Nuremberg made its reputation as a toy city in the 16th century, when it was already one of Europe’s most important trading cities and with 25,000 inhabitants the second largest city in Germany. It all began with the "doll makers", who made colourfully painted dolls with moving arms and legs of wood. Everything that children’s hearts desired was soon available in wood: from proud knight and doll’s house to the first mass-produced article on the toy market, the hobby horse.

Nuremberg became a stronghold for toy production in the 16th and 17th century. Besides their usual products, craftsmen like carpenters, plumbers, potters and tin and brass casters made miniature articles and toys. Another “world hit” was born in Nuremberg at the end of the 17th century: the tin solder. Playing with these tin figures was initially reserved for the rich, however. For example, Ludwig XIV of France ordered a whole army from Nuremberg’s artists for his son.

In contrast to trade and industry in Nuremberg, the toy manufacturers also experienced a flourishing boom in the following ages. Other cities in Germany outstripped Nuremberg as leading trading city, but the reputation of its toys remained uninterrupted. Its geographical location as old trading city at the intersection of the east-west and north-south routes continued to make Nuremberg an ideal transshipment point. And when the railway, whose maiden trip focused Germany’s attention on Nuremberg once again, shortened the time-consuming overland routes, Nuremberg’s toys, whether produced or only transshipped there, became a permanent feature all over Europe.

The age of tin toys began when the first metal printer settled in Nuremberg around 1850, and this also marked the start of a toy industry in the classic sense. The factory worker replaced the craftsman, but there was still a demand for craftsmanship and creativity. Through its tradition in the manufacture of mechanical items, Nuremberg enjoyed a large lead especially in the field of metal toys.

The period after the 2nd World War also brought years of radical change for Nuremberg’s toy manufacturers: plastic had meanwhile more or less replaced metal as material. The local manufacturers recognized the sign of the times in good time and changed their production processes.

Nuremberg and toys are therefore two terms that are inseparably connected with each other. The toy city has established a tradition in the centre of the Nuremberg Metropolitan Region, which thanks to the well-known production facilities in the region and Spielwarenmesse still plays a key role in the toy industry today.

_{Source: Nuremberg Convention and Tourist Office / Wolf R. Scharff}