Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany
Stroll on Rothenburg’s town wall to the Wolfgang’s Church After visiting
Wolfgang’s Church, the Tower Trail turns towards the Castle Garden. You’ll pass
the Strafturm and RothenburgMuseum before getting to the Burgtor and Castle
Garden. Time for a small break while strolling along the Tower Trail? Then the
shaded Castle Garden is the perfect place. You can follow the Tower Trail
further along the Burggasse. Here the eye is inevitably drawn to the Tauber
Valley and thus also passes over Rothenburg’s An der Eich vineyard.
At the Medieval Crime and Justice Museum, the Tower Trail heads south, past the
world-famous Plönlein and Kobolzeller Tor into the Spital quarter of Rothenburg
ob der Tauber. In the south of the old town, the Spital gate bastion is the most
recent part of the city’s fortifications – it was completed in 1537. The
lettering on the gate’s arch says “Pax intrantibus – salus exeuntibus”, meaning
“Peace to those who enter and health to those who leave” – a pleasant motto for
a hospitable and cosmopolitan city like Rothenburg ob der Tauber. The Japanese
airport Haneda in Tokyo adopted this motto for its mission statement.
The Plönlein is a perfect starting point for exploring the most beautiful
historic houses in the old quarter. Through Untere Schmiedgasse, visitors
walking from the Plönlein will soon reach Alter Stadtgraben. The term “old”
(“Alt”) isn’t a coincidence: the moat in front of the original city wall was
filled in after the expansion of the old quarter in late 12th century and new
residential space was developed here. One of the oldest houses of the time still
in its original state can now be visited as a museum, or as part of a tour with
the Craftsman’s Widow Walburga: the old Rothenburg Craftsman’s House. From here
it’s only a few yards to another world-famous photo subject in Rothenburg, the
Roeder Arch and Markusturm. In the 13th century, at the time of the first city
wall at Rothenburg ob der Tauber, this was one of four original town gates. You
can find more information consulting Rothenburg’s Tower Trail. Around 1900, the
roof shape of the Markusturm inspired London architects in their creation of the
“Arcade House” and “Temple Fortune House” building ensemble as an entrance to
the Hampstead Garden Suburb. More information to these facts please see
“Picturesque – Rothenburg as Landscape Gardens”. If you’re watching out for
storks in Rothenburg, you’ll find them in spring and summer on the roof of the
Markusturm.
A short walk towards the Marktplatz from the Markusturm then takes you towards
the magnificent patricians’ street in the west of the city. On the way to the
Castle Garden, you can find some of the oldest residences in Rothenburg on
Herrngasse. The building now operated as the herrnschlösschen Hotel is
considered the oldest stone house in the city.
boka tours annars
- Plönlein
- Gerlachschmiede
- Stadtmauer