Rothenburg ob der Tauber (Rothenburg o. d. T.) is one of the most beautiful cities that one simply cannot miss when in Germany. It is a small town located near the Autobahn 7 (National Highway Number 7) or simply A7. It is a one town that I can highly recommend to every visitor or tourist coming to Germany or Europe.

The city has a population of only around 11,000 but boasts of high influx of tourist every year. The city was founded in the middle of 13th century just like many other nearby located German cities. It remains unique, due to the fact that the old city centre has an almost complete Citywall around it which is accessible to everyone wanting to go around the wall on foot. It is a unique feature which very few other German cities can offer. The entire old town is located within the city walls and has no modern structures. Its boasts of 42 gates and watchtowers which are in a really good condition and most of which are open to the tourists. It is a true fairytale town which seems to be frozen in time and shows us how people must have lived in the middle ages.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber is named so, because it was founded as a small town around a red fort (Rothenburg in German) around the river Tauber (ob der Tauber in German).

The best time to visit the city, is one of the following four times of the year, firstly during the Christmas Market Time in December during the Advent Season, the Meistertrunk Festival (with World Heritage Festival Status), the Reichstadttage or the Tauber Openair-Festival. The typical summer months are packed with foreign tourists ranging from Far East to the American west coast. So I highly recommend to avoid the peak season. To enjoy a more local flair I personally recommend the Christmas Market season in December, where you will see more locals and inland tourists from nearby cities.

Rothenburg has a lot of beautiful museums, but the “Must Visit” ones are das Mittelalterisches Kriminalmuseum (The Middle Ages German Criminal Museum), Das Rothenburgmuseum (The Rothenburg City Museum), The Handwerkhaus Museum (Handicraft Museum) and last but not the least Das Weihnachtsmuseum von Käthe Wohlfahrt (The Christmas Museum), which is an all year round one stop shop for all things Christmas.

There is so much to see in this small pretty town which inspired Walt Disney himself to create Disney Land, which is built according to the blue prints of this quaint little town. The picture below is a famous structure in Rothenburg o. d. T. which features confidently on the cover page of Lonely Planet Germany current Edition. It is the famous Plönlein with the Sieberstor (left) and the Kobolzeller Tor (right).

Churches which are worth a visit are St. Jacobs Church, Wolfgangs Church, Blasius Chapel (today a memorial for the fallen soldiers of both the World Wars) and St. Johannis Church with the famous Steinmeiyer Organ.

Things which you should be ticking of your bucket list while in Rothenburg o. d. T. is taking a walk around the wall which completely surrounds the city, visiting the Plölein (image below),

visiting the main town hall with the famous platform at 60 meters height for an amazing view of the old town (image below),

and visiting the Burggarten (Palace Garden grounds) and taking a panoramic view of the southern part of the City with its beautiful and ancient city walls. (image below)

Some of the views that one gets to enjoy while taking a quite walk on the city wall.

HOW TO REACH?

By Air:- Rothenburg o. d. T doesn’t have its own airport but is surrounded on all sides by cities with airports of their own. Nürnberg Airport (80km; approximately 1hr 15mins), Stuttgart Airport (165km; approximately 1hr 30mins), Frankfurt Airport (185km; approximately 1hr 40mins), Munich Airport (240km; approximately 2hr 15mins).

By Train: Rothenburg o. d. T. has a main Railway Station (Hauptbahnhof) and is connected by Deutsche Bahn (German National Railways) but the connection is limited and trains come in only from one direction.

By Car: Rothenburg o. d. T. is well connected by Roads and its proximity to A7 (Autobahn 7 / National Highway Number 7) makes it easy to reach.

WHERE TO STAY?

Rothenburg has a lot of great hotels and hostels. Hotels like Historik Hotel Goldener Hirsch Rothenburg, Hotel Reichs-Küchenmeister, Romantik Hotel Markusturm, Hotel Rappen, Burghotel, Gästehaus am Plölein are a few elite ones that offer the middle ages flair. The Youth Hostel Rothenburg o. d. T. is a good place for travellers on a budget. People of Rothenburg o. d. T. are also offering amazing deals with Airbnb.

Lastly I would like to conclude on a note, where I can only recommend everyone in or around this beautiful town to surly visit it, doesn’t matter when you do it.

PLACES OF INTEREST NEARBY:-

NUREMBERG (NÜRNBERG)

ULM

NOERDLINGEN

TÜBINGEN

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