Day 5 - June 13, 2006
Rothenburg, Germany
In the morning, we went downstairs to find another huge breakfast spread; coffee, meats, fruit, and cereal. I really like the German continental breakfasts! Then we got in the car and set the GPS for our next stop Rothenburg ob der Tauber (Old Town), Germany.
Rothenburg, a completely intact walled medival city located on a high promontory above the Tauber River, is one of the major highlights along the Romantic Road. The town has been a tourist destination for nearly a century and from May through September you'll likely encounter hourdes of visitors. Don't let that deter you from visiting this remarkable reminder of Germany's midevil past.
The Master Draught: How Mayor Nusch Saved Rothenburg
In 1631, during the Thirty Years War, General Tilly, commander of the armies of the Catholic League, captured teh PRotestant city of Rothenburg and was given, as victor, a 6 pint tankard of wine. He said he would spare the town from destruction if one of the twon burghers could down the huge tankard in one draught. Former mayor Nusch accepted teh challenge and succedded, thus saving Rothenburg and giving himself a three-day hangover. This historical episode was performed as a festival play called Die Meistertrunk (The Master Draught), in 1881. The play has been the centerpiece of a weekend festival that takes place every September ever since.
When we arrived, the city looked normal but then we got to the Old Town and saw the fantastic medival city walls. They looked just like in a movie! We drove down some winding cobblestone streets and found our hotel, the Akzent Hotel Schranne. It had a great view of the city walls. The walls had stairs that you could climb and then you can walk along the walls! We arrived too early to check in so we parked and then set off to the central Markt by the Town Hall. Just like the tour book said, there were a million tourists everywhere. It was kind of hard to walk on the old cobble stones and dodge all the people. I could tell Curt didn't like it, but the old buildings were so neat I didnt' care. One of the things I most wanted to see was the Criminal Museum.
Mittelalterliches Kriminal museum (The Medieval Crime Museum):
It is located inside the building of the former Commander of the Order of St. John built in 1395 and altered in 1718 to a Baroque style building. The famous law enforcement museum gives insight to 1000 years of European legal history, crime and punishment. On display are chastity belts, shame masks, a shame flute for bad musicans, a dunking basket, and an iron maiden.
The museum was somewhat small, but had a lot of documents. What was interesting is that most of the artifacts and documents were from the actual town of Rothenburg. Some of the engravings had pictures of the Town Hall which was just outside. It was intersting to read all the rules for everything. They had a lot of rules of course for what women could do, even how much they could spend on a wedding and what clothes they could wear. If they did something wrong then they were punished in public.
Next we stopped in Kathe Wohlfahrt's Weinachtsdoft (Christmas Village) store. It was huge with tons of cookoo clocks, ornaments, and stuffed animals. It was kind of hot inside and very crowded so we didn't stay long but I got some handmade straw ornaments and a cookoo clock ornament for Mother. Afterward we were starving so we left to get something to eat. We stopped at a place we had passed walking to the town square and had bratwurst and sauerkraut. Next we went back to our hotel to check in. It was three stories and we parked in the back and came up some back stairs. Our room was of course on the 3rd floor so we had to carry all our heavy luggage up more stairs. The room was pretty modern with a large bathroom and tub. This time the beds were not put together but seperated. After we checked in we decided to walk along the city walls to get back to the old part of the city. We ended up at St. Jacobs church which was closed for remodeling so we could only see the outside. Then we walked to the Plonlein or Little Square which was the "most photographed spot in Rothenburg." Two roads intersect at different levels with the Siebersturm (Siebers Tower) just behind dating from 1385. Next we walked to another place I wanted to see, the Old Craftmen's House. It was built in 1270 and furnished like medieval times. We walked in the front door into a little hallway where there was a lady to take money of course. She didnt' speak very good english and we were almost out of Euros but we found enough to see the house. The wood looked very old and dark and you could climb what looked like original, very worn, stairs up to the attic. There were lots of artifacts but sadly only a couple of the identifing cards were in English so we couldn't learn that much. But I was glad we got to see such an old house.
After seeing the Craftmen's house, Curt was tired of the tourists so I left him at the hotel outdoor patio cafe and I left to do more sightseeing. I walked along the city walls again and saw the Castle Gate which had a neat scary looking mask on it which is where they used to pour hot pitch onto attackers. The brochure I had said that they "recommended a short hiking tour to the village of Detwang; the oldest part of the city accross the river built in 960. Well, I started down the hill. About half-way down I realized that I had just got myself into another painful hiking adventure, and I was getting really hot and I had no water! At the bottom of the hill, there was field and then a bridge that crossed the river. A path led to some houses that it looked like people still lived in. The book said that the Topplerschlosschen (Topper's Little Castle) was around the corner. It was built in 1388 and served as a resort fo the powerful mayor Toppler. I took some pictures and realized that the old town built in 960 was far away so started back up the hill which was just as steep as the hill up to the Castles in Fussen. I forgot to mention that I didn't see any other tourists along this walk I guess they were smarter than me. It seemed like forever to get up this hill I tried to stop a couple times becuase I was so tired and out of breath but then I was getting bit by mosquitoes! Finally I got to the top and I saw a bathroom thank goodness it was air conditioned and I drank a bunch of water from the faucet. After my hike I went to buy some more souviniers since Curt wasn't with me but it was 5:00 and all the stores were closing! What was interesting is that all the tourists were gone too. I think they all come in for the day on buses. Next I decided I might as well see the other points of intrest on the map. At the far end of the walls was some really interesing fortifications and I got a lot of pictures. A sign said that this part of the city was destroyed in WWII and had been re-built. I ended up walking back along the other side of the city walls so it took me awhile becuase I had to walk down and then back up a few times. Every few hundred feet is a large city gate. I was really tired, but I was glad I got to see everything. When I got back to our hotel, We ate dinner at the hotel outdoor cafe since Curt had been sitting there all this time reserving a table. That night we went to our room, but I couldn't sleep because our hotel was near this restaruant and I think there were people in there watching a world cup game. As I mentioned before the rooms don't have air conditiniong or window screens so you have to open the windows for air. Around midnight it finally got quiet and I could sleep.
In the morning, we went downstairs to find another huge breakfast spread; coffee, meats, fruit, and cereal. I really like the German continental breakfasts! Then we got in the car and set the GPS for our next stop Rothenburg ob der Tauber (Old Town), Germany.
Rothenburg, a completely intact walled medival city located on a high promontory above the Tauber River, is one of the major highlights along the Romantic Road. The town has been a tourist destination for nearly a century and from May through September you'll likely encounter hourdes of visitors. Don't let that deter you from visiting this remarkable reminder of Germany's midevil past.
The Master Draught: How Mayor Nusch Saved Rothenburg
In 1631, during the Thirty Years War, General Tilly, commander of the armies of the Catholic League, captured teh PRotestant city of Rothenburg and was given, as victor, a 6 pint tankard of wine. He said he would spare the town from destruction if one of the twon burghers could down the huge tankard in one draught. Former mayor Nusch accepted teh challenge and succedded, thus saving Rothenburg and giving himself a three-day hangover. This historical episode was performed as a festival play called Die Meistertrunk (The Master Draught), in 1881. The play has been the centerpiece of a weekend festival that takes place every September ever since.
When we arrived, the city looked normal but then we got to the Old Town and saw the fantastic medival city walls. They looked just like in a movie! We drove down some winding cobblestone streets and found our hotel, the Akzent Hotel Schranne. It had a great view of the city walls. The walls had stairs that you could climb and then you can walk along the walls! We arrived too early to check in so we parked and then set off to the central Markt by the Town Hall. Just like the tour book said, there were a million tourists everywhere. It was kind of hard to walk on the old cobble stones and dodge all the people. I could tell Curt didn't like it, but the old buildings were so neat I didnt' care. One of the things I most wanted to see was the Criminal Museum.
Mittelalterliches Kriminal museum (The Medieval Crime Museum):
It is located inside the building of the former Commander of the Order of St. John built in 1395 and altered in 1718 to a Baroque style building. The famous law enforcement museum gives insight to 1000 years of European legal history, crime and punishment. On display are chastity belts, shame masks, a shame flute for bad musicans, a dunking basket, and an iron maiden.
The museum was somewhat small, but had a lot of documents. What was interesting is that most of the artifacts and documents were from the actual town of Rothenburg. Some of the engravings had pictures of the Town Hall which was just outside. It was intersting to read all the rules for everything. They had a lot of rules of course for what women could do, even how much they could spend on a wedding and what clothes they could wear. If they did something wrong then they were punished in public.
Next we stopped in Kathe Wohlfahrt's Weinachtsdoft (Christmas Village) store. It was huge with tons of cookoo clocks, ornaments, and stuffed animals. It was kind of hot inside and very crowded so we didn't stay long but I got some handmade straw ornaments and a cookoo clock ornament for Mother. Afterward we were starving so we left to get something to eat. We stopped at a place we had passed walking to the town square and had bratwurst and sauerkraut. Next we went back to our hotel to check in. It was three stories and we parked in the back and came up some back stairs. Our room was of course on the 3rd floor so we had to carry all our heavy luggage up more stairs. The room was pretty modern with a large bathroom and tub. This time the beds were not put together but seperated. After we checked in we decided to walk along the city walls to get back to the old part of the city. We ended up at St. Jacobs church which was closed for remodeling so we could only see the outside. Then we walked to the Plonlein or Little Square which was the "most photographed spot in Rothenburg." Two roads intersect at different levels with the Siebersturm (Siebers Tower) just behind dating from 1385. Next we walked to another place I wanted to see, the Old Craftmen's House. It was built in 1270 and furnished like medieval times. We walked in the front door into a little hallway where there was a lady to take money of course. She didnt' speak very good english and we were almost out of Euros but we found enough to see the house. The wood looked very old and dark and you could climb what looked like original, very worn, stairs up to the attic. There were lots of artifacts but sadly only a couple of the identifing cards were in English so we couldn't learn that much. But I was glad we got to see such an old house.
After seeing the Craftmen's house, Curt was tired of the tourists so I left him at the hotel outdoor patio cafe and I left to do more sightseeing. I walked along the city walls again and saw the Castle Gate which had a neat scary looking mask on it which is where they used to pour hot pitch onto attackers. The brochure I had said that they "recommended a short hiking tour to the village of Detwang; the oldest part of the city accross the river built in 960. Well, I started down the hill. About half-way down I realized that I had just got myself into another painful hiking adventure, and I was getting really hot and I had no water! At the bottom of the hill, there was field and then a bridge that crossed the river. A path led to some houses that it looked like people still lived in. The book said that the Topplerschlosschen (Topper's Little Castle) was around the corner. It was built in 1388 and served as a resort fo the powerful mayor Toppler. I took some pictures and realized that the old town built in 960 was far away so started back up the hill which was just as steep as the hill up to the Castles in Fussen. I forgot to mention that I didn't see any other tourists along this walk I guess they were smarter than me. It seemed like forever to get up this hill I tried to stop a couple times becuase I was so tired and out of breath but then I was getting bit by mosquitoes! Finally I got to the top and I saw a bathroom thank goodness it was air conditioned and I drank a bunch of water from the faucet. After my hike I went to buy some more souviniers since Curt wasn't with me but it was 5:00 and all the stores were closing! What was interesting is that all the tourists were gone too. I think they all come in for the day on buses. Next I decided I might as well see the other points of intrest on the map. At the far end of the walls was some really interesing fortifications and I got a lot of pictures. A sign said that this part of the city was destroyed in WWII and had been re-built. I ended up walking back along the other side of the city walls so it took me awhile becuase I had to walk down and then back up a few times. Every few hundred feet is a large city gate. I was really tired, but I was glad I got to see everything. When I got back to our hotel, We ate dinner at the hotel outdoor cafe since Curt had been sitting there all this time reserving a table. That night we went to our room, but I couldn't sleep because our hotel was near this restaruant and I think there were people in there watching a world cup game. As I mentioned before the rooms don't have air conditiniong or window screens so you have to open the windows for air. Around midnight it finally got quiet and I could sleep.
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