Rothenburg I

After leaving France, we went to Germany for 4 days. We stayed in a walled town named Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

Rothenburg was about 40 percent destroyed by bombing in WWII, but before then was largely unchanged from the 1500/1600s. Because of shifting trade routes and the whims of empire building in Europe, Rothenburg was a very wealthy free-city early on, then stagnated from the mid-1600s until after WWII.

The town realized the tourist and historical potential in the town, and called on people world-wide to donate to the repair efforts. Money poured in from all over the world, and the town is beautifully restored today. The names and locations of the donors are etched in stone plates set into the inside of the town wall - you can see the plates by walking along the parapets.


Very cool, quite lovely, and a great place to spend 4 days!