Rothenburg (which I will refer it to from now on as a matter of expediency) is around 200km north-northwest of Munich, although taking the train (which, of course, I did) means travelling around 280km with 3 changes over 2 1/2 hours: at Nuremberg, Ansbach, and Steinach (beim Rothenburg od Tauber - as in by RodT) - and as that's what I had to do, that's what I did. A bit interesting at times with only 4 minutes between each train, but I made it, and was in Rothenburg by midday. For Rothenburg, I am staying in a hotel - it's only 1 night, and my usual AirBnB approach wouldn't work here as the nearest option was around 10km away.
That's actually quite easy to answer. Rothenburg has one of the most complete medieval city walls (14th century) of anywhere, and a very well-preserved medieval old town; so, to get the closest medieval experience possible, I had to come here. It's so popular, something like 5-6 million tourists a year come here, but only a fraction of those (about 1/10 or 500,000) actually stay overnight - so it's another place that is on the tourist radar, but the majority pass through on their way from somewhere to somewhere else. I, on the other hand, decided to stay for a night, so that I can experience all that Rothenburg has to offer (and it's also almost necessary when travelling by train).
The name "Rothenburg ob der Tauber" means "Red fortress above the Tauber", because the town is located on a plateau overlooking the Tauber River & valley and possibly a reference to the town's red rooves (but nobody's quite sure). The town dates to the 10th or 11th century; in the middle ages it had a population of 6,000 (making it one of the 10 biggest towns in the Holy Roman Empire), and today has a population of around 11,000. The town's status was assured because it had good farmland (encompassing some 480 square km, and 180 villages), and was on the cross-roads of the north-south and east-west trade routes, including a pilgrimage pathway to northern Spain.
Although Rothenburg is well on its way to becoming a medieval theme park, the town is still Germany's best-preserved walled town. This is largely due to the fact that for 250 years it was an economic back-water (due to the plague and devastation during the 30 Years War), and so there was no development - and no development meant no real change to the town, and we are left with this fine example of a medieval town, much as it would have looked like at the time.
On a dark note, Rothenburg held a special significance for Nazi ideologists. For them, it was the epitome of the German 'Home Town', representing all that was quintessentially German. Throughout the 1930s the Nazi organisation "KDF" (Kraft durch Freude, or Strength through Joy) organised regular day trips to Rothenburg from all across the Reich; this initiative was staunchly supported by Rothenburg's citizenry – many of whom were sympathetic to National Socialism – both for its perceived economic benefits and because Rothenburg was hailed as "the most German of German towns". In October 1938 Rothenburg expelled its Jewish citizens, much to the approval of Nazis and their supporters across Germany.
In March 1945, German soldiers were stationed in Rothenburg to defend it; on March 31, bombs were dropped over Rothenburg by 16 planes, killing 37 people and destroying 306 houses, 6 public buildings, 9 watchtowers, and over 610 metres of the wall (later repaired). The U.S Assistant Secretary of War John J. McCloy knew about the historic importance and beauty of Rothenburg, so he ordered US Army General Jacob L. Devers not use artillery in taking Rothenburg. Battalion commander Frank Burke ordered six soldiers of the 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Division to march into Rothenburg on a three-hour mission and negotiate the surrender of the town.
When stopped by a German soldier, one of the six, Private Lichey who spoke fluent German and served as the group’s translator, held up a white flag and explained, “We are representatives of our division commander. We bring you his offer to spare the city of Rothenburg from shelling and bombing if you agree to not to defend it. We have been given three hours to get this message to you. If we haven’t returned to our lines by 1800 hours, the town will be bombed and shelled to the ground.” The local military commander Major Thömmes gave up the town, ignoring the order of Adolf Hitler for all towns to fight to the end and thereby saving it from total destruction by artillery. Luckily for everyone, the General in charge (who would probably have defended the town to the last) had left for a couple of days.
Rothenburg has appeared in several films: it was the inspiration for the village in the 1940 Walt Disney movie "Pinocchio"; it was the location for the Vulgarian village scenes in the 1968 family movie, "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"; pictures of the town were used in some parts of "The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm"; and filming was also done in Rothenburg for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010) and Part 2 (2011).
As the daily 2pm English-speaking tours don't start until April, I opted for the audio-guided tour of the town; at 7.50 euros, not a great deal, but it helped to give some history, and a 90-minute or so orientation to the central area of the old town.
Let's start with a couple of photos of the town and the wall from a vantage point just beyond Castle Gate at the town's western end, from where the castle used to stand, before being destroyed by an earthquake in 1356:
This shot is of the detail on the circular staircase inside the town hall to reach the tower - I quite liked it.
As expected, from the top, you get good views of the town and the surrounding countryside, including along the Tauber Valley - which I will present in panoramic views:
St Jacob is the patron saint of pilgrims and is the saint of this church because of the pilgrimage track that passes through the town; there is quite a nice statue of a pilgrim outside the church.
Afterwards, I took the opportunity to take a few night shots.