Museum Tucher Mansion and Hirsvogel Hall

Patrician Tucher Family

Using the Tucher family as an example, the museum provides a lively insight into the cultural and social life of the city's Patrician families, charting their influence on the development and history of the city of Nuremberg.

The Tucher family's success mirrored Nuremberg's rise. From the beginning of the 14th century, they participated in the government of the Free City of the Empire, were represented on the Inner Council and were at the very top of the governing oligarchy.

Their wealth was based on successful foreign trade: the Tuchers had subsidiaries in Lyons , Antwerp, Geneva and Venice. They exported small ironware products from Nuremberg, were involved in the spice, iron and coal trade and owned their own wire manufacturers, as well as holding shares in mines and foundries.

It was only towards the middle of the 17th century that they withdrew from the trade activities which had contributed to Nuremberg's wealth.

The Tucher family as a brewers' dynasty, however, also contributed to Nuremberg's economic rise in the 19th century. Beer brewed under the emblem of the Moor's Head, the famous Tucher coat of arms, was exported as far as Africa and China. Around 1880, the Tucher Brewery was Nuremberg's second-largest brewery.