COUNTRY – Germany
DATE – June 29th – July 2nd (3 x nights)
CAMPERVAN SITE – Wohnmobile Stellplatz P2
The Campervan Site
The City of Rothenburg
A city in the district of Ansbach in the Middle Franconia region of Bavaria
The old town is a very well preserved medieval town surrounded by huge city walls
Population is only 11,085 and the town has tourism to thank for to keep it striving
The full name of the town is Rothenburg ob de Tauber which translates to “Red fortress above the Tauber” the town sits on a plateau that over looks the River Tauber
Tourism
It was due to Tourism that started around 1900 that this city began to strive and become rich again, money was put into repairingand reconstructing parts of the city including the city wall
The area of Rothenburg was inhabited as early as 905 and a castle was first built in 1070 for the Counts of Rothenburg overlooking the Tauber Valley which was the start of this beautiful city & the first settlement grew near & around this castle
The town expands and a 2nd fortified wall is built in 1330-1370 and this still exists today, it is open and free to the public 24/7 to climb around the outside of the town and the views are just phenomenal as you see the medieval of homes where people still live!
1274 Rothenburg became a free imperial city which meant they had more rights & autonomy and the city developed even more
The members of the town had their own district that they would help to keep secure and keep a watchful eye for enemies
“Snowballs”
There were so many different flavours available!
I had my breakfast in St. Jakobs courtyard in the city centre.
I decided to try the local pastry delicacy called a “snowball” which was different from what Ive seen around Germany, it was something like a long string of pastry clumped into a dough ball and deep fried, then dunked into chocolate! The one I bought had eggnog and marzipan cream inside
It wasnt bad but tbh it looked better than it tasted! (Thank god! Cos there were a lot of calories floating around inside that thing lol)
“Burgtorum” Castle Tower
There are watch towers strategically placed all around the city walls and its amazing how its the original structure
There are so many hotels in this town, you can tell the local houses have been converted over because they can make a lot of money due to the amount of tourism here, im sure the locals must hate seeing so many tourists all day every day but I guess its a catch 22 huh
As I walked along the streets, I really felt like I was on a movie set for Game of Thrones! It just doesnt feel real…
A lunch stop at the castle gardens and found a part of the city wall that dropped into gorge below, it was such a nice pit stop and I had my sandwich with a gorgeous view of the valley
All the streets were beautiful to walk along, there were so many colourful buildings and flowers hanging on the window sills (Germans love their flowers!)
The most photographed street in Europe!
And it really was, there were constantly people standing and selfie-ing all over the place you could not get a photo without someones ass being in it… Even at 10pm at night there were still people… patience is key to getting a good shot I guess
The night time shot was just as beautiful as day shot
Sunset climb along the walls at 9:30pm we are greeted with a gorgeous view of the medieval rooftops inside the city
South wall ~ The Bastion
You walked along the walls at your.own risk there were signs everywhere saying so, the path was so rough and the only thing stopping you from falling down were 2 wooden posts
St. Jakobs
A gothic luthern church of much importance as it is on the pilgrimage route to St. James grave in Santiago de Compostela in Spain
The High Altar was built in 1466 is one of the most beautiful altars in Germany carved in wood and the colourful paintings which are by a Nordic artist Friedrich Herlin
Both infront and behind are just as impressive
…along the West wall
Gravediggers Tower
Dates from 1356 – the gravedigger lived in this tower and worked for St. James cemetery
Convent Tower
1404-08 the tower adjoined the convent in 12
Punishment Tower
Or guilt tower, this was the place for punishment for lesser crimes. Built in 15th c
Klingen Gate
Sits above a narrow gorge and was used as a water tower until 19th c, first mention of it in 1360
… Along the North wall
Powder Tower
Built around 1400 to store gunpowder
Many of the towers were originally constructed one sided and open to the inside of the town, but later on due to being unstable they were walled up or fortified with wood
Little Fürbringer Tower
Rebuilt first quarter of the 16th c
Territorial boundary and borders
As Rothenburg was an imperial town, it owned and ruled land far away from its own city walls, in 1383-1406, the wealthy citizens and mayor owned 400 square kms! The most important access points there were 9 towers and they collected tolls from passing merchants
Main market square of Rothenburg
This town had the most amazing guilded wrought iron signs ive seen in any town!
In the middle ages, a lot of people couldnt read, so the shop keepers created these beautiful works of art to identify their shops and wares, im so glad to see they still exist today
Awesome falafel sandwich and chips with local “hell” beer
Walking around the city wall, there are plaques all along the wall naming all the people.who have donated money to help rebuild the city walls
Great view of the city and people going by!
Gate leading out from the city and into the countryside to paths that lead around the city walls
St. Wolfgang Church & passage ways
Built around 1490 in gothic style, this church is built into the fortifications and an integral part of the Klingen Tower.
Its main use is as a church but has multiple storeys where there are hidden defense tunnels underneath with arrow slits and an artillery room
I took a tour into the artillery and defence tunnels and I was surprised that it went so deep underground around 2 levels and had arrow slits facing the outside west wall and rooms.where the army could gather in case of any attack from that side
This is a panoramic shot of the tunnels going behind and around the church which lead into the city walls, I got here through the church and it led out to the tunnels and eventually out…
… Onto this street
Exploring the tunnels underneath the church, goes down 2 levels of so, very roughly made
The altar in the church dates back to the 1500s and is a gothic detailed painted on wood
More tunnels… Continued on all the way under the church
Some of the rooms had arrow slits facing out towards the gorge
World War II bombing (a bit of history so.I don’t forget what I learnt while here)
March 31st 1945 – Air raid over Rothenburg, 16 planes dropped bombs killing 37 ppl
45% of Rothenburg was destroyed, 306 houses, some public buildings, but luckily the medieval buildings of the old town were not, only a portion of the City Hall, it was mainly the newer parts within the outer city wall that got hit the worst, and around 610m of the city wall was hit
US Secretary of War, John J McClure, of the American army knew about Rothenburg and how it was a medieval and beautiful city… from his mum… who had traveled here in the 1940’s and he knew about and loved this city due to a picture she had brought back and placed on the wall in their home, and incredibly enough this was the reason why Rothenburg still exists! He ordered the US Army general to not use artillery to take this city
He had ordered a negotiation… instead of destroying the city, they demanded the Germans to surrender and leave on their own will…
Down in the valley there is a stone bridge, a few of the officers drove a tank over it with a white flag to show they wanted to name their negotiation terms… 6 US soldiers went in and negotiated… In the end, the German troops surrendered and left the town and Americans took over
Many years later, John J Mccloy came back to Rothenburg and they awarded him honorary citizenship due to his decision and saved their town
ALDI shopping!
We have so much room in the boot of our van! Stocking up on sparkling water
30th June – Steps 23,698
The Wandering Passport 