Panorama from the Spittlertor Tower

Young Ferdinand Schmidt
probably shot the first of his multiple circumferential panoramas in
collaboration with his father. From the Spittlertor tower, the broad
Ludwigstrasse leads directly to the complex of the Jakobskirche and
Elisabethkirche. Between them we can see the Weisser Turm, the White Tower, a
relic of the next-to-last phase of the fortifications. In the midst of the Old
Town, which still gives the impression of being largely intact, the Deutschhaus
Barracks next to the Elisabethkirche interrupt the close-knit pattern of
houses.

Outside the city walls,
the new era is already announcing its arrival. If we scan to the south beyond
the Frauentorgraben, we can see the Old Hospital on Sandstrasse, along with the
flue of Bavaria's oldest ultramarine factory, in Steinbühl. On the square known
as the Plärrer, between Rothenburger and Fürther Strasse, are the station for
the Ludwig Railway and the old gas works, the first of its kind in Bavaria. The
temporary wood structures on the Plärrer signal that the space is being used as
a popular event site for trade shows, fairs, and performances of all kinds.