Welcome to Nuremberg!

Eurofurence 12 will be held in a youth hostel in Nuremberg, Germany. However, it's not just any youth hostel. Our location is part of Nuremberg Castle, the city's world-famous landmark!

The history of Blackwhite Castle

Of course it's not really called "Blackwhite Castle". Nuremberg Castle, or Kaiserburg, is one of the most important castles in the history of the German Empire. Between 1050 and 1571 all the German and Holy Roman Emperors lived there at various times. Nuremberg Castle was built in stages on a sandstone hill on the north side of Nurembergs's old city and there are actually three parts to the castle: the Kaiserburg (Emperor's Castle) in the west and complete in itself, the Burggrafenveste (Count's Castle) in the middle and also the oldest part, and the Stadtburg (part belonging to the Imperial City) on the eastern side. It reached its massive present size and length of 220 meters in three stages of construction between the 11th and the 15th centuries. Thirty-eight air attacks on Nuremberg in the Second World War destroyed 90% of the historical buildings and 40% of the whole city and made Nuremberg one of the most badly damaged cities in Germany. The castle was heavily damaged, with only the chapel, parts of the Palas as well as the most important towers surviving. It was rebuilt to the previous plans and houses today a branch of the German National Museum. By 1950 most of the war damage to the castle was removed.

The youth hostel

The Emperor stables (Kaiserstallung) were constructed in 1495. This grain storage building served for keeping the horses, when the emperor visited Nuremberg and the Reichstag (parliament) met. This impressive building serves as a youth hostel today, and as this year's location for Eurofurence! We will be able to house up to 380 attendees. Sleeping rooms have between 4 and 8 beds each. We also have plenty of function space at our disposal. Since the hostel is located on the northern border of Nuremberg's picturesque historic city centre, there are lots of shops, restaurants and pubs in walking range. Since the youth hostel itself is situated at the remote end of the entire castle complex, there is no need to be afraid of masses of tourists ... it's a pretty quiet corner, and the youth hostel has a reception desk not unlike a regular hotel, which will keep non-guests out of the building. Like in previous years, dogs are unfortunately not allowed. (If you are blind or suffering any other kind of disability and thus dependent on a guide dog, we might be able to negotiate an exception in individual cases.)

Black & White Photos

A bird's eye's view of the youth hostel and its two towers. The building is seven stories high, built on a hill of sandstone. Standing besides the building, looking up. This is one of the towers. Same position, looking downhill. This is the back entrance, leading into the lobby of the great hall. This is the terrace behind the building, just outside the dining hall. On the right, beyond the wall, is a deeeeep trench. This is the other tower, and those who get rooms in there can consider themselves lucky, the view is great! The main entrance. Welcome to Eurofurence! This is the main hallway, the reception desk is to the left. The dining hall, for only the noblest of feasts! This is the main lobby, leading into the great hall. The bar will be serving drinks and snacks. The lobby has two floors. The upper floor will house the dealers' tables and art show. This is the main hall where all the stage events will take place. Two stories high, more than 300 square meters. It's almost a sacrilege to call this "function space". There are also smaller multi-purpose rooms, like this one. Accomodation is typical youth-hostel style.