Felsengänge Nürnberg, Rock cellar network in Nuremberg, Germany.
Felsengänge Nürnberg is an underground network of passages and rooms carved into red sandstone beneath the old town, creating a hidden world beneath the streets. The tunnels feature solid stone walls and narrow corridors that reveal how carefully miners and stonemasons worked to hollow out these chambers.
From 1380 onward, Nuremberg's city council required every brewer to build cellars for fermenting and storing beer, which sparked the creation of this vast underground network. Over the centuries, brewers and workers expanded the passages to meet growing demand for the city's famous beer.
The cellars reveal how medieval brewers organized their craft with dedicated storage areas and ventilation openings still visible in the stone walls. The layout shows what mattered most to people who worked underground for their livelihood.
Expect narrow, low passages and be prepared for cool, damp conditions underground that are quite different from the street above. Sturdy shoes and a light jacket are helpful, since the temperature below stays constant year-round regardless of the season.
During World War II, the passages provided shelter for tens of thousands of people during air raids and protected art and valuables the city wanted to preserve. This dual role reveals how the underground space became critical for survival and protecting what mattered most.
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