Henkersteg und Henkerturm

Nuremberg's mysterious bridge at Unschlittplatz

The Henkersteg connects the idyllic island of the flea market with the neighbourhood around Unschlittplatz. It was originally built to enable the Nuremberg hangman to walk from his isolated quarters in the hangman's house into the city. Anyone walking across the footbridge today is therefore walking on historical ground: There was already a wooden crossing at this point in 1457, but it collapsed during the devastating flood of 1595. Today's Henkersteg was then rebuilt further west, roofed over and restored several times since then - most recently after the Second World War in 1954.

An often overlooked anchor point of this ensemble is the Henkerturm, a walled tower from the time of Nuremberg's penultimate city fortifications. Built between 1320 and 1325, the tower, which is rounded to the west, was originally part of the military defence of the Pegnitz outflow. However, when the last city wall was built around 1400, it lost its defensive function - and became part of an unusual dwelling: from then on, the tower served as accommodation for the city's executioner. The town's executioner lived in the rooms and in the half-timbered, saddle-roofed sandstone bridge to the water tower opposite - socially isolated, but employed by the town.