Henkerhaus Nuremberg

At home with the executioner

If you walk from Unschlittplatz across the romantic Henkersteg, you will find yourself standing directly in front of the 500-year-old ‘Nuremberg Executioner's House’. Built directly above the waters of the Pegnitz, at the western tip of Trödelmarktinsel, it is a place where history, architecture and a little bit of the creepy factor come together.

Built between 1320 and 1325 as a defence tower to defend the city, the building lost its original function when the city fortifications were extended in the 15th century. Instead, it was converted into the official residence of the Nuremberg executioner - better known as the hangman. For several centuries, the executioner of the city of Nuremberg lived here with his family. Even then, the profession of executioner was extremely controversial: As a ‘non-respectable person’, he was socially isolated and was not allowed to socialise with ‘respectable’ citizens. Social exclusion often affected the entire family - for example, by denying the executioner's children access to prestigious professions or only allowing them to marry within the ‘dishonourable’ class.

In the modern exhibition in the Executioner's House, you can find out more about precisely these relationships: How did medieval criminal law work? Why were families of executioners systematically isolated? And how did the image of this professional group change over the centuries?