6 Peculiar Things to See in Nuremberg, Germany

5. Der Hase

The next one is a sculpture, but not that type that you would expect seeing in a touristy area. Der Hase is translated as The Rabbit and displays exactly what it says – a rabbit. However, this is not a cute little bunny you’d normally think of, but a dazed or possibly dead one. It’s a nightmarish image and extremely interesting to check out.

Located outside of Albert Dürer’s house in Nuremberg, this creepy sculpture by Jürgen Goertz is a satiric take on a much more realistically proportioned bunny — the one created by Dürer in his watercolor masterpiece, entitled Der Feldhase.

It’s designed as homage to Dürer, described on several websites as a slaughtered hare and included in several “world’s ugliest public art” lists.

It’s said that the statue makes a strong point, highlighting the dire results of tampering with Mother Nature. Der Hase is a metaphorical protest over animal cruelty and a commentary on the environment. (And, if you ask me, an efficient one, as it can’t possibly go unnoticed.)  

If you take a closer look, you’ll notice some human toes sticking out from under the rabbit’s right side. Now, we can imagine countless stories and explanations – it may even suggest that a person is lying underneath it, while the hare fights back.

In front of it, there’s another tiny rabbit statue (a cute one this time) with a plaque that identifies the piece’s and artist’s names.

You can check another weird thing you’ve seen in an apparently fairytale-like town off your list.

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