The Medieval City Of Rothenburg

At the beginning of October Ryan’s parents spent two weeks exploring Germany with us. We enjoyed beautiful castles, Berlin, and a couple of festivals. My next 3 or 4 blogs will highlight our adventures. One of our first day trips was to the medieval city of Rothenburg. 

Houses in Rothenburg

 Around 970, the Eastern Franconian nobleman Reinger founded the Parish of Detwang in a location, which is just below the eventual site of the town of Rothenburg. The Parish Church of St. Peter and Paul was the parent church of the later town church of St. Jacob. During the 12^th century city growth lead to the building of the first fortified ring, with a market square, town church, the headquarters of two orders of knights, and two monasteries. In 1544, Rothenburg broke its old church ties by embracing the Lutheran Protestant Reformation. The two convents were dissolved. The town lost much of its political significance but, thanks to its rich agricultural hinterland, remained an important economic factor in the region.

Shops Along Rothenburg Street

 The economic status was drastically altered by the Thirty Years’ War. As a Protestant town, Rothenburg not only suffered from a permanent conflict of loyalties with the Catholic Lord of the town, but was also condemned to economic ruin by passing armies. The city was captured by the military and the population was devastated by plague. Rothenburg only started to recover when, in 1873, it was connected to the German railway network. Prior to this, the city had been “rediscovered” by artists, writers and academics and was presented to a broader national and international public as the essence of “old German” urban architecture. Tourism began to play a key role in the town’s economic life. Industrialization also made its mark and the population increased and the town prospered. Another dark day came during the last weeks of World War II, when around 45% of the old walled town was destroyed by an American air raid. The successful rebuilding of the town in the post-war period is the most significant achievement in Rothenburg’s recent history. 

City Wall of Rothenburg

Outside St. Jacob's Church

 While wandering around Rothenburg we visited several churches and took some time to go in several of the shops. The largest church we visited was St. Jacob’s church, which contains a 500-year-old altarpiece named “Holy Blood”. The church was built between 1311 and 1484.

Plönlein or “Little Square”

 

One of the most famous images from Rothenburg is the Plönlein or “Little Square”. Here stands a narrow half-timbered building with a small fountain in front. The Kobolzeller tower and the higher Siebers Tower frame the view. Both of the gate towers were built as part of the first expansion of the town in 1204. At sunset we climbed to the top of Roeder towerr to get some amazing views of the walled city.  

View of City Wall From Roeder Tower

A View Of The City From Above

The Rooftops of Rothenburg

 After warming up and having a little something to eat we joined the night watchman tour. This tour took us through the now dark streets of Rothenburg. As we walked alongside the night watchman he told us stories of the towns history and the purpose of the night watchman. The job of the night watchman was to wonder the streets of Rothenburg making sure the people were safe and warning the townspeople of invasion or fire. 

Posing With The Night Watchman