Rothenburg - a journey back in time
You don’t need to strap yourself into a time machine and fall through a Black Hole for a trip into the 15th century. You just need to get into a car and drive to Rothenburg op de Tauber. Ideally located on Germany’s romantic road, Rothenburg is situated about 70 miles east of Heidelburg and is known as Rothenburg ob der Tauber or ‘Red Castle on the River Tauber’.
A medieval city, Rothenburg has a rich past of battles won and lost. After a ‘thirty year’ battle and a deadly plague attack, the city slept for 250 years. In fact, it was poverty that has preserved it so well. But times have changed now. The city awoke from its slumber and was romanticized by poets and painters alike. In fact, Rothenburg’s main income now comes from tourism. No surprise with the number of souvenir shops and ‘zimmer vrij’ or ‘Room available’ boards you’ll see here. For approximately 50 euros, you can get yourself a cozy double room with breakfast.
An enchanting city, Rothenburg boasts of medieval buildings, horse carriages and even its own Night Watchman. What’s really fascinating is the curious blend of sights and sounds… Ferrari’s parked amidst horse carriages, tourists outnumbering residents and the amount of Japanese you’re likely to hear!
A walk through the city is the best way to discover it. From the Christmas shop that’s open all year round to the Torture Museum that’s one of the best (read as gruesome) of it’s kind in Europe, this city is full of surprises. Patrician homes surround the market place and the ‘Stadtmauer’ or the city wall is a great place to take a walk and simply soak in the view.
A trip to this city is however not complete without a tour from the Night Watchman. Dressed for the occasion in flowing black robes, complete with an axe to hack off a few heads, this ‘modern-day-guardian-of-the-city’, offers an entertaining history of the ‘not-so-good-old-days’. After visiting the museums, checking out the forts, brushing up your history, the friendly towns people will probably tell you to go to ‘Hell’. A fantastic idea if you want to round the night with a couple of beers at the local pub called ‘Hell’.
All in all, it’s a city steeped in history, packed with tourists, charming in atmosphere and the closest you can get to the ‘old days’ without the time warp.