Stand on the bottom of Market Square and spin 360 degrees clockwise, starting with the Town Hall tower. Now do it again, this time more slowly, following these notes:
Town Hall and Tower: Rothenburg's tallest spire is the Town Hall tower (Rathausturm). At 200 feet, it stands atop the old Town Hall, a white Gothic 13th century building. The best view of the town can be enjoyed from the black top of the tower (€2 and a rigorous but interesting climb, 214 steps, narrow and steep near the top...closed Nov-March). After a fire burned down part of the original building, a new Town Hall was built alongside what survived of the old one. This half of the rebuilt complex is in the Renaissance style from 1570.
In 1631, the Catholic army took the Protestant town and was about to do its rape, pillage, and plunder thing. As was the etiquette, the mayor had to give the conquering general a welcoming drink. The general enjoyed a huge tankard of local wine. Feeling really good, he told the mayor, "Hey, if you can drink this entire three-liter tankard of wine in one gulp, I'll spare your town." the mayor amazed everyone by drinking the entire thing, and Rothenburg was saved.
While this is a nice story, it was dreamed up in the late 1800s for a theatrical play designed (effectively) to promote a romantic image of the town. In actuality, if Rothenburg was spared, it happened because it bribed its way out of a jam. It was occupied and ransacked several times In the Thirty Years' War, and it never recovered-which is why it's such a well-preserved time capsule today.
For the best show, don't watch the clock; watch the open-mouthed tourists gasp as the old windows flip open. At the late shows, the square flickers with camera flashes.
Print Shop and Baumeister Haus: At the bottom end of the square, the cream-colored building on the corner has a fine print shop upstairs. The Ernst Geissendorfer print shop has sold fine prints, etchings, and paintings on the corner of Market Square since 1908. If you're interested in more expensive prints and etchings than those on display, ask Frau Geissendorfer to take you upstairs-she'll offer you a free shot of German brandy while you browse.
Adjoining that is the Baumeister Haus, featuring a famous Renaissance facade with statues of the seven virtues and the seven vices-the former supporting the latter. The statues are copies; the originals are in the Imperial City Museum. The green house below that is the former home of the 15th century Mayor Toppler (it's now the recommended Gasthof Goldener Greifen(restaurant)).
St. George's fountain: 17th century. The long metal gutters slid, routing the water into the villagers' buckets. Rothenburg had an ingenious water system. Built on a rock, it had one real source above town, which was plumbed to serve a series of fountains; water flowed from high to low through Rothenburg. Its many fountains had practical functions beyond providing drinking water (some were stocked with fish on market days and during times of siege). Water was used for fighting fires, and because of its plentiful water supply-and its policy of requiring relatively wide lanes as fire breaks-the town never burned entirely, as so many neighboring villages did.
Two fine buildings behind the fountain show the old-time lofts with warehouse doors and pulleys on top for hoisting. All over town, lofts were filled with grain and corn. A year's supply was required by the city so they could survive any siege. The building behind the fountain is an art gallery showing off work by members of the local artists' association. To the right is Marien Apotheke, an old time pharmacy mixing old and new Rothenburg style.
Herrngasse: The broad street running under the Town Hall tower is Herrngasse. The town originated with its castle (built in 1142 but now long gone; only the castle garden remains). Herrngasse connected the castle to Market Square. On the left wall by the arch under the Town Hall tower (between the new and old Town Halls) are the town's measuring rods-a reminder that
medieval Germany was made of 300 independent little countries, each with its own weights and measures. Merchants and shoppers knew that these were the local standards: the rod (4.3 yards), the Schuh (or shoe, roughly a foot), and the Ell (from elbow to fingertip). Notice the protruding cornerstone. These are all over town-originally to protect buildings from reckless horse carts (and vice versa).
Under the arch you'll find the...
Historical Town Hall Vaults (Historiengewolbe): This grade-schoolish little museum gives a waxy but interesting look at Rothenburg during the Catholic-vs.-Protestants Thirty Years' Wat. With helpful English descriptions, it offers a look at "the fateful year 1631," a replica of the mythical Meistertrunk tankard, and a dungeon complete with three dank cells and some torture lore (€2, closed Nov-March).
Leaving the museum, turn left (past a much-sketched and photographed venerable door), and walk through the courtyard to a square called...
Green Market (Gruner Markt): Once a produce market, this parking lot fills up with Christmas Shops during December. Notice the clay-tile roofs. These "beaver tail" tiles became standard after thatched roofs were outlawed to prevent fires. Today, all of the town roofs are made of these. The little fences keep the snow from falling, and catch tiles that blow off during storms. The free public WC is on your left, the recommended Friese shop is on your right, and straight ahead is St. Jakob's church.
Outside the church, you'll see the 14th century statues (mostly original) showing Jesus praying in Gethsemane, a common feature of Gothic churches. The artist is anonymous, because in the Gothic age (before-Albrecht Durer) artists were just nameless craftspeople working only for the glory of God. Notice the nub of a sandstone statue on the wall-a rare original-looking pretty bad after 500 years of weather and, more recently, pollution. Most original statues are now in the city museum. The better preserved statues you see on the church are copies.
If it's your wedding day, take the first entrance. Otherwise, use the second door to enter...
St Jakob's Church: Built in the 14th century, this church has been Lutheran since 1544. The interior was "purified" by Romantics in the 19th century-cleaned of everything Baroque or not original, and refitted in the Neo-Gothic style (for example, the baptismal font and the pulpit above the second pew look Gothic, but are actually Neo-Gothic). The stained-glass windows behind the altar are originals from the 1330's. (Entrance costs €2)
At the back of the church, take the stairs that lead up behind the pipe organ. In the loft, you'll find the artistic highlight of Rothenburg and perhaps the most wonderful wood carving in all of Germany: the glorious 500-year-old, 35-foot-high Altar of the Holy Blood. Tilman Riemenschneider, the Michelangelo of German Woodcarvers, carved this from 1499 to 1504 to hold a precious rock-crystal capsule, set in a cross that contains a scrap of tablecloth miraculously stained in the shape of a cross by a drop of communion wine. It's a realistic commotion, showing that Riemenschneider-while a High Gothic artist-was ahead of his time. Below, in the scene of the Last Supper, Jesus gives Judas a piece of bread, marking him as the traitor, while John lays his head on Christ's lap. Everything is portrayed exactly as described in the Bible. On the left: Jesus enters Jericho, with the shy tax collector Zacchaeus looking on from his tree. Notice the fun attention to detail-down to the nails on the horseshoe. On the right: Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane. Notice how Judas, with his big bag of cash, could be removed from the scene-illustrated by photos on the wall nearby-as was the tradition for the four days leading up to Easter.
Head back down the stairs to the church's main hall. Go up and take a close look at the main altar (from 1466 by Friedrich Herlin). Below Christ are statues of six saints. St James (Jakob in German) is the one with the shell. He's the saint of pilgrims, and this church was a stop on the medieval pilgrimage route to Santiago (St James in Spanish) de Compostela in Spain. Study the painted panels-ever see Peter with spectacles? Around the back of the altarpiece (upper left) is a painting of Rothenburg's Market Square in the 15th century-looking much like it does today, with the exception of the full-Gothic Town Hall (as it was before the big fire of 1501). Notice Christ's face on the veil of Veronica (center of back side). It follows you as you walk from side to side-it must have given the religious the heebie-jeebies four centuries ago.
The small altar to the left is also worth a look. It's a century older than the main altar. Notice the unusual Trinity: the Father and Son are literally bridged by a dove, which represents the Holy Spirit. Stepping back, you can see that Jesus is standing on a skull-clearly "overcoming death."
Before leaving the front of the church, notice the old medallions above the carved choir stalls. They feature the coats of arms of Rothenburg's leading families and portraits of city and church leaders.
Leave the church and, from its outside steps, walk around the corner to the right and under the chapel (built over the road). Go two blocks down Klingengasse and stop at the corner of Klosterhof Street. Looking down Klingengasse, you see the...
Klingentor: This cliff tower was Rothenburg's water reservoir. From 1595 until 1910, a copper tank high on the tower provided clean spring water (pumped by river power) to the privileged. To the right of Klingentor is a good stretch of wall rampart to walk. To the left, the wall is low and simple, lacking a rampart because it guards only a cliff. Now find the shell decorating a building on the street corner next to you. That's the symbol of St. James, indicating that this building is associated with the church.
Turn left down Klosterhof to reach the...
Imperial City Museum: You'll get a scholarly sweep through Rothenburg's history at this museum, housed in the former Dominican convent. Cloistered nuns used the lazy Susan embedded in the wall (to the right of the museum door) to give food to the poor without being seen. Highlights include The Rothenburg Passion, a 12 panel series of paintings from 1492 showing scenes leading up to Christ's crucifixion; an exhibit of Jewish culture in Rothenburg through the ages; a 14th century convent kitchen with a working model of the lazy Susan and a massive chimney; romantic paintings of the town; the fine Baumann collection of weapons an armor; and sandstone statues from the church and Baumeister Haus (the seven vices and seven virtues).
Convent Garden: this spot is a peaceful place to work on your tan...or mix a poisoned potion. Enjoy the herb garden. Monks and nuns, who were responsible for concocting herbal cures in the olden days, often tended herb gardens. (closed Nov-March)
Go downhill to the...
Town Wall: This part of the wall takes advantage of the natural fortification provided by the cliff, and is therefore much smaller than the ramparts. Angle left along the wall to the big street (Herngasse), then right under the Burgtor tower. Notice the tiny "eye of the needle" door cut into the big door. If trying to get into town after curfew, you could bribe the guard to let you through this door (which was small enough to keep out any armed attackers).
Step through the gate and outside the wall. Look around and imagine being locked out in the year 1400. This was a wooden drawbridge (see chain slits above). Notice the "pitch nose" mask-designed to pour boiling Nutella on anyone attacking. high above is the town coat of arms: a red castle (roten Burg).
Castle Garden (Burggarten): the garden before you was once that red castle (destroyed in the 14th century). Today it's a picnic friendly park. The chapel (50 yards into the park on the left) is the only bit of the original castle to survive. It's now a memorial to local Jews killed in a 1298 slaughter. A few steps beyond that is a grapevine trellis that provides a fine picnic spot. If you walk all the way out to the garden's far end, you'll find a great viewpoint (well past the tourists, and considered the best place to kiss by romantic local teenagers). But the views of the lush Tauber River Valley below are just as good from the top end of the park.
Return to the tower, cross carefully under the pitch nose, and hike back up Herngasse to your starting point.
Herngasse: Many towns have a Herngasse, where the richest patricians and merchants (the Herren) lived. Predictably, it's your best chance to see the town's finest old mansions. Strolling back to Market Square you'll pass he old-time puppet theatre (German only) and the Franciscan church (from 1285, oldest in town). The house at #18 is the biggest patrician house on the street. The family, which has lived here for three centuries, disconnected the four old-time doorbells. Their door- big enough to allow a carriage in (with a human- sized door cut into it)- is typical of the age. The Kathe Wohlfahrt Christmas Shops are your last, and perhaps greatest, temptations before reaching your starting point and ending point: Market Square.
I pretty much had the city to myself today. It sucked because a lot of things were closed, but it was really nice at the same time. I hope you enjoyed your little stroll through Rothenburg. I used the family's computer to organize the pictures for you...enjoy!!
The pictures are amazing. I can't even imagine how beautiful everything is in person. I know pictures can't even come close to capturing the true beauty. This was very interesting...thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteWhat a cool place-I felt transported not only to a different place but also to a different time. It's really interesting to hear some of the history of a town that's been around for so long.
ReplyDelete