Hotel Drei Raben

Nuremberg. Stories of this city.

Discover the city’s most fascinating stories right in your room – from the legend of Peter Henlein’s pocket watch to the mysteries of Saint Sebaldus Church. And explore the places behind these stories just a few steps away.

Enjoy 4**** comfort, a relaxed atmosphere, good music and drinks in our cosy lobby or Rabengarten. Our bar is open 24/7, and the first round is on us.

Hotel Drei Raben
4**** Boutique Hotel
21 Rooms. 21 Stories.

Hotel Bar & Rabengarten
Breakfast. Café. Day drinking. Aperitif. W**e. Late-night drinks.

Private garage · Valet parking

Nuremberg: 21 Rooms. 21 Stories.
Today: Martin Behaim. Room 41.

A world without America, the oldest surviving globe, and a remarkable coincidence in history.

Can you imagine a world without America?

In 1492, Christopher Columbus reached the Caribbean on his voyage across the Atlantic.

But in that very same year, something extraordinary was happening here in Nuremberg.

Martin Behaim, a Nuremberg merchant and navigator, was working on a globe that showed the world as Europeans knew it at the time.

Without America!

Known as the Erdapfel, Behaim’s globe is the oldest surviving terrestrial globe in the world.

It shows Europe, Africa and Asia – but no American continent. Instead, a vast ocean stretches between Europe and Asia.

And that is what makes this globe so fascinating.

It captures a moment in history just before European geographical knowledge was transformed by the voyages across the Atlantic.

The world itself had not changed. But the European understanding of it was about to change dramatically.

Today, the original globe can be found at the in Nuremberg.

And at Hotel Drei Raben, Martin Behaim’s world without America has its own room: Room 41.

Because sometimes, looking at an old map tells us just as much about what people didn’t know as about what they did.

21 Rooms. 21 Stories.
Stories of this City.

BoutiqueHotel NurembergHistory Erdapfel HistoryOfCartography

Nuremberg: 21 Rooms. 21 Stories.
Today: Peter Henlein. Room 21.

A technical revolution, a famous inventor, and a myth that survived for centuries.

500 years ago, church bells determined the rhythm of everyday life. They told people when to pray, when to work, and when the day was over.

Time was public, controlled by an authority.

But then, here in Nuremberg, a technical revolution began: Time became portable!

One of the pioneers was Peter Henlein, a Nuremberg locksmith who helped develop small mechanical clocks that people could carry in their pockets.

For centuries, he was celebrated as the inventor of the pocket watch. In 1905, Nuremberg even erected a monument in his honour.

His reputation was closely linked to a small clock in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, bearing the inscription “Peter Henlein 1510”. For a long time, it was believed to be the oldest pocket watch in the world.

However, later research revealed that the clock had been assembled from older and newer parts in the 19th century. Even the inscription was added later.

So was Peter Henlein really the inventor of the pocket watch? Probably not.

But the technical revolution was real.

And the story of its supposed inventor became a myth.

Because we are not the only children of our time. The stories we tell about the past are, too.

And at Hotel Drei Raben, this story has its own room: Room 21.

21 Rooms. 21 Stories.
Stories of this City.

BoutiqueHotel NurembergHistory

Nürnberg. We tell the stories of this city.
Experience these Nuremberg legends right in your room after a complimentary drink in our lobby or on our sunny terrace.

Hotel Drei Raben
4**** Boutique Hotel
21 rooms. 21 stories.

Hotel bar & Rabengarten
Open 24/7
Breakfast. Café. Day drinking. Aperitif. W**e. Late night drinks.
Private garage · Valet parking

Nuremberg: 21 Rooms. 21 Stories.
Today: Saint Sebaldus Church. Room 14.

A saint, a legend, and a mystery carved in stone.

Saint Sebaldus was a pilgrim who healed the sick, brought comfort and spread joy. After his death, a church was built in his honour in Nuremberg. His relics remain there to this day.

But there is a mystery surrounding St. Sebaldus Church.

The outer sandstone walls are covered with strange little holes. Nobody knows exactly how they got there.

One theory suggests that people in the Middle Ages scraped pieces of sandstone from the church walls, believing that the stone – or even its dust – carried the healing powers of Saint Sebaldus.

True or not? Nobody knows.

But the mysterious holes are still there, telling a story of faith, hope and medieval Nuremberg.

And at Hotel Drei Raben, this story has its own room: Room 14.

21 Rooms. 21 Stories.
Stories of this City.

NurembergHistory