The German city of Nuremberg (Nürnberg) lies on the river Pegnitz. It is first mentioned in 1050 as Norenberc. It appears as Nuorenberc in 1112 and as Nurinberch in 1142. The etymology is uncertain (not of berg just of Nurem, of course). Interestingly, a Norican (for obvious reasons) and Slavic etymology has been thought of. For example, Friedrich Wilhelm Barthold certainly thought this a possibility:
The Slavic version would come from nora meaning a “hole”. Were there Slavs that far south? Well, there are some mentions of Slavs north of Nuremberg and there are some towns with
-winden suffixes in the area.
Gasthaus zum Wenden in Wendelstein just east of Nuremberg
But there is a more interesting possibility. According to Nestor, Slavs were “Noricans”. If so, the Slavic and Norican etymology would be the same thing. What of the Neuri (Νευροί) of Herodotus’ fame, then?
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