was more conducive to the prosperity of a
town than the reputation of having a holy man within its borders, or the
possession of the miracle-working relics of a saint. Just as St.
Elizabeth made Marburg so St. Sebaldus proved a very potent attraction
to Nuremberg. As early as 1070 and 1080 we hear of pilgrimages to
Nuremberg in honor of her patron saint.

Another factor in the growth of the place was the frequent visits which
the Emperors began to pay to it. Lying as it did on their way from
Bamberg and Forcheim to Regensburg, the Kaisers readily availed
themselves of the security offered by this impregnable fortress, and of
the sport provided in the adjacent forest. For there was good hunting to
be had in the forest which, seventy-two miles in extent, surrounded
Nuremberg. And hunting, next to war, was then in most parts of Europe
the most serious occupation of life. All the forest rights, we may
mention, of wood-cutting, hunting, charcoal burning and bee-farming
belonged originally to the Empire. But these were gradually acquired by
the Nuremberg Council, chiefly by purchase in the fifteenth century.

In the castle the visitor may notice a list of all the Emperors--some
thirty odd, all told--who have stayed there--a list that should now
include the reigning Emperor. We find that Henry IV. frequently honored
Nuremberg with his presence. This is that Henry IV., whose scene at
Canossa with the Pope--Kaiser of the Holy Roman Empire waiting three
days in the snow to kiss the foot of excommunicative Gregory--has
imprest itself on all memories. His last visit to Nuremberg was a sad
one. His son rebelled against him, and the old king stopt at Nuremberg
to collect his forces. In the war between father and son Nuremberg was
loyal, and took the part of Henry IV. It was no nominal part, for in
1105 she had to stand a siege from the young Henry. For two months the
town was held by the burghers and the castle by the Prefect Conrad. At
the end of that time orders came from the old Kaiser that the town was
to surrender. He had given up the struggle, and his undutiful son
succeeded as Henry V. to the Holy Roman Empire, and Nuremberg with it.
The mention of this siege gives us an indication of the growth of the
town. The fact of the siege and the words of the chronicler, "The
townsmen (oppidani) gave up the town under treaty," seem to point to the
conclusion that Nuremberg was now no longer a mere fort (castrum), but
that walls had sp