Whenever I hear of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, it’s accompanied by that picture. You know the one. I get worried when towns become synonymous with a certain view because I think, is that all there is? But I was still eager to see what all the fuss about Rothenburg was about and visited myself. It’s a cute town, for sure.

A Short History of Rothenburg ob der Tauber

The modern history of Rothenburg starts in the 10th century, when the town Detwang was founded next to what is currently Rothenburg. A castle was built here on the hilltop in the 11th century, which is where the city continued to grow in the following centuries. It was awarded the status of Free City under the Holy Roman Empire and, believe it or not, actually became one of the empire’s largest cities!

The Peasants’ War, the Reformation, the Plague, and the Thirty Years’ War eventually broke down Rothenburg’s economy by the 17th century. During World War II, the city was partially bombed but then rebuilt. A majority of the town is still original and it retains its medieval feel.

Visiting Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber Today

One of the most obvious but stunning things to see in Rothenburg ob der Tauber is the magnificent 14th century walls and towers. The walls span several kilometers around the perimeter of the city, and you can go up and walk them for free for great views. For even higher views, you can pay a small fee to climb the Gallows Gate, one of 6 gates of Rothenburg. On the other side of the city you can see the Castle Gate with the Old Castle Gardens, which are quite pretty and offer more great views of Rothenburg. As you can tell by the names, a castle once stood here but it has since been destroyed by an earthquake.

When you head to the Hospital Gate or Spital Gate, you will see the famous Plonlein which is the subject of all of those photos. It is quite pretty – I’m personally always a fan of fountains, half timber houses, and hills. It’s just a bit crowded. It’s here you can also see the Siebers Tower and Kobozeller Tower.

Of course you will not want to miss the main Market Square with the Town Hall and a few streets away, St Jacob’s Church – one of the oldest buildings in Rothenburg.

There are also a lot of Kathe Wohlfahrt stores in Rothenburg and one of them hosts the Christmas Museum. I did not pay to enter the museum but I did go around their humungous store. If you’re not familiar with Kathe Wohlfahrt, they make quality Christmas ornaments and decorations. I have a few pieces myself and buy some more each year. You can order online from them as well if you can’t make it to Germany.

You’ll also see signs around for Schneeballen which are called “snowballs.” Not the same snowball delicacy we have here in Baltimore, obviously! This is pastry dough formed into a ball and covered with confectioners sugar. It’s been around for several hundred years and is quite crunchy. You can get it at a lot of different cafes.

I was trying to save money so I didn’t go to a lot of the museums. There’s the Handwerkhaus which is a museum dedicated to labor from the middle ages. There’s also the Imperial Museum which has a collection of artwork from the area of the past several centuries.

One of the most famous and popular things to do is the Night Watchman Tour which starts every night at 8:00pm. If you’re using public transport, it is not currently possible to do this tour on a day trip from bigger cities – so I was bummed about that. I’ve read that it’s nice to spend the night and be able to go on the Night Watchman tour but honestly, I’d have preferred to come to Rothenburg just in the evening to see the town and tour – during summer when there’s long daylight. Or if I had a car, go somewhere else and come back in the evening for the tour.

The point being that even though Rothenburg is cute, it’s quite small and so touristy, I can’t imagine spending all day there. I’m not exactly a slow traveller and so much is geared towards the tourists that I think a few hours’ visit is enough.

Now one thing you can do in Rothenburg ob der Tauber but outside of the city is hiking. In typical German fashion, there are lots of trails that go down the valley next to where Rothenburg is perched. Apparently there are some fun fairytale themes to the trails, too. I went in September and found it too chilly for my southern USA self. I’m sure this isn’t true all the time but every time I go to Germany, it’s colder than what my phone temperature says, so be prepared.

Despite the one photo passed around, Rothenburg ob der Tauber is actually quite a sizable town and has a lot of beautiful buildings and streets to see. It took about 2 hours to explore the streets at a leisurely pace, and that doesn’t include lunch. I liked seeing all the decorations the buildings had.

As you can imagine, it’s quite a touristy place. However there are still lots of quality shops and restaurants, so it makes for a nice visit. It wasn’t my favorite place but I think I would’ve liked it more if I had visited during the Christmas season, when it’s dressed up and has a warmer feeling (emotionally of course, I imagine it gets quite cold 🙂 ). That being said, Rothenburg ob der Tauber is quite cute and I can see why a lot of people like it. The walls and sheer number of medieval buildings are impressive. It’s a quintessential German fairytale town.

I’m looking forward to visiting other towns on the Romantic Road and seeing how they compare. Rothenburg is definitely a nice town to spend a few hours in and the area is so beautiful, so I’ll be looking forward to seeing what else the area has.

Have you been to Rothenburg ob der Tauber? What did you think?

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