Executioner's Bridge

The executioner’s bridge is located in Nuremberg on the banks of the Pegnitz River. The executioner’s bridge is part of the architectural ensemble, which consists of a half-timbered medieval house, a water tower and the Malsbrücke Bridge. Henkersteg Bridge is a wooden bridge built in 1457. The bridge served from the 16th to the 19th century for the hidden passage of executioners who lived separately outside the city, in a tower on the other bank of the Pegnitz River.

The inhabitants of Nuremberg tried to avoid meetings with the executioner, any contact with him was considered “unclean”. It is believed that the relatives of those doomed to death came to this bridge and tried to persuade the executioner to reduce the suffering of the convict. Or they gave the executioner gifts on this bridge. City executioners inhabited the house on the shore until 1806. Now the museum is open. Despite the unpleasant history, this place is soothing and very picturesque: around the silence, weeping willows, water.