His government was very favorable to Nuremberg in every way.
The four large towers were built 1555 to 1568, after a plan designed by Albert Dürer. The town reached its highest artistic development in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, under such men as Albert Dürer, A. Krafft, Herman Fischer, and many others.
Goblets and many such objects of art were made here at that time. In 1649 Nuremberg displayed its last splendor. Commerce had been ruined by different wars. In 1806 it was made a matter of rejoicing when it came under the crown of Bavaria. King Ludwig first revived art, and trade made a start.
In 1835 the first railroad was opened to Fürth. In 1855 King Max II. with his family lived here, and the Imperial Burg was offered to him as a present by the town.
The lady also told them that the five-cornered tower, which is the oldest building in Nuremberg and connected with the castle, contained a collection of instruments of torture. Among them is the iron virgin, a figure of a woman, which opens and is full of spikes. The poor victim would be shut up in its clutches.
None of our party felt like visiting that horrible place, so they thanked the woman, and took some last looks at the beautiful views to be seen from the windows. To their surprise they found it was noon-time, and as everything in Nuremberg is closed for an hour and a half at mid-day, they were driven back to the Wurtemberger Hof, their comfortable hotel, where everything possible was done for their pleasure.
After a good dinner and a rest, Mr. Winter said he thought, as his time was so limited, he would like to visit the Town Hall and St. John's Cemetery. A guide was found, and they started out with more enthusiasm than ever.
The guide told them that the Town Hall was built in the years from 1616 to 1619, in Italian style. He pointed out to them a fine picture by Paul Ritter, painted in 1882, to represent the act of the arrival of the German Emperor's Insignia in Nuremberg. The guide also showed them several pictures of Dürer's representing the triumphal procession of Emperor Maximilian. His pictures are, many of them, very indistinct.
They were taken into a room where the wedding couples go to sign their marriage contracts.
Mr. Winter was more interested than the girls, and Mrs. Winter was so tired they were glad enough to get in the carriage and be driven to the famous old cemetery.