Albrecht Dürer's House

Nuremberg, Germany

Albrecht Dürer's House was the home of German Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer from 1509 to his death in 1528. The House lies in the extreme north-west of Nuremberg's Altstadt, near the Kaiserburg section of the Nuremberg Castle and the Tiergärtnertor of Nuremberg's city walls.

The house was built around 1420. It has five stories; the bottom two have sandstone walls, while the upper stories are timber framed; the entire structure is topped by a half-hip roof. In 1501, it was purchased by Bernhard Walther, a merchant and prominent astronomer. Walter remodeled the house, adding small windows to the roof so that it could function as an observatory. Walther died in 1504, and Dürer purchased the house in 1509.

Since 1871 the Albrecht-Dürer-Haus has been a museum dedicated to Dürer's life and work. In a restoration of 1909, the large dormer on the east-facing roof was replaced. In October 1944, it took significant damage from Allied bombing. It was rebuilt by 1949, but did not reopen as a museum until 1971, Dürer's 500th birthday.

The museum features installations of period furnishings, a re-creation of Dürer's workshop in which visitors can view demonstrations of printmaking techniques, and rotating exhibitions of drawings and prints by Dürer from the City of Nuremberg's Graphic Collection. Visitors can also receive a guided tour of the house from an actress playing Agnes Dürer, the wife of the artist.

References:

Comments

Your name



Details

Founded: 1420
Category: Museums in Germany
Historical period: Habsburg Dynasty (Germany)

Rating

4.4/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

valentin besson (4 years ago)
Most unfriendly and rude staff ever.... We've been yelled on by the front desk lady (through the speakers of the house) because our 13 Month old Baby was crawling on the floor (and was laughing...) . After explanation (and complain, and fight... ), the problem was not that is was dangerous for the copies there, it was that "she was having fun"... Furthermore, the exhibition is, honestly, just OK... Enjoy the city center instead.
Xavier Orozco (4 years ago)
Not even remotely friendly or helpful front desk staff. Wouldn't recommend coming here.
Paul Ciprian (4 years ago)
The place where the famous painter and engraver used to live.Very nice rehabilitated.Unfortunately,there's only one room in the house that we know for sure what it was in that times:the kitchen.All the other rooms are arranged based on assumptions:"here probably was the workshop,there probably was the bedroom" and so on.Yet the house is very interesting helping you to make an idea about how people of that times lived.No original paintings of the artist(you can see some in Germanisches National museum)
F.R. Dini Ginting (5 years ago)
Well maintained, clean, also friendly and helpful staff. Make sure to visit the small art gallery just next to the stairs towards exit, it's easy to be overseen
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Argos Theater

The ancient Argos Theater was built in 320 BC. and is located in Argos, Greece against Larissa Hill. Nearby from this site is Agora, Roman Odeon, and the Baths of Argos. The theater is one of the largest architectural developments in Greece and was renovated in ca 120 AD.

The Hellenistic theater at Argos is cut into the hillside of the Larisa, with 90 steps up a steep incline, forming a narrow rectilinear cavea. Among the largest theaters in Greece, it held about 20,000 spectators and is divided by two landings into three horizontal sections. Staircases further divide the cavea into four cunei, corresponding to the tribes of Argos A high wall was erected to prevent unauthorized access into the theatron and may have helped the acoustics, but it is said the sound quality is still very good today.

Around 120 CE, both theaters were renovated in the Roman style.