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| Our hotel in Rothenburg |
We walked the short distance to the Wurzburg train station, where we took a regional train to Steinhof and then we transferred to another train to Rothenburg. By 10 am, we had arrived at the Rothenburg train station. Because we were staying at the Reichsküchenmeister Hotel so early, we were unable to check in but the clerk stored our bags for us in the small library near the registration desk. The Christmas market started right outside the door to our hotel by St. Jacob’s Evangelical Lutheran Church. Mary, Cindy and Jodie toured the church, while I walked around the Old Town to get a lay of the land. The church was built as a Catholic Church in 1311 but later became a Lutheran Church following the Protestant Reformation.
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| Gate through the wall surrounding the ancient city |
Like other old German towns, Rothenburg has beautiful, well maintained cobblestone streets adding to the overall charm of the medieval city.
We met back up and started walking through the town when Cindy saw a Käthe Wohlfahrt store. Although I was unaware of her or her stores, we later learned that she is a major retailer of collectible Christmas items. Her Rothenburg store reports offering over 30,000 traditional German Christmas decorations. Cindy and Jodie bought several things to bring back as gifts or souvenirs. The store was surprisingly large despite the narrow storefront. The retail area was several floors and was very deep although not wide. The Christmas Museum is above the Käthe Wohlfahrt store. Mary, Cindy and Jodie went in while I walked through the Christmas market, which wasn’t a large square as in some cities but wound through the Old Town area of Rothenburg. They were in the Christmas museum for a little over 30 minutes and reported that the exhibits were very good and included many items from Kathe Wohlfahrt’s personal collection. We decided on the Goldenes Lamm for our late lunch because a warm place for a sit-down meal sounded good. Cindy had turkey, gravy and spatzel (noodles), Mary had leberkäse (meatloaf) with potatoes. Jodie and I had schnitzel with French fries. We chatted with two couples at the next table who were from Strasbourg, France.
After lunch, Mary, Cindy and Jodie checked into the hotel while I walked through the market and had a Festbier as I walked. The beverage was very refreshing.
At 8 pm we met at the old Rothenburg Rathaus (city hall) for an historic city tour by a reenactor of Rothenburg’s night watchman. This man’s job was to ensure that no one was on the street after dark within the walls of the city, as mandated by the city curfew. He told how the walls protected residents against attacks from Würzburg or Nuremberg or other threats to the safety of residents. The city became prosperous because it was the intersection of two major trade routes. The east/west route was from Asia to Paris while the north/south route was from Scandinavia to Rome. This positioned Rothenburg well to gain in wealth and importance. However, as trade routes moved, Rothenburg’s economy slowed. Despite the strong city walls completely surrounding it, the Protestant Rothenburg was overrun by Catholic troops in 1631 during the Thirty Years War. This left the previously prosperous city poor and nearly empty. In 1634, the bubonic plague swept through the city killing most of the remaining population. The city lived in poverty until the early 1800s, when city leaders realized that they could capitalize on their well-preserved medieval architecture. By advertising the city in Europe and America, Rothenburg started a comeback. By the late 1800s the city became known as a treasure of medieval architecture, and wealthy visitors were attracted to the city.
In 1945, Rothenburg was bombed by British forces, but much of the Old Town was spared. A Nazi general brought troops to Rothenburg and put the city in the crosshairs to be bombed by US forces. Hitler had declared that Rothenburg was "the most German of German towns." Nazi officials frequently took day trips to Rothenburg to visualize epitome of the German 'Home Town'. Although planned for complete destruction by bombing, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of War, John J. McCloy, had grown up in a home with a painting of Rothenburg that his mother had purchased when she was younger. He had always admired the beauty of the city. McCloy ordered the Army to not use artillery in taking Rothenburg. The battalion commander sent a group into Rothenburg to negotiate a surrender. The US offered to spare the city if the city from total destruction if they surrendered to the US. The Nazi general was out of the area so the second in command, Major Thömmes, met with the American officers and said that German troops would vacate the city the next morning. In doing so, Thömmes ignored Hitler’s orders to fight to the end. The city was saved from destruction by the Allied forces. McCloy was later honored as an honorary citizen of Rothenburg.
The night watchman tour ended around 9 pm so we walked the short distance back to the Reichsküchenmeister Hotel and went to sleep quickly.
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| Rothenburg's Christmas Market |
After lunch, Mary, Cindy and Jodie checked into the hotel while I walked through the market and had a Festbier as I walked. The beverage was very refreshing.
At 8 pm we met at the old Rothenburg Rathaus (city hall) for an historic city tour by a reenactor of Rothenburg’s night watchman. This man’s job was to ensure that no one was on the street after dark within the walls of the city, as mandated by the city curfew. He told how the walls protected residents against attacks from Würzburg or Nuremberg or other threats to the safety of residents. The city became prosperous because it was the intersection of two major trade routes. The east/west route was from Asia to Paris while the north/south route was from Scandinavia to Rome. This positioned Rothenburg well to gain in wealth and importance. However, as trade routes moved, Rothenburg’s economy slowed. Despite the strong city walls completely surrounding it, the Protestant Rothenburg was overrun by Catholic troops in 1631 during the Thirty Years War. This left the previously prosperous city poor and nearly empty. In 1634, the bubonic plague swept through the city killing most of the remaining population. The city lived in poverty until the early 1800s, when city leaders realized that they could capitalize on their well-preserved medieval architecture. By advertising the city in Europe and America, Rothenburg started a comeback. By the late 1800s the city became known as a treasure of medieval architecture, and wealthy visitors were attracted to the city.
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| Our group with the night watchman reenactor |
In 1945, Rothenburg was bombed by British forces, but much of the Old Town was spared. A Nazi general brought troops to Rothenburg and put the city in the crosshairs to be bombed by US forces. Hitler had declared that Rothenburg was "the most German of German towns." Nazi officials frequently took day trips to Rothenburg to visualize epitome of the German 'Home Town'. Although planned for complete destruction by bombing, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of War, John J. McCloy, had grown up in a home with a painting of Rothenburg that his mother had purchased when she was younger. He had always admired the beauty of the city. McCloy ordered the Army to not use artillery in taking Rothenburg. The battalion commander sent a group into Rothenburg to negotiate a surrender. The US offered to spare the city if the city from total destruction if they surrendered to the US. The Nazi general was out of the area so the second in command, Major Thömmes, met with the American officers and said that German troops would vacate the city the next morning. In doing so, Thömmes ignored Hitler’s orders to fight to the end. The city was saved from destruction by the Allied forces. McCloy was later honored as an honorary citizen of Rothenburg.
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| Rothenburg's Glockenspiel |
The night watchman tour ended around 9 pm so we walked the short distance back to the Reichsküchenmeister Hotel and went to sleep quickly.
Like Wurzburg, we had never been to Rothenburg in any of our previous trips to Germany but the city could be one of my favorite places in Germany.
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