Austausch an der Uni Mannheim 08: Rothenburg ob der Tauber

A medieval jewel

Rothenburg ob der Tauber, which may seem to be a long German name, actually means "Rothenburg over the Tauber", and the Tauber is a river in the northern part of the Bavarian state. Well known for its preserved medieval town, Rothenburg ob der Tauber is indeed one of the most beautiful medieval gems around in Germany, although it is a rather small town and 3 hours is probably all that is needed to check out every corner of the town.

One of the entrances to the medieval town, from the direction of the Bahnhof

The pavement of the Altstadt is preserved to the extent that the lanes are cobbled, stoned, and uneven.

The Rathaus on the left. It looks like some cartoon Flintstone house, that you see in fairy tales.

The medieval houses are magnificantly picturesque and tastefully painted with pastel colours.

The view from the Rathaus

In order to get the best view of the town, I climbed up the Rathaus and squeezed myself into a small exit at the top of the Rathaus. From the top I could see the whole town and the town walls that enclose the town. It was a wonderful sight as the pictures below testify. Moreover the snow that was sliding or beginning to melt on the roofs added more taste to the photos:

The same view as the previous picture except this time from the top of the Rathaus.Notice the snow on the roofs.
Can you see the old town wall?

Unlike the town wall in Nürnberg which was actually a replica of the old town wall that was destroyed by the Allies in Jan 1945, the town wall at Rothenburg ob der Tauber is original. It has existed since the 13th century. How is it so that the town was spared from the Allies during WW2? It turns out that actually Nazis were sent to defend the town during WW2 and the Allies were on the verge of completely flattening the town. In fact, it was mentioned that quite a signifiant proportion of the whole town was damaged, slightly less than 50%, but the Altstadt emerged relatively unscared. But what was more important was that the US Assistant Secetary of War John McCloy understood the historic importance and beauty of the town and so he ordered the military not to fire artillery shells at the town, thereby preserving the town but capturing it using other means.

I am not sure if the cannons here are from medieval times as well.

The square holes in the walls are where the cannon barrels are positioned.
Plönlein, a fork in the road, which is one of the sights which appear in most postcards of Rothenburg ob der Tauber