The medieval city of Nuremberg, lying 170 kms north of Munich, was once the unofficial capital of Germany. It was the birthplace of the artist Albrecht Duerer and from 1835 boasted the country's first railway line, rattling the 8.5 kms across to Fuerth.

For all the rich history and modern-day charm, Nuremberg will be forever associated with the Nazi rallies of the 1920s and 1930s and the war crimes trials that held leading Nazis accountable for human rights abuses while exposing to the world the barbarity of the regime.

There will be no avoiding the history for fans coming to the city for World Cup games.

The Frankenstadion itself, which will host five matches during the tournament, was used as a parade ground by the Hitler Youth and just to the north is the Zeppelinfeld, designed by Albert Speer for the largest of the parades. The public viewing area is nearby at the Volksfestplatz.

Most of the buildings, designed on a monumental scale, were barely begun or were completely destroyed by bombing but the Congress Hall remains, albeit unfinished, as one of the biggest surviving relics of Nazi architecture.

It now houses the Rally Grounds Documentation Centre, an audio-visual tour that details Adolf Hitler's rise and the period of Nazi rule, including some chilling archive footage.

NAZI TRIALS

There is also now limited access for the public to the Palace of Justice, where in Courtroom 600 the Nuremberg trials were held. It was in the first trial that 22 leading Nazis, including Hermann Goering, Rudolf Hess and Joachim von Ribbentrop, faced charges of conspiracy, crimes against peace, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Twelve were sentenced to death, others to long prison terms and three were acquitted. Goering was convicted but committed suicide first.

Nuremberg will make no attempt to play down its Nazi association.

"The World Cup is an opportunity for us, one we must use, to tear down any prejudices," Nuremberg Mayor Ulrich Maly said at a recent news conference. "Nuremberg will present itself as a modern, tolerant and cosmopolitan city."

Modern is not the word that will spring to mind for many visitors as they arrive in Nuremberg.

Much of the centre was destroyed in bombing raids during the war but the rebuilding job has been exquisite.

The river Pegnitz cuts the old town in half and much of the city wall, built between the 13th and 16th centuries, remains intact.

CAPITAL CITY

Nuremberg was founded in the 11th century and quickly grew in importance. In the Middle Ages it was decreed that each new German emperor would hold his first general assembly there, making Nuremberg the effective capital.

Its heyday was in the 15th and 16th centuries, when Duerer gained great renown for his paintings, engravings and wood cuts.

Amid frequent trips to the Netherlands and Italy, he stayed in Nuremberg between 1507 and 1520 when he produced his masterworks.

Duerer is by far the most famous son of the city, which has long since been overshadowed by its much larger southern Bavarian rival, Munich.

That has been the case in terms of football too. FC Nuremberg are known to Germans simply as "Der Club", in recognition of the dominance they enjoyed after World War One.

They won five national championships between 1920 and 1927 and their total number of league title wins stands at nine.

The most recent was in 1968, however, and that single Bundesliga success was followed by immediate relegation.

It took them nine years to get back and since then they have generally struggled in the lower half of the table, with the occasional relegation and promotion season thrown in.

The stadium was built in 1928 and has gone through three separate rebuilding phases. It retains a running track but the atmosphere at Confederations Cup matches in 2005 was good.

The Max Morlock place outside the stadium pays tribute to the club's most celebrated former player, who scored the goal that sparked West Germany's fightback and eventual victory in the 1954 World Cup final against Hungary.

Around 40,000 England fans are expected for the country's Group B match against Trinidad & Tobago on June 15 and the presence of the United States, Mexico and Croatia in other games is likely to mean there are few quiet moments.

"We welcome every fan, wherever he comes from," Mayor Maly says. "We're not afraid of British, Mexican or Croatian passion."