Nuremberg was, for much of its history, a free imperial city within the Holy Roman Empire. The imperial regalia were kept there for nearly 400 years (now in Vienna).

St. Lawrence's Church is famous for its dramatic Sondergotik choir (by Konrad Heinzelman, the Roritzers, and Jakob Grimm) that houses Veit Stoss' Annunciation (his other major work is in Cracow), and the monumental sacrament house by Adam Kraft - an almost unbelievable tower of writhing tendrils carved from sandstone.
Albrecht Dürer spent most of his life in Nuremberg. His godfather published the famous Nuremberg Chronicle.
Nuremberg's other major church, St. Sebald, houses the tomb of the eponymous saint. Largely designed by Peter Vischer and sons, it was finished in 1519.

The same trip led to a brief return to Prague.