Innovation & Inventiveness | NürnbergConvention

Imagination has a long tradition in Nuremberg and its region

Imagination is everywhere you look in Nuremberg, both past and present. This was the workplace of Dürer, Behaim and Ohm. It was the home of Germany’s first railroad, and where the first German patent was applied for. And did you know the MP3 format was developed jointly by the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg and the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits?

Today’s success is rooted in Nuremberg’s history as a Free Imperial City in the Middle Ages. Nuremberg’s citizens were self-governing, and had to make sure on their own responsibility that trade and crafts flourished. That tradition continued into the industrial age, and Nuremberg thus rapidly developed into one of the engines of German industrial history, in which Nuremberg names like AEG, Faber-Castell, Quelle and Zündapp regularly appear. Though some of these companies no longer exist in their historic forms, Nuremberg’s business players have repeatedly been able to reinvent themselves or evolve further, and have achieved the transition to a modern location for high tech, industry, and innovative services.

Today, Nuremberg and its Metropolitan Region count among the economic areas with the most patents and the liveliest innovation in Germany, and its local universities also regularly win awards.

Nuremberg an innovator in many fields

Selected examples of inventiveness from Nuremberg and Franconia:

Late Middle Ages (1300-1500): Inventive crafts and “Nuremberg Wit”

Early Modern Era (1500 – ca. 1830): Crafts and sciences surge

Industrialisation (1830 – 1900): Inventions in mechanical engineering, writing instruments, and toy production

Beginning with the 20th century: Imagination & renewal

1914	Introduction of the Schuco Automato, a toy automaton
Ca. 1920	Creation of “Bärendreck” – a liquorice sweet
1921	Zündapp motorcycles for the general market start production
1923	"Em-eukal" from Dr Carl Soldan is the first German cough lozenge
1927	Introduction of the world’s first cosmetic pencil, the “Schwan Eyebrow Pencil”
1929	Birth of the “Tempo” handkerchief, the first tissue paper hanky
1933	Development of the Schuco Wendeauto wind-up car
1946	Grundig develops the Heinzelmann radio for the general market
1948	The social market economy is introduced in Germany, based on the theories of Dr Ludwig Erhard (born in Fürth)
1952/54	Puma, and adidas soon after, develops the first shoe with interchangeable cleats
1963	Design of a toy slot car by Carrera
1970	A Nuremberg clockmaker develops the radio-controlled clock
1971	Development of the first neon-yellow highlighter pen, the "STABILO BOSS"
1972	The Bobby Car from Fürth reaches the market
1974	Little PLAYMOBIL figures come into the world
1987	Development of the MP3 audio file storage format at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg and the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS
2010	The world’s first fully automated, driverless underground train goes into partly autonomous operation in Nuremberg
2012	A research team from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg develops the LOHC, a liquid compound that can store hydrogen

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Source: Bauer-Stadler, Bianca; Diefenbacher, Michael; Kluger, Petra (2018): Vom Globus bis zum MP3 - Erfindungen in und um Nürnberg (From the Globe to the MP3 – Inventions in and around Nuremberg); Verlag Hans Müller, Nuremberg.

1303/05	Nürnberger Rotbier created, Germany’s first bottom-fermented beer
1313	First regulations for making Nuremberg Rostbratwurst (Nuremberg sausages)
1360	Development of the drawing iron (Schockenzug) for making medium and fine wire
1368	Development of conifer cropping: the world’s first forest plantation
1390	The first paper mill north of the Alps lays the cornerstone for industrial mass production of paper
1395	First documentation of the “Lebküchner”, professional bakers of Nuremberg Lebkuchen (gingerbread)
1492	Martin Behaim makes a terrestrial globe, the oldest surviving globe in the world
	Etzlaub makes the first map of Nuremberg’s environs, the oldest specialty map printed in Germany.
1500	Etzlaub also produces the “Romwegekarte”, the oldest road map in Christian Europe.

1504	Henlein is thought to have invented the first spring-driven pocket watch. (Henlein is no longer credited with inventing the first pocket watch of any kind.)
1569	Development of a technique for “Lyonese ware” (fine, silver-plated copper wires for use in textiles)
1655	First fire pump air vessel developed
	First self-propelled wheelchair developed
1700	First clarinet developed
1793	The merchant Bestelmeier produces the first sales catalogue and becomes a pioneer in mail-order sales.
1824	Germany’s first free-standing suspension bridge built: the Nuremberg Kettensteg
1826	Ohm’s Law described

1834	Staedtler puts the first oil pastels on the market
1835	The first German railroad, the “Adler” (Eagle), runs from Nuremberg to Fürth
1875	The Schwan Pencil Factory (later Schwan-STABILO) develops the indelible pencil
1877	Ultramarine, developed in 1834, is awarded the first patent from the German Reich
1879	The first musical top developed
1882	Schuckert installs Europe’s first electric street lighting, with arc lamps, in Nuremberg
	First “Bing Bear” teddy bear introduced
1883	Invention of phenazone, the first synthetic pain relieving and fever reducing medication