The area between Neutorstraße, Irrerstraße and Geiersberg was first incorporated in the walled town of Nuremberg during an expansion of the area which today is still part of the existing town fortress (Neutormauer and Neutorgraben) and dates back to the late fourteenth century. It belonged to the so-called “Wine market” (Weinmarkt) quarter - one of the eight quarters in the town of Nuremberg – which, in turn, is sub-divided into an outer and inner quarter. Because of its position within the town as a whole and its particular location, this area was known for the transport trade and associated services. The Irrerstraße adjoined the “Distance Trade Route” (Fernhandelstraße) through St. Johannis to Fürth, Würzburg and Frankfurt / Main.
Due to the proximity to the river Pegnitz, the area around Irrerstraße was especially known for the leather manufacturing industry. As early as the middle ages, so-called Irhers/Irchers or tanners had settled here who used a special method, known as tanning, to manufacture leather from calf, sheep and goat hide. The Irrerstraße was named after these settlers.
In the town of Nuremberg, houses were first numbered with continuing numbers from 1796, which were sub-divided into the Sebalder (S) and Lorenzer (L) part of the city. Previously, it was customary to use house names (Irrerstraße 17: “To the black cross” and Irrerstraße 19: “The white horse and horseshoe”) or the exact description of the area of the building with the name of the neighbours. The houses bore the numbers S292 (Irrerstraße 17) and S293 (Irrerstraße 19). It was only in 1870 that the names of the streets were precisely defined and the house numbers that exist today were given.
