proverb arose that

"Nuremberg's hand
Goes through every land."

Nuremberg still stands, a vast mediaeval relic, in the midst of
the whirl and activity of modern Germany, rich and thriving, but
almost unchanged in its antique beauty. The narrow streets in which
Duerer walked are flanked, as then, by quaint gable-roofed houses,
timber-fronted, with mullioned windows and arching portals. In the
faded and venerable palaces of the fifteenth century live the
descendants of the old patrician families, cherishing the memories and
archives of the past; and the stately Gothic churches are still rich
in religious architecture, and in angular old Byzantine pictures and
delicate German carvings. On the hill the castle rears its ponderous
ramparts, which have stood for immemorial ages; and the high towers
along the city walls have not yet bowed their brave crests to the
spirit of the century of boulevards and railroads.

With two essentials of civilization, paper and printing-presses,
Nuremberg supplied herself at an early day. The first paper-mill in
Germany was established here in 1390; and its workmen were obliged to
take an oath never to make paper for themselves, nor to reveal the
process of manufacture. They went out on a strike when the mill was
enlarged, but the authorities imprisoned them until they became docile
once more. Koberger's printing-house contained twenty-four presses,
and employed over a hundred men, printing not only Bibles and
breviaries, but also chronicles, homilies, poems, and scientific
works. As the Aldine Press attracted many authors and scholars to
Venice, so Koberger's teeming press led several German literati to
settle at Nuremberg. For the four first years of Duerer's life, the
wonderful mathematician and astronomer Regiomontanus dwelt here, and
had no less than twenty-one books printed by Koberger. His numerous
inventions and instruments awakened the deepest interest in the
Nuremberg craftsmen, and stimulated a fruitful spirit of inquiry for
many years.

The clockmakers of Nuremberg were famous for their ingenious
productions. Watches were invented here in the year 1500, and were
long known as "Nuremberg eggs." The modern composition of brass was
formed by Erasmus Ebner; wire-drawing machinery also was a Nuremberg
device; the air-gun was invented by Hobsinger; the clarionet, by
Denner; and the church-organs made here were the best in Germany.
There were also many expert metal-worker