Palm's Kerker

In mid-August 1806, the Nuremberg bookseller Johann Philipp Palm was betrayed and handed over to the French for allegedly distributing the anti-Napoleon pamphlet *Germany in Its Deep Humiliation* and was taken to Braunau Fortress. He was imprisoned from August 23 to 26, 1806, in the former detention cell of the Braunau Fortress on Schörgengasse—now No. 6 on Poststallgasse—and was ultimately sentenced to death by a French military tribunal. Palm was shot outside the walls of Braunau Fortress on August 26, 1806. The reason why this Nuremberg citizen was brought to Braunau and executed there is also of historical interest. The once-free Imperial City of Nuremberg became part of the Kingdom of Bavaria by Napoleon’s grace following the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire. Around 1806, King Max Joseph was a vassal of the French king, and although Nuremberg was occupied by the French, a Bavarian citizen in a Bavarian city could not be brought before a French military court. Braunau in Austria, on the other hand, was also occupied by the French. Here, the French had complete freedom of action, so Palm’s execution could be carried out there.

The room where the military court sentenced Palm to death was located in the rear building of the Hotel Post. It has since been demolished.