The "Poet's Woods" in the Western Pegnitz Valley, with Nuremberg Castle in the Distance

The Pegnesischer Blumenorden, Germany's oldest surviving linguistics society, was founded in 1644. It was intended to preserve the German language and counteract the foreign terms and coarse usage that proliferated during the Thirty Years' War. These "Pegnitz Shepherds" met until 1676 in the area of the western Pegnitz meadows shown here, which was later named after the society. From here the savants had a splendid view of the city's silhouette. Later the association moved its meetings to the Irrhain near Kraftshof. Today, there is a residential district near the Westbad public swimming pool.