Weinstadel

From the Lepras Hospital to a favourite motif

One of Nuremberg's most striking buildings sits enthroned directly on the Pegnitz: the ensemble of Weinstadel and water tower. Today it is a popular photo motif with a romantic half-timbered idyll - but its past is far less idyllic.

The Weinstadel was built in the middle of the 15th century - not as a residence or warehouse, but as a hospital for leprosy patients. Only three days a year, during Holy Week, were so-called "special lepers" allowed to be cared for here. The town provided them with food and accommodation - on the edge of the fortifications at the time. The institution was founded in 1394 and shows how closely medieval welfare was linked to social exclusion.

When the leper station was moved to St. Johannis in 1575, the Weinstadel was transformed: craftsmen, poor families, a spinning house for women. From 1571, the imperial city used the ground floor as a wine storehouse - hence the name ‘Weinstadel’. Despite severe war damage in 1944, the building was preserved and converted into student accommodation from 1950. Today, the 48 metre long half-timbered building is one of the largest of its kind in Germany.