes outside of Nuremberg by train, it seems a little odd to refer to Nuremberg as our first port-of-call, but that's how it's listed in the itinerary.  Once we docked in the city, most of the group went on the included city tour, but C and I had paid extra for the World War II tour.  Viking hires local tour companies to lead tours and fortunately we had no trouble finding our guide.  He did not even need to hold up the paddle to indicate which group he was leading because at 7' 6" this former Davidson College basketball player stood out.

Our first stop was the home of the former Nazi party rally grounds.  Between 1933 and 1938 six party rallies were held in this area.  The entire area is 11 square kilometers and includes both buildings and open space.  The bus let us out at the Zeppelinfeld, an open area that could be used for many purposes, including launching zeppelins, and it is in this area that the Reichsparteitag, or grandstand, still stands.  It was from the podium at the center of this structure that speakers - including Hitler - would rally the troops.  During those critical years a giant Nazi swastika was mounted atop the building behind the podium.  After the war, explosives were used to remove it.

The Reichsparteitag during the Nazi era
By Kurt Wittig (Privataufnahme) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The Reichspartetiag as it is today

Across the small lake was the building now known as the Congress Hall but was once known as the Documentation Center.  It was modeled on the Colosseum in Rome and Hitler wanted it to have the world's largest glass roof - but the building was never completed and remains in a U-shape instead a full circle.  As engineers later studied the design, they came to the conclusion that it never would have supported a glass roof anyway.  Today the building has a dual purpose: one side is the home of the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra and the other side is a museum whose permanent exhibit is called Fascination and Terror, a detailed history of the Nazi party and the devastating effects of the war on Nuremberg.

The Documentation Center/Congress Hall from across the lake

Aerial view of the Congress Hall as it is today

Our last stop on the tour was an unassuming building right by the road with a tall stone fence around it.  This is the Palace of Justice and it was in this building that one of the most famous trials in recent history took place.  We were fortunate to visit on a Sunday when Courtroom 600 was not being used for normal trials but was completely empty.  While the room seems peaceful now, from 1945 to 1949 it was the place where the highest members of the Nazi party were put on trial.

Today, when entering the courtroom from the back, the judges sit straight ahead at the far end of the room.  Lawyers are on the right and the defendant enters the courtroom on the left.  There's a door leading straight from the prison behind the Palace of Justice right into the defendant's box.  But during the Nuremberg Trials the judges sat on the right, against the outside wall.  The actual back wall of the courtroom had to be temporarily moved back because there were so many journalists trying to cover the trial that there just wasn't room for them all.

Courtroom 600 during the trial
By USAMHI - United States Army, Public Domain,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8261878

Courtroom 600 looks so peaceful now

Our tour over, we were taken back to the Njord in time for lunch.  As we sailed to our next port of call, someone was brought on board to speak to us about the region of Bavaria and then an afternoon tea featuring regional specialties was on tap, followed by a chance to learn a few German phrases.  Despite being over jet lag, all the walking in Prague plus the busy travel day meant we kept drifting off during the lecture so we finally went back to our cabin.  I really hate to have missed the tea and learning some German but sometimes ya just gotta have that nap.