The Pilatushaus is an integral part of the historical backdrop around Tiergärtnertorplatz below Nuremberg Castle: the stately town house from the late Gothic period has stood empty for years. Now the Altstadtfreunde e. V. are renovating it.
The Pilatushaus is an integral part of the historical backdrop around Tiergärtnertorplatz below Nuremberg Castle: the stately town house from the late Gothic period has stood empty for years. Now the Altstadtfreunde e. V. are renovating it.
The Pilatushaus in Nuremberg is one of the few surviving late Gothic town houses and is one of the most important architectural monuments in the Old Town. As an outstanding half-timbered house and a stop on the Nuremberg Historical Mile, it is one of the most photographed motifs in the Old Town.
Now the Altstadtfreunde Nürnberg e.V. association wants to fill the empty building with life again. The late Gothic residential building was built in 1489 and once belonged to Plattner, the harness maker Hans Grünwald. In 1507, the sculptor Veit Wirsberger bought the house, after which it changed hands frequently. The name Pilatushaus has been in use since the 17th century, when the building was regarded as the starting point for Adam Kraft’s Stations of the Cross to St. John’s Cemetery in Nuremberg. It was also known as the “House of the Armored Man”. Hans von und zu Aufseß, the founder of the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, lived in the building from 1852 to 1857; the family coat of arms above the entrance dates from 1853.
The Pilatushaus is to be filled with life
The building has been owned by the city since 1931. It has seven storeys with a sandstone base storey and three house storeys and three attic storeys made of half-timbering. At the top of the gable is a characteristic octagonal gable bay with a concave pointed roof. A corner figure shows St. George slaying a dragon, the patron saint of the Plattner people. The Pilatus House is now to be filled with life again. The city of Nuremberg has announced that it will be given to the Altstadtfreunde Nürnberg e.V. association “by way of a heritable building right for 60 years”.
Complete renovation for almost four million euros
The Altstadtfreunde will completely renovate the building over the next five years and then be allowed to use it. Nuremberg’s Lord Mayor Marcus König commented: “The association has a wealth of experience in renovating historic buildings and putting them to good use.” If everything goes according to plan, a restaurant will be set up on the first floor of the building, with three apartments and offices on the floors above. The top floor, i.e. the attic, can be used by the Friends of the Old Town for themselves. The Pilatushaus was badly damaged during the Second World War. Although it was repaired in 2011, this caused structural problems that are now to be rectified in the complete renovation, which will cost almost four million euros.
Gutted backdrop
“Our building departments have been more than busy in recent years with the construction of schools, kindergartens and apartments,” emphasizes Michael Fraas, the city’s economic and scientific officer. In addition, the city has had to keep an eye on its finances and make do with the scarce money available for housing construction. According to Fraas, uses for culture or tourism were not reported “despite several inquiries” from the city administration. As a result, the property has increasingly fallen into a kind of slumber and degenerated into a gutted backdrop.
The Friends of the Old Town Association is dependent on support
In order to get started soon, the Friends of the Old Town Association is dependent on support. Two large donations of 100,000 euros each have already been received in the newly established donation account. In its almost 50-year history, the association has already restored over 20 old town houses. It has turned a craftsman’s house in Kühnertsgasse into a museum, and the association now runs one of the oldest barns in Zirkelschmiedsgasse as a cultural hall. In the past, the members have not shied away from major projects such as the reconstruction of the magnificent inner courtyard in the Pellerhaus on Egidienberg. Mayor König is impressed by so much commitment: “The Friends of the Old Town are unique for Nuremberg and have done a lot for our cityscape.”
Unique citizens’ initiative in Germany
In October 1973, Dr. Erich Mulzer took over the chairmanship of the “Association of Friends of the Old Town of Nuremberg”. Under the new name “Altstadtfreunde Nürnberg e.V.”, he developed the citizens’ initiative into the largest of its kind in Germany with more than 5,700 members. Since then, around 250 measures have been implemented. These include many small items such as sundials, house signs, coats of arms, cantilevers, chimney hoods, gable men, tiled stoves, memorial plaques, bell pulls, lanterns and doors.you can find out more about the Verein der Altbaufreunde here. House statues, fountains, roof oriels and chörlein have also been restored or brought back into the townscape. The Friends of the Old Town are particularly proud of the 18 houses they have renovated themselves and thus saved. They also enrich cultural life in Nuremberg with events in the Kulturscheune, which they restored, and run the I22I20I18I Kühnertsgasse Museum.
The restoration of the historic city baths in Strasbourg has already been completed. See for yourself!
