Nuremberg can look back on a long history. The city located at the heart of the Franconia region was already mentioned in 1050 in a document that records a court assembly held there by the German Emperor Henry III in that year. During the dynasty of the Staufen emperors, there was a rapid development of a settlement here, and in 1219 it received its charter of liberty.

In the 14th century, the settlement was proclaimed a Free Imperial City. In 1356, Emperor Charles IV stipulated in the "Golden Bull" that every emperor must hold his first Imperial Diet in Nuremberg. The Nuremberg merchants, the so-called "moneybags ", and the city's immensely skilled artisans secured Nuremberg's outstanding position in the Middle Ages.

Major works of art were created here - most famously, the woodcarvings of Veit Stoss and the works of Albrecht Dürer. Wars and the resulting shifts in trade routes gradually diminished Nuremberg's importance. In 1649, at the end of the Thirty Years War, the funds of the once prosperous city were exhausted.

The Napoleonic invasion accelerated this decline. In 1806, Nuremberg lost its charter as a Free Imperial City and was incorporated in the Kingdom of Bavaria. This, however, soon proved to be a blessing in disguise, as the city rapidly developed, becoming the largest industrial centre in Bavaria. A symbol of this new ascent was the opening in 1835 of Germany's first railway line, between Nuremberg and Fuerth.

Today, Nuremberg is in the process of transforming itself from an industrial city to a technology-based service centre. Nuremberg, an important trade fair location, is the core of a conurbation with a total population of roughly 1.8 million.

In addition to football, Nuremberg is also a traditional venue for cycle racing, ice hockey and motor racing. The Norisring race track is famous for the Nuremberg 200 miles car race held there every year. The "Nürnberger " team takes part in international cycling events and is the co-operation partner of the German Telecom team headed by Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich.

The Nuremberg Ice Hockey Club's "Ice-Tigers" team plays successfully in the German Ice Hockey League, and the International Track and Field Meeting in Nuremberg is an important fixture in the track and field world. Nuremberg's team 1. FC Nürnberg is a nine-times winner of the German Football Championship.

A total of 114 football clubs play in the Nuremberg-Fuerth district, including three-time German champion SpVgg Greuther Fürth - currently playing in the Zweite Bundesliga. 30 international clubs are also integrated in the match activities for which 340 football grounds are available.

• European Final of the 1967 Cup Winners FC Bayern München vs. Glasgow Rangers
• International matches