Medieval Booker
Historischer Kunstbunker in Nuremberg Barnack · Public domain

Experience ◆ Nuremberg

Historischer Kunstbunker

Rock cellars under the castle hill, up to 24 m down, converted at the start of the war into an air-raid shelter for objects rather than people. The Behaim globe, Veit Stoss's Annunciation from St Lorenz, the Männleinlaufen figures and the imperial regalia all sat out the bombing here — this is the room where the medieval Nuremberg you have been looking at all day physically survived.

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Where and when

Where
Obere Schmiedgasse 52, 90403 Nürnberg, Nuremberg, Germany Open in Google Maps Walking directions
Era
Medieval rock cellars converted from 1939–40 as an art air-raid shelter; exhibition redesigned 2026
Opening
Guided tour only, about 75 minutes. German tours Mon–Thu 11:30 and 14:00, Fri–Sat 11:30, 14:00 and 17:30, Sun 11:30 and 14:00. English tours listed daily at 13:15 and 17:15. Tickets from the card machine at the entrance, the tourist office at Hauptmarkt 18, or online (as of August 2026)
Price
€12 adult, €10 reduced (students, pupils, disabled visitors), €5 and €4 with a NÜRNBERG CARD, under-5s free with an adult. Group tours up to 25 people €100 in German, €110 in another language (as of August 2026)
Best time
Do it on your last day, after you have seen St Lorenz, the Frauenkirche and the Behaim globe — the tour then stops being about a bunker and starts being about things you have already stood in front of.
Good for
Works in the rain
Official site
museen.nuernberg.de
Map showing where Historischer Kunstbunker is
Open in Google Maps Walking directions © MapTiler © OpenStreetMap contributors

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What is Historischer Kunstbunker?

Nuremberg had been digging cellars into the sandstone under the castle hill since the 14th century. From the outbreak of the Second World War the city took a set of those vaults, some of them 24 m below the surface, fitted them out for constant temperature and humidity, and moved its art into them.

The museum’s own list of what was sheltered here reads like an index to this city:

  • Veit Stoss’s Engelsgruß from St Lorenz, taken down off its chains and carried underground;
  • the Kraków Marian altarpiece, also by Stoss — looted from St Mary’s in Kraków and brought here, and listed by the museum plainly as Kunstraub;
  • the art clock from the Frauenkirche, the Männleinlaufen;
  • Martin Behaim’s globe of 1492;
  • paintings, prints and writings by Albrecht Dürer;
  • the “Nuremberg Egg”, the early watch attributed to Peter Henlein;
  • Nuremberg goldsmiths’ work, church glass and fountain figures;
  • and the imperial regalia — orb, sceptre, imperial and ceremonial swords, relics and coronation robes — which the Nazi authorities had brought back from Vienna to Nuremberg in 1938. American soldiers found them in this bunker in 1945, and they were returned to the Hofburg in January 1946.

So the regalia that Sigismund gave the city in 1423 spent the last months of the Second World War two hundred metres from where they had been kept in the Middle Ages, in a hole in the same rock.

Entry is by guided tour only, from Obere Schmiedgasse 52, and takes about 75 minutes. The permanent exhibition was redesigned and reopened on 1 February 2026. It is 8°C down there in August; take a jacket you would wear in November.

What visitors say

4.6 from 467 ratings

  • Sean Conroy

    5 out of 5 a month ago

    train to explore the Old Town and some of its historical sights. One of the most interesting stops of the day was the Historischer Kunstbunker. We were able to join an English-language tour, which lasted about an hour. The guide was extremely knowledgeable and did a great job keeping our group engaged while explaining the origins of the tunnels, how the underground spaces were adapted, and the important role the bunker played during World War II in protecting Nuremberg’s artwork and historic treasures. Walking through the original rooms and seeing the old machinery, ventilation system, heavy doors, wartime damage, and other preserved features made the history feel much more real. It was especially interesting to learn how some of the city’s monuments and artwork were protected while so much of Nuremberg above ground was being destroyed. Regular admission, including the guided tour, is currently €12 for adults and €10 for school or university students, and the tour takes approximately one hour. This is an excellent stop for history buffs and anyone interested in seeing a part of Nuremberg that is hidden beneath the streets. Wear comfortable shoes, be prepared for stairs and cool underground temperatures, and check the English-tour schedule before arriving. Highly recommended as part of a day exploring Nuremberg’s Old Town.

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  • Judy Holyer

    5 out of 5 a month ago

    We visited with a Viking river cruise excursion and a local guide. It was a fascinating glimpse into ww2 and how some of the art and sculptures were saved. The bunker runs deep under the imperial palace and you learn about all the connected cellars running under large parts of the old city of Nuremberg. It is cold inside - even when it is hot outside - so you will need a jacket - unless you are seeking relief from too much heat!

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  • Knud Hermansen

    5 out of 5 2 months ago

    Amazing history and rather well done. We had a great tour guide who spoke excellent English. It is a bit confusing when you walk up to the place it may look like it's all locked up. But they QR code block does actually bring you to the site to buy tickets to (in my case) the English speaking tour. They walk you through the history of the underground tunnels, bringing art down to them, to rebuilding after the war (hint: it took longer than they one year that Geobels promised).

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Frequently asked questions

What was kept in the Nuremberg art bunker?

Veit Stoss's Annunciation from St Lorenz and his Marian altarpiece looted from Kraków, the art clock from the Frauenkirche, Martin Behaim's globe of 1492, Dürer paintings, prints and writings, the "Nuremberg Egg" watch, goldsmiths' work, church glass and the imperial regalia.

Were the imperial regalia found in the Kunstbunker?

Yes. They had been moved from Vienna to Nuremberg in 1938, were hidden in the bunker during the war, were found there by American soldiers in 1945 and were returned to the Hofburg in Vienna in January 1946.

How much is the Historischer Kunstbunker?

€12 for an adult and €10 reduced as of August 2026, or €5 and €4 with a NÜRNBERG CARD. The price covers the compulsory guided tour of about 75 minutes.

Are there English tours of the Kunstbunker?

Yes. The museum lists English-language tours daily at 13:15 and 17:15, alongside the German tours.

How cold is the Nuremberg art bunker?

About 8°C all year, including August. The museum advises warm clothing whatever the weather outside.

Festivals in Nuremberg

Medieval festivals in Nuremberg
Medieval Christmas

Nürnberger Christkindlesmarkt

Nuremberg, Germany

Nuremberg's Christkindlesmarkt fills the Hauptmarkt and the Rathausplatz from the Friday before the first Advent to Christmas Eve with 168 red-and-white wooden stalls and about 180 traders, opened each year by the Christkind's prologue from the gallery of the Frauenkirche and drawing around two million people; the 2026 market runs 27 November to 24 December. It is not a medieval market: the square is 14th-century and the Frauenkirche was Charles IV's imperial court chapel, but the market itself is first documented in 1678 — a date the market's own historians revised from 1628 — and t...

– 2026
Family

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Kaiserburg (Imperial Castle) in Nuremberg The original uploader was AlterVista at German Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 3.0
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Kaiserburg (Imperial Castle)

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The Hohenstaufen castle on the sandstone ridge above the old town, held by the emperors from about 1200 and bought outright by the city between 1422 and 1427. The Palas you tour was rebuilt after 1945; the Romanesque double chapel beside it came through the bombing almost undamaged, so go there first and look down through the opening in the floor.

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Museum

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The largest museum of cultural history in the German-speaking world, founded in 1852 and built into and around a late-medieval Carthusian monastery. Two things justify the visit on their own: the arms and armour hall, and Martin Behaim's terrestrial globe of 1492, the oldest globe in existence.

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Church

St Lorenz

Begun c. 1250; hall choir 1439–77; Kraft's tabernacle 1493–96; Stoss's Annunciation 1517–18

The great parish church of the southern half of the city, begun about 1250 and finished with a late-Gothic hall choir between 1439 and 1477. Two things in it are worth the trip: Adam Kraft's 20-metre stone tabernacle of 1493–96, which he signed by carving himself kneeling under it, and Veit Stoss's suspended Annunciation of 1517–18.

Free or cheap Works in the rain Quiet corner
Walking directions