The walled city of Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Rothenburg ODT is what the exit signs say for the great walled city...I was particularly interested in seeing this center of history and was anxiously awaiting my first glimpse of the ancient walls. I want to make sure you know all the juicy historical tidbits that I know so bear with me for a minute...

* Rothenburg was an Imperial City. I think that means it was kind of its own little kingdom, but I'm not sure and haven't been able to find a detailed explanation anywhere about it...

* It was the seat of government for the city-state during the medieval ages.

* In March 1945 in World War II, German soldiers were stationed in Rothenburg to defend it. Bombs were dropped over Rothenburg by 16 planes, killing 39 people and destroying 306 houses, six public buildings, nine watchtowers, and over 2,000 feet of the wall. The U.S Assistant Secretary of War John J. McCloy knew about the historic importance and beauty of Rothenburg, so he ordered US Army General Jacob L. Devers not use artillery in taking Rothenburg, but the Germans didn't know that...so, the local military commander Major Thömmes ignored the order of Adolf Hitler for all towns to fight to the end and gave up the town, thereby saving it from total destruction.

* AND...last, but definitely not least...one of the coolest things about Rothenburg ob der Tauber (which means walled city with red roofs above the river Tuaber) is that it is where they filmed the part of the movie in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang when they are in Vulgaria. Yeah...I've been there.

Our entrance into the town...through the East watchtower


John and the kids in the town square


Looking south...If you look far in the distance you'll see the south watchtower...


A closer look at the south watchtower and where the road splits...


The city is amazing...the majority of it is car-free so you can wander and look and enjoy at your leisure...and let kids run down the streets without fear of a little peugot hitting them.

We toured the shops and were duly impressed with the various life-size replicas of beer mugs, dolls, puppets, etc., that grace the many shops.

Uh, no, dear...that will not grace our walls anytime soon...and really - who BUYS one of these giant engraved swords? I hope none of you...or maybe...how many SCA'ers do we have reading this blog? And for those of you who don't know what SCA is...you are safe. :)


Maddie and Eric were particularly interested in the bakeries...ALL of them. We finally gave in and let them have a pastry treat...GIANT balls of pie dough covered in powdered sugar or cinnamon. They are still on the sugar high.

Bella got hers from applejuice/water mixture...


Madmad was sooo well behaved that day we just had to take a photo of her angelic smile...here she is just chillaxin near the flowers. Okay...so, that was the absolute first time I ever used the word chillaxin...did it work for you?


I found it incredibly funny that after the photo was taken we noticed the sign, "Biergarten" with the giant arrow pointing at John's gut. bwahahahaha


Eric finally got his suit of armour and axe fix...


And Madmad got all dressed up so he could whack her over the head with an axe...


JUST KIDDING...did you really think we'd let him hit her over the head with an axe...?

Much of the day was spent touring the Medieval Crime Museum where Eric uttered this gem,"Gee dad, you sure know a lot about torture." Errrr....I suppose a job as an interrogator has its perks in a place like this... But there may be something fundamentally wrong with a guy that can name each torture device by its proper name AND tell how its used and why. Gaaaah... **note to self...do not go see this type of museum with John again.**

This is the "water-dunker" Basically you get stuck in this thing and then they dunk you until you are about dead. Don't imagine it...you'll regret the image in your mind! (edited to add...John insists I call it by its proper name...the "ducking stool")


We've invested in one of these because it seemed to work so well. Its now set up in our front yard. ha ha


Whats a crime museum without an iron maiden? Kind of like saying, nothing says love like thumbscrews...


Then there is the wall...the incredible beautiful wall

And the incredibly beautiful baby girl sitting on top of it...


The view from the wall was breathtaking...the pictures don't do it justice...and I was really amused that when you look closely you can see a barbeque grill in the shadow of the aquaduct...can you see it?




We wandered inside the wall to see where the cannons and archers would have stood. It was very interesting...very old...very medieval...very dark. I would not have liked working in "the wall..."

Obligatory photo of me...acting as damsel in distress hanging out the wall toward the courtyard on the inside of the city...too bad my hair is too short to be climbed...


Inside the wall...notice the plank floors...most of it was old cobblestone...this was one of the newer, rebuilt sections.


We got a kick out of the laundry poles being rested on the great wall. I guess its functional anyway...


And then we also saw some monkeys...do you think there is a law against climbing hundreds of year old walls in the great Imperial City??