Rothenburg ob der Tauber is another town located in the state of Bavaria in Germany. It's a town that you must see if you're anywhere close by. It's the ideal town for tourists and was one of my all time favorite places to visit. Stepping into this town is like stepping back into time with it's well preserved medieval buildings, stone roads and wall surrounding the old town. The town is full of things to do and see from a criminal museum, festivals, shops and more.
This town is full of history considering how well preserved it is. This city was founded in 1170, and the walls and towers were built in the 13th century. In the 19th century laws were made to prevent any changing to the original parts of the town, helping the tourism in the area. Hitler and his Nazi's considered Rothenburg to be the ideal German town. It was exactly what they wanted every other town to be like and became a model way of living. All Jews were not allowed to live within the town as of 1938. During World War II on March 31st 1945, 16 planes dropped bombs over the town destroying houses, public buildings, part of the town wall, and killing many people as well. The local military commander gave up the town to U.S. military in hopes of preserving it, as promised by the soldiers. This was against Hitler's command, which was to fight to the end. The residents were fast at restoring the damaged parts of the town, including the town wall, which now has bricks with engraved names of who has donated to help restore the city.
Being a tourist town, there are plenty of places to eat. There is one place in particular that I recommend going to though because of its rich history and great taste of course.
Zur Höll, a restaurant from the 900's. This place is full of history, especially since it is in the oldest house in the city. The translation of this place is "to hell." Don't let that guide you elsewhere though, step into the tiny hallways and rooms and sit anywhere you possibly can to enjoy amazing food. Their menu seems small but they have a long list of specials they will gladly tell you about. While I was there I ordered their ribs and boy were they mouthwatering and just fell right off the bones. Great food here, don't skip the opportunity to eat in hell!
Oh boy, oh boy. This list could possibly be never ending. Visit this town! You will have several days of entertainment and sightseeing. It is the perfect town for tourists.
The old wall that surrounds the old part of the town has steep, old stairs that you can climb up to walk a path along the entire length of the wall itself. Here is where you can find the stones with engraved names, and get great views of the inside city.
Stop in every shop that even slightly catches your eye. They're bigger than they look and have so many fun things to look at and an amazing amount of souvenirs. Every shop was full of kind workers, too. Also stop in museums, especially the criminal museum. It's several stories high and full of old torture devices.
The Night Watchman. Oh, boy. This is a must do tour. Click here to read about it on trip advisor if you'd like. I'll tell you right now, it isn't some amazing you'll die if you don't see it tour. But I really enjoyed it, and if you have kids then definitely do it. It does involve some walking around the town as he tells you his stories. He does it rain or shine (it rained on us, but he kept going!) and accepts money at the end of the tour. You meet him in the town square at 8pm, and you all walk as a group after him explaining his history and what his job as the Night Watchman entails. I made sure to grab some hot cocoa to go from a little cafe and ice cream shop across from the town hall before walking on this tour, totally worth it.
I have to tell you, writing this makes me wish I could go back to Rothenburg and do it all again. I would definitely take more pictures next time! I hope you got a kick out of this town!
