Mauthalle (Former Customs House), Nuremberg

Former Customs House is one of Nuremberg’s most impressive surviving medieval commercial buildings. Built around 1498 as a granary on the site of the former city moat, it was the largest grain storehouse in the city and provided essential food supplies during times of crisis. The three-storey sandstone building is topped by an enormous five-storey gabled roof, giving it a particularly striking appearance.

The building’s architecture is worth examining closely. The eastern gable features an intricate network of blind ogee arches, while the lancet-arched entrance portal displays Nuremberg’s coat of arms with the imperial eagle. Designed as a monumental sandstone ashlar structure by city master builder Hans Beheim the Elder, the building’s heavy stone walls were meticulously restored following extensive damage during the Second World War.

From 1572, the granary was converted into a customs house, where goods arriving in Nuremberg were inspected and duties were collected. This function gave the building its present name. Like much of Nuremberg, it suffered heavy damage during the Second World War but was subsequently restored.

Be sure to look down into the impressive cellar, supported by 26 pillars, which now houses a brewery and restaurant. The building is particularly easy to visit while exploring the surrounding historic streets and squares of the Old Town.