Visit the Albrecht Dürer House Museum in Nuremberg, Germany

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Visit the Albrecht Dürer House Museum where Germany’s most famous Renaissance artist lived and worked for 20 years in Nuremberg (Nürnberg).

Visit the Albrecht Dürer House Museum where Germany's most famous Renaissance artist lived and worked for 20 years in Nuremberg (Nürnberg) to see his Rhinocerus of 1515 being reprinted on typical printers

The Nuremberg artist Albrecht Dürer brought the Renaissance to Germany and is considered amongst the most important German artists ever. The Albrecht-Dürer-Haus in Nürnberg is a museum in the house where Dürer lived and work the final two decades of his life. It is an interesting sight but unfortunately without any original Dürer paintings on display — many may be seen in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg. The Nürnberg City Card is valid.

Albrecht-Dürer-Haus Museum in Nuremberg

Albrecht-Dürer-Haus seen from the Reichsburg castle in Nuremberg

The Albrecht-Dürer-Haus in Nuremberg is in the house where Germany’s best-known artist lived and worked the final two decades of his life. Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) acquired the building in 1509 and lived here with his wife Agnes (who stayed on about a decade after his death), his mother Barbara (1452-1514), and a variety of apprentices and other personnel.

The ground floors of the Albrecht Dürer House date from around 1420 but the upper floors were altered in 1501 by Bernhard Walther who used it for his astrological observations. Dürer bought the house in 1509.

Dürer died childless and the home changed ownership at least 24 times before the city of Nuremberg acquired it in 1826. The venue was used for various cultural activities but a permanent Dürer museum opened only in 1871.

Although partly damaged, the Albrecht-Dürer-Haus survived the air raids that destroyed much of old-town Nuremberg during the Second World War. It was repaired within a few years after the war and is considered the only Renaissance artist house and workshop outside Italy to have survived mainly in its original form.

Durer is sometimes used in English but the correct spelling is either Dürer or Duerer.

Visit the Albrecht Dürer House Museum in Nuremberg

Albrecht Dürer Trademark signature
Albrecht Dürer’s “Trademark” Signature

The Albrecht-Dürer-Haus is an interesting museum to visit but it is worth knowing in advance that there are a only few real Dürer prints but no original paintings on display and that the interior is a 19th-century historicist impression. The exact layout or decorations of Dürer’s time is unknown. A visit using the useful free audio guide last around 45 minutes.

Copies of Dürer Paintings

Copies of Dürer's Adam and Eve painted in 1930 by Hans Otto Poppelreuther for an exhibition in the Albrecht-Dürer-Haus Museum in Nuremberg.

Visitors to the Dürer House are greeted by a famous self-portrait of Albrecht Dürer enlarged ten times (the original is in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich). The amazing details in the painting immediately confirm the talent of the artist.

Dürer paintings were expensive new and his works remained popular throughout the centuries. All top art museums in the world desire his paintings, so none are on display in his house. (Several Albrecht Dürer paintings and prints are on display in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg and these alone are already worth the admission fee.)

During a special Dürer exhibition in Nuremberg in 1928, special high-quality copies of several loan works were commissioned and these are on display in the Dürer Hall. Of course not the original, these paintings and other copies made as early as in the 17th century at least give some impression of the skills of Dürer.

Dürer’s Home and Workshop

Artist workshop in the Albrecht-Dürer-Haus Museum in Nuremberg, Germany

The first floor of the house is decorated as it might have been in Dürer’s time. The location of the kitchen fireplace is original but much else is guesswork.

In 1880, the interior decorations were commissioned in the style of the Renaissance to give an impression of the home and furnishings of a fairly rich Nuremberg artist in the time of Dürer. The objects and stained-glass windows with Dürer designs reflect the popularity of the artist in the period when the new interior was installed. Note the copy of the dragon chandelier — the original designed by Dürer and sculpted by Veit Stoß is in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum.

The largest room in the building is the well-lit space on the second floor. This is commonly considered to have been the workshop of Dürer. Demonstrations of the woodcut printing process (in German) are often held on equipment similar to those used in the Renaissance period.

Original Dürer Prints and Graphic Works

It is worth going up the narrow staircase to the third floor. Here a few original Dürer prints from Nuremberg’s graphic collection are on display in temporary exhibitions that change several times per year.

Dürer’s Sternkarten, two large woodcut prints mapping the sky in 1515, are often on display. These were the first map of the heavens printed in Europe.

Albrecht-Dürer-Haus Nürnberg Visitors’ Information

Renaissance printing in the Albrecht-Dürer-Haus Museum in Nuremberg, Germany

As the museum is mostly inside the original 15th-century house and spread over three floors accessible by only steep and narrow stairs, it is sensible to arrive early during busy periods.

Opening Hours for the Albrecht Dürer House

Adam and Eve engraving by Albrecht Dürer

The opening hours of the Albrecht-Dürer-Haus Museum in Nuremberg are Tuesday to Friday from 9:00 to 17:00 and weekends from 10:00 to 18:00.

The museum is open on Mondays too in July, August, and September, and during the Christmas market (Christkindlesmarkt) period.

The guided tour by Dürer’s wife Agnes in period costume is popular with visitors. It is often in English on Saturdays and more frequently in German.

The Dürer-Haus is open on most public holidays including 26 and 31 December.

Tickets for Albrecht Dürer House Museum in Nuremberg

Copy of the Dragon Chandelier by Dürer and Veit Stoß

Admission ticket prices for the Albrecht-Dürer-Haus museum are €7.50 for adults and €2.50 for children 4 to 18 years and students. Good family discount tickets are available too. The Nürnberg City Card is accepted.

Given the lack of original paintings, the admission may be a bit steep for casual visitors but paying €3 more gives an upgrade to a day ticket covering all Nuremberg municipal museums including the Nuremberg Trials Memorial and the popular Toy Museum.

Transportation to the Albrecht-Dürer-Haus Museum in Nuremberg

Beim Tiergartnertor in Nürnberg

The Albrecht-Dürer-Haus, Albrecht-Dürer-Straße 39, 90403 Nürnberg, is beautifully located on a lovely old town square below the Reichsburg castle near the Tiergärtnertor (tower gate of the town wall).

Some pleasant walking will be required from any of the closest public transportation stops:

  • Tramline 4: Stop Tiergärtnertor
  • Bus 36: Bus Stop Burgstraße
  • U-Bahn U1: Lorenzkirche station

Nürnberg City Card: Save on Sightseeing in Nuremberg

Two discount deals are worth considering to save on sightseeing when visiting Nuremberg (Nürnberg):

A day ticket valid for admission to all Nuremberg city municipal museums is €10.50 and gives admission to the Albrecht-Dürer-Haus, Museum Tucherschloss und Hirsvogelsaal, Stadtmuseum Fembo-Haus, Spielzeugmuseum (Toys), Museum Industriekultur, Nuremberg Trial Memorial, and the Dokumentationszentrum Reichsparteigelände. It is available from all participating museums.

The Nürnberg City Card is around €33 and covers all public transportation in Nuremberg and Fürth for 48 hours. It gives free admission to the Imperial Castle Nuremberg (Kaiserburg), Deutsches Museum Nuremberg, Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Albrecht Dürer House, Neues Museum, Toy Museum, Documentation Center Nazi Party Rally Grounds Interim Exhibit (main exhibition closed until 2025), Memorium Nuremberg Trials, DB Museum (German Railways Museum), Museum for Communication, Museum of Industrial Culture with the School Museum, City Museum at Fembo House Permanent Exhibit: A Crown – Power – History, Museum Tucher Mansion, Bavarian Bible Museum, Museum of Natural History, towerofthesenses, Kunsthalle Nuremberg, Kunstvilla Nuremberg, Kunsthaus Nuremberg, Museum Executioner’s House, Zoo Nuremberg, Children’s Museum, Red Cross Museum, Motor Museum Merk, Faber-Castell Stately Home with the Museum “Alte Mine”, Bratwurst Museum, Jewish Museum Franconia, Fürth, City Museum Fürth, and Ludwig Erhard Center Fürth. It also gives savings on guided tours and further events.

More on Traveling to Nürnberg:

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