The Nuremberg exhibition centre (Messe Nürnberg) is one of the biggest convention center companies in Germany and operates worldwide.

With the extinction of their male line around 1189, the last Raabs count's son-in-law, Frederick I of the House of Hohenzollern, inherited the burgraviate in 1193.

[7][8] The strained relations between the burgraves and the castellans, with gradual transferral of powers to the latter in the late 14th and early 15th centuries, finally broke out into open enmity, which greatly influenced the history of the city.

[citation needed] In 1219 Emperor Frederick II granted the Großen Freiheitsbrief ('Great Charter of Freedom'), including town rights, Imperial immediacy (Reichsfreiheit), the privilege to mint coins, and an independent customs policy – almost wholly removing the city from the purview of the burgraves.

[7] Charles was the patron of the Frauenkirche, built between 1352 and 1362 (the architect was likely Peter Parler), where the Imperial court worshipped during its stays in Nuremberg.

[7] In 1349 the members of the guilds unsuccessfully rebelled against the patricians in a Handwerkeraufstand ('Craftsmen's Uprising'), supported by merchants and some by councillors, leading to a ban on any self-organisation of the artisans in the city, abolishing the guilds that were customary elsewhere in Europe; the unions were then dissolved, and the oligarchs remained in power while Nuremberg was a free city (until the early-19th century).

[7][8] Charles IV conferred upon the city the right to conclude alliances independently, thereby placing it upon a politically equal footing with the princes of the Empire.

[citation needed] During the Princes' 1552 revolution against Charles V, Nuremberg tried to purchase its neutrality, but Margrave Albert Alcibiades, one of the leaders of the revolt, attacked the city without a declaration of war and dictated a disadvantageous peace.

[8] At the 1555 Peace of Augsburg, the possessions of the Protestants were confirmed by the Emperor, their religious privileges extended and their independence from the Bishop of Bamberg affirmed, while the 1520s' secularisation of the monasteries was also approved.

[8] In 1632, the city, occupied by the forces of Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, was besieged by the army of Imperial general Albrecht von Wallenstein.

Realising its weakness, the city asked to be incorporated into Prussia but Frederick William II refused, fearing to offend Austria, Russia and France.

[8] In 1817, the city was incorporated into the district of Rezatkreis (named for the river Franconian Rezat), which was renamed to Middle Franconia (German: Mittelfranken) on 1 January 1838.

The establishment of railways and the incorporation of Bavaria into Zollverein (the 19th-century German Customs Union), commerce and industry opened the way to greater prosperity.

A number of buildings and large gathering areas known collectively as the Nazi Party Rally Grounds, some of which were not finished, were designed by Albert Speer and were constructed solely for these assemblies.

[19] Despite this intense degree of destruction, the city was rebuilt after the war and was to some extent restored to its pre-war appearance, including the reconstruction of many of its medieval buildings.

Today 25% of Nürnberg's buildings date to before World War II[21] and the old town is a declared protected area,[22] so the northeastern half of the old Imperial Free City had to be largely reconstructed.

[24] Several old villages now belong to the city, for example Grossgründlach, Kraftshof, Thon, and Neunhof in the north-west; Ziegelstein in the northeast, Altenfurt and Fischbach in the south-east; and Katzwang, Kornburg in the south.

Winters are changeable, with either mild or cold weather: the average temperature is around −3 °C (27 °F) to 4 °C (39 °F), while summers are generally warm, mostly around 13 °C (55 °F) at night to 25 °C (77 °F) in the afternoon.

Only one of the districts in the 1797–1801 sample was early industrial; the economic structure of the region around Nuremberg was dominated by metal and glass manufacturing, reflected by a share of nearly 50% handicrafts and workers.

[32] In the 19th century Nuremberg became the "industrial heart" of Bavaria with companies such as Siemens and MAN establishing a strong base in the city.

Siemens is still the largest industrial employer in the Nuremberg region but a good third of German market research agencies are also located in the city.

Nuremberg also offers several parks and green areas, as well as indoor activities such as bowling, rock wall climbing, escape rooms, cart racing, and mini golf, theaters and cinemas, pools and thermal spas.

[34] Notable foods available in the city include lebkuchen, gingerbread, local beer, Schäufele, and Nürnberger Rostbratwürstchen, or Nuremberg grilled sausages.

It houses several local family-run businesses which sell handcrafted items from glass, wood, leather, pottery, and precious metals.

[38] In 2017, Nuremberg saw a total of 3.3 million[39] overnight stays, a record for the town, and is expected to have surpassed that in 2018, with more growth in tourism anticipated in the coming years.

[40] There are over 175 registered places of accommodation in Nuremberg, ranging from hostels to luxury hotels, bed and breakfasts, to multi-hundred room properties.

It was written in the local Franconian dialect by Hartmann Schedel and had illustrations by Michael Wohlgemuth, Wilhelm Pleydenwurff, and Albrecht Dürer.

Richard Wagner made their most famous member, Hans Sachs, the hero of his opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.

The Nuremberg International Chamber Music Festival (Internationales Kammermusikfestival Nürnberg) takes place in early September each year, and in 2011 celebrated its tenth anniversary.

The largest operators are currently Eurowings and TUI fly Deutschland, while the low-cost Ryanair and Wizz Air companies connect the city to various European centres.