Romantic Road: Rothenburg ob der Tauber - taken out of the Middle Ages

Most beautiful scene in the town

Rothenburg od der Tauber is our next stop on the Romantic Road (マンチック街道) though Bavaria and in our opinion is one of the bast places on this tail, because...

Town walls:

It is one of the three German cities which are still fully surrounded by medieval city walls. The other two are Dinkelsbuhl and Nordlingen, also in Bavaria and  they also belongs to the Romantic Road.

The gates to the city are not changed for at least 600 years. Thus they are normally a bit thin as for today's traffic and the cars have to wait for each other to drive through. Moreover, you can meet there many carriages. All entrances to the city consist not only from a gate but also from a tower, which differs from one to another:

Moreover, the walls were surrounded by the moat, which past presence can be observed in few places... 

Bridge for pedestrians over the old moat

 After we went into the town of Rothenburg od der Tauber, we were a little bit surprised that the city walls can be fully accessed by the tourists. So, let's follow me...

View from the most Southern point of the old town of Rothenburg on the old town center

In the past people were using everything what the nature gave them, starting from food and ending on the landforms. Its perfect example can be seen in Rothenburg, where the medieval theater was built in the natural concavity. 

Medieval theater in Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Old town streets:

After sightseeing the town from its walls, it's time to go inside.

One of the main streets in Rothenburg toward the main square of the town

The streets of Rothenburg od der Tauber have unrepeatable climate, because they are narrow and there are always many tourists, which creates the original din. Inside the old town another set of towers can be seen. They were built in XIIIth century, minimum 100 years before outer walls. In this time that was the border of the city, which grown very fast as for this time. Rothenburg was (by the end of Medieval Age) one of the biggest cities in entire Germany. The town was developing very fast, but suddenly it stopped. Then was kept in unchanged manner till this day.

Main square

Beautiful panorama of the Rothenburg's main square

Rothenburg's main square you will find the Townhall (new and old) and "very important" (for these times) buildings: Pharmacy and Disco-house, just next to each other.

Tanzhaus und Apotheke

St Jacob's Cathedral:

Going further to the west from the main square, we met the St. Jacobs cathedral of Rothenburg. As we heard it is very beutifull inside, but every time we were there it was already closed. what else we can say, is this, that under the church there is one road used daily by pedestrians, carriages and cars, which is a very interesting structure.   

Castle's gardens

Going further west, we finally arrive to the most Western point of the town, which are the castle's gardens from which you can admire magnificent views on the Tauber's valley and on the town itself.

Gate to the castle's gardens

View on the town from castle's gardens on the town

View on the town from castle's gardens into the Tauber valley

The house on a stand

Looking into the valley of the Tauber river you can find a very interesting building. This is kind of a tower, but it looks like a house on the stand, like this one from fairy tail called Hansen and Gretel. 

In fact it was built in 1388 and it was used as fortified house, situated in the middle of the lake. The name (Topplerschlosschen) come from its founder name: Heinrich Toppler. Now it works as a museum, in which you can see XVIth ans XIXth century furniture. 

This can be the smallest castle on the World, but we are not sure:)

Local delicacies :)

Schneeballe - very popular kind of pastry known in Rothenburg and its vicinity for last 300 years. In the past they were served only for special occasions such as: weddings. Now you can find them in every bakery or cafeteria in many taste variations. It's a very common souvenir from this region. Guten Appetit!  

Schneeballe in bakery in Rothenburg

Schneeballe in bakery in Rothenburg