Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Background

Rothenburg lies in the Ansbach district of Middle Franconia, Bavaria, on a plateau above the River Tauber, and is one of the towns on the Romantic Road in southern Germany; its full German name, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, means "red castle above the Tauber". Its old town is well preserved, and it is one of only four towns in Germany whose walls are still complete. The Plönlein is one of the town's best-known street scenes, where a small square forks into the Kobolzeller Steige and Spitalgasse. The rear of the town hall is a Gothic building from about 1250 and the front a Renaissance building begun in 1572; its tower, almost 61 metres high, is one of the few towers in town that you can climb, with a view over almost the whole town. The town also has St James's Church, the Medieval Crime Museum, the Imperial City Museum, the Doll and Toy Museum, the Shepherds' Dance Museum, the Christmas Museum and the Craftsman's House, dating from 1270. The local pastry, the Schneeball, is deep-fried dough shaped like a snowball, dusted with sugar or coated in chocolate. In 1142 Conrad of Hohenstaufen acquired the land by exchange and built Staufen Castle; the town was founded in 1170 as the castle was built, centred on the market and St James's Church. Walls and towers were built in the 13th century, and the White Tower and the Markus Tower with the Röder Arch survive today. In 1274 King Rudolf of Habsburg granted Rothenburg the privileges of a free imperial city, which it remained until 1803; the Holy Blood pilgrimage drew many pilgrims, and Rothenburg was then one of the 20 largest cities of the Holy Roman Empire. Staufen Castle was destroyed in an earthquake in 1356, and St Blaise's Chapel is all that remains of it today. Rothenburg has been part of Bavaria since 1803. The German landscape painter Eugen Bracht visited in 1877 and, although he stayed only two days, was clearly impressed; Romantic artists and the first tourists followed, and laws were passed to prevent major changes to the town. In March 1945 German troops held the town in defence, and on 31 March it was bombed by 16 aircraft, destroying about 275 houses. After the war about 265 houses were rebuilt, with surviving outer walls kept in the rebuilt facades wherever possible and the more important or landmark buildings restored as faithfully as possible; the western part of the old town was not bombed, and most of its buildings remain in their original medieval or pre-war state.

Local customs

• Climb the town hall tower for a view over the whole town and the line of the walls
• photograph the Plönlein, the old town's best-known street scene
• visit the Medieval Crime Museum, the Imperial City Museum and the Christmas Museum, and see the eleven rooms at the Craftsman's House showing the daily life of a craftsman's family
• taste a Schneeball.

Travel tips

• The old town is small and best explored on foot, and flat shoes are advised on the cobbles
• museum opening times and ticket prices are as officially announced
• some sections of the walls and towers are steep, so visitors with limited mobility should judge what they can manage.
• Rothenburg lies on the Romantic Road and the old town can be explored on foot
• routes and services for getting there and local connections are as officially announced. You can visit all year: spring to autumn is comfortable for walking, and surfaces may be slippery in winter.