Yesterday I wrote about Nuremberg centre and the Nuremberg Card. I would say by far the most interesting places to the visit are the old Nazi rally grounds (Zeppelinfeld)and the Documentation Centre. We were staying at the Hilton Nuremberg, which is walking distance to both. If you are travelling from the centre, there is a tram that stops just outside the Documentation Centre – you then need to walk around the lake to the rally grounds.

What is interesting, although understandable, is how the rally grounds aren’t part of any tour, nor are they signposted when you visit the Documentation Centre. Equally, the huge Congress Hall, that the Documentation Centre is attached to, is something you need to find by yourself.

From the Hilton Nuremberg, we turned right, under a railway bridge, then right again to reach the rally grounds.

At the front of the building, there was a sign that said ‘Enter at your own risk’. I suppose because the steps have been left to deteriorate and some are now broken and uneven.

The place was pretty deserted. The old rally grounds now sports fields.

 

It’s amazing how accessible the place is – you can easily stand on the main plinth and imagine looking out on the rallies.

There was a small information poster at the top of the steps.

An image on glass allows you to look back in history.

The building used to have a large swastika at the top – this was blown up by the allied forces.

On either side of the parade grounds are building that provided toilets and a place for the large lights that shone upwards.

Having past the rally grounds, we followed a path around a lake. The Documentation Centre and Colosseum on the other side.

 

The Documentation Centre has a modern entrance.

We used our Nuremberg Cards for free admission (I think normally EUR 8) and took the lift to the top floor. The centre contains some harrowing historical scenes, some posters and memorabilia, a record of war crimes and an art installation that shows the names (on cards) of those sent to concentration camps.

There is also a terrace where you can look out to the Congress Hall.

You exit the centre via a long sloping walkway.

We stumbled into a room behind the café with supporting columns and an alternate view of the sloping walkway.

But someone from the museum appeared and made it clear that this wasn’t open to the public.

If you turn left at the exit, you can walk around to the Congress Hall entrance, again, there isn’t any signposting and you find yourself walking along a deserted portico.

That leads to the entrance.

Inside the place is vast – the plan was to add a roof, but the war was over before that happened.

Here is a 360 video that I took while there:

We retraced our steps and returned to our hotel.

I would definitely recommend a visit. For me the most interesting parts were those that were unpackaged. In fact, if you wanted to skip the museum, you wouldn’t miss that much.

https://museums.nuernberg.de/documentation-center/