The first documented mention of the municipality on the Rieth directly to the north of the state capital Erfurt was in 876 in an East Franconian document as "Nordhusa". The place name in use today has existed since 1483. The village is generally known as "Nurzen", which originated from the shortening of the correct place names used in the area. The landmark of "Nurzen" is the Bonifatius Church, which is also anchored in the village coat of arms. It was built on the 183 meter high church hill and can be seen far into the countryside. Napoleon, who marched through the area with his troops in 1806, is said to have called it the "Thuringian Lantern" for this reason. Since 2016, a bronze fox sculpture has stood on Schenksplatz in the center of the village as the mascot of the inhabitants, who call themselves "mountain foxes".

In 1270, the village was sold to Erfurt by Landgrave Albrecht for 160 marks of silver. Around 200 years later, it also went back to the Grand Duchy of Saxony Weimar for money, which it remained under until 1918. In 1920, the village belonged to the district of Weimar in the state of Thuringia, and from 1952 in the GDR to the district of Erfurt.

Today, the town has around a thousand inhabitants. The convenient location to the state capital and the district town and the proximity to the highway, as well as the generally well-kept appearance of the village, are always an incentive for new settlements.