Discover Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Accommodation in Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Rothenburg ob der Tauber can be explored through a variety of themes: municipal collections, evidence of Jewish history, notable buildings, and paths that lead from the market square into the valleys. When choosing accommodation for your stay, you can plan your days according to whether museums and the old town or walking and hiking routes are your priority. Specific differences can help when planning your outings: one circular route goes around the old town, another hike leads into the Tauber Valley, and a network of trails can be made up of several routes.
Stadtmauer und Kohlturm in Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Photo: Tilman2007 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Museums and historic sites
The RothenburgMuseum presents the municipal collections spanning eight centuries across more than 2,500 square metres. Its Judaica department focuses on evidence of Jewish culture in Rothenburg ob der Tauber. The German Christmas Museum is devoted to the history of Christmas and covers more than 250 square metres. The Medieval Crime Museum offers a different historical perspective: it is housed in the former Johanniterkommende, built in 1396, and is a museum of legal history that is considered the most important museum of its kind in Germany. The collections therefore differ not only in size but, above all, in subject matter—from municipal history and Jewish culture to Christmas and legal history.
The old town itself also leads to places with their own histories. Judengasse has borne its name since 1371 and is lined with characteristic half-timbered houses. It is considered the only preserved late medieval Jewish street in Europe; Jews and Christians lived side by side here. A historic mikveh is located in the cellar at Judengasse 10. The former Franciscan church, the oldest church in the town, houses the St. Francis Altar by Tilman Riemenschneider. Each of these places offers a different focus: historic coexistence, an underground mikveh, or an altar in a former church.
Compare hiking trails by distance and duration
Thirteen combinable circular hiking trails, with a total length of more than 170 kilometres, start and end at Rothenburg’s market square. The trails are signposted outside the historic old town. Length and stated duration provide a useful basis for comparing individual routes: the Rothenburg Tower Trail follows a route of about four kilometres around the old town and takes around two and a half hours. The Little Tauber Valley Hike is a similar length at 4.1 kilometres and takes about an hour and a half. It leads through hidden lanes in Rothenburg’s old town into the Tauber Valley and runs between the Double Bridge and Toppler Castle.
The W4 circular trail, “Via the Nature Trail,” offers a different kind of route: it is 5.3 to 7.6 kilometres long and follows a well-maintained hiking path through shady mixed forest above the Tauber and Schandtauber rivers. Check current trail conditions before setting out. The Rothenburg Tauber Mills Trail, in turn, runs from the historic old town through the Tauber and Schandertaub valleys to Detwang, passing a total of 15 mills. This allows you to distinguish between a loop around the old town, a hike through lanes and into the Tauber Valley, and a route with mills along the way, without confusing their respective distances or time estimates.
Town wall, views and riverside scenery
Large sections of Rothenburg’s town wall are accessible around the clock. Access conditions may change due to maintenance or safety reasons, so check them before your visit. The viewpoint at the Town Hall Tower is reached by climbing 220 steps. The Castle Garden is a small park high above the Tauber River, offering a different setting from the paths through lanes, forests or valleys. When planning a trip, you can give cultural sites and hikes the emphasis that suits your interests: the museum and history themes are clearly specified, while hikes can be compared by distance, duration or route.
Discover more destinations: Windelsbach, Reichelshofen, Neusitz, Ohrenbach, Wilburgstetten, Wolframs-Eschenbach, Langfurth and Adelshofen.
For the overarching travel overview: Ansbach.
