Beyond the fairytale in Bavaria

I arrive in Rothenburg on a chilly winter afternoon, although not at the right time to enjoy the town’s famous winter market, the Reiterlesmarkt, which starts around the start of December and runs until December 23. Contrary to what you might expect, I’m not disappointed to be missing its most famous attraction.

Visitor numbers to this Unesco-listed city are high throughout the year but swell during the festive season; avoiding the biggest crowds means I can discover Rothenburg’s sights, attractions and centuries of turbulent history at a more leisurely pace.

Settlement in Rothenburg dates back to 970CE, but it wasn’t until 1170 that a town was officially founded, before it was granted Imperial City status in 1274 by the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

The city expanded and its fortifications grew, until, during the Middle Ages, Rothenburg became very rich thanks to its location along a vital trade route, a thriving textile industry and the surrounding fertile farmland. For a time, this pretty medieval spot was one of the wealthiest cities in the world.

However, its fortunes changed with a number of far bleaker periods including war, natural disasters and the bubonic plague, which all contributed to Rothenburg’s eventual demise. Of these, the Thirty Years War of 1618-1648 was one of the most tragic, and the one that has remained most firmly ingrained in local folklore.

The town sided with King Adolphus and the Protestants only to be besieged and conquered by General Tilly, leader of the imperial Catholic army. According to legend, General Tilly was intent on burning the city down but promised to spare Rothenburg if anyone could drink a gallon of wine in one fell swoop.

Fortunately, the plucky mayor stepped forward and saved the day. Today the story of the Meistertrunk is re-enacted every hour through mechanical clock figures on the Ratstrinkstube, or Councillor’s Tavern, in the market square.

The city’s past is best understood on a tour with the night watchman. I join the group at 8pm in the Market Square just as Hans Georg Baumgartner, dressed in a long black cape and carrying a halberd, emerges from the shadows.

He leads a fascinating — and highly entertaining — hour-long tour through the dark city streets, regaling us with tales of the brutality of medieval life, pointing out the town’s gallows and the metal contraption used for the “baker’s baptism”. If a baker was discovered to have cheated with his ingredients, then he was locked in a cage and dunked in water.

But what’s less well-known is that Rothenburg is home to an equally tumultuous Jewish heritage, and the next day I set off on a self-guided walking tour that delves deep into the city’s Jewish past.

Individual Jews are mentioned living in Rothenburg as early as 1180 and the first Jewish community is recorded in 1241. In the middle of the 13th century, the famous Talmud scholar Rabbi Meir ben Baruch lived and taught here, establishing a Talmudic school in today’s Kapellenplatz, near the White Tower. Alongside the two-storey school, the neighbourhood housed a synagogue, a community hall and a mikve.

Today, little remains in the cobbled square of its Jewish history (the six cornered star hanging outside the Guesthouse Butz refers to the brewers’ guild and not the Star of David) although Rabbi Meir is celebrated in various corners of the city. Hanging outside No 5 in Kapellenplatz is a bronze plaque celebrating the Jewish sage and nearby is the Rabbi Meir Garden.

But on the other side of town, you can still explore the Judaica Department at the Rothenburg Imperial City Museum, housed within an old Dominican convent. Established to commemorate Rabbi Meir’s 700th birthday, it’s an unflinching look at Rothenburg’s Jewish history including the waves of dispossession and expulsions starting in the 13th century.

Among the items on display are Jewish tombstones dating from 1266 and 1395 as well as the pogrom stone detailing in Hebrew the victims of the Rintfleisch massacres in 1298.
In the middle of the 14th century the Jewish community settled in the former city moat area and it’s this road, Judengasse (Jews’ Lane), that is among the most interesting in the city.

The road still exists today, with many of its wood-framed houses dating back to before 1500, making it the only intact Jewish ghetto from the Middle Ages. The difference being that here, the Rothenburg Jews lived side by side with their Christian neighbours.

The highlight is the Judengasse No 10 townhouse where a small mikve measuring almost two metres deep was discovered in the basement. Dating back to the early 15th century, it’s one of the oldest mikve found in its original setting in Germany.

Work is currently under way to transform the home into a new museum exploring the importance of mikvaot in Jewish culture, with an opening date scheduled for mid-October 2023.

If, as you explore, you start to feel Rothenburg is somehow familiar, there’s a good reason for this. The town’s architecture — whose skyline led it to be called the “Franconian Jerusalem” during the 16th century — also inspired Raymond Unwin, principal architect and planner of Hampstead Garden Suburb in London.

Unwin visited the Bavarian town before the outbreak of the First World War and used many of its features in his designs for the London neighbourhood, including the shapes of roofs, stairwells, small turrets, and, of course, the Great Wall that separates Hampstead Heath Extension from the Suburb itself.

To get a good look at the original, you can explore the city walls, then climb the stairs near Burg Tor (Castle Tower) and follow the Tower Trail to see Rothenburg from up high.

This 2.5-mile trail along the upper city walls rewards visitors with panoramic views over the ancient streets, pointy red roofs and the many different towers and gateways that encircle the town.

For a final taste of tradition, make it a literal one: back at Market Square, I sample two of the city’s most famous local treats, starting with the schneeball or snowball, a baseball-sized crispy pastry that is served drowned in powdered sugar.

Once reserved for special occasions only, today snowballs are available year-round and the best place to try them is at Bakery Friedel, one of the oldest bakeries in Rothenburg.

Next door is a bar run by Albert Thürauf, an ebullient fourth-generation vintner who pours guests glasses of hot mulled Glühwein straight from a teapot.

In Rothenburg, this warming drink is made with Franconian white wine rather than the usual red, and a glass is the perfect way to toast this captivating and charming city.

Getting There

The closest airport to Rothenburg ob der Tauber is Nuremberg, around 90 minutes away by train. Return flights from Stansted to Nuremberg cost from £66 with Ryanair.

Rooms at the Hotel Rappen cost from around £70 B&B.

Routes for the self-guided Jewish walking tours are available from the Rothenburg Tourist Information Office on Market Square.

For more information, go to germany.travel

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