Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany - Bavaria - Drei

The pictures ENLARGE if you click on them.

Rothenburg, a German medieval walled town.

In a previous posting I wrote about the clock tower story, but more interesting than watching the clock is watching the people watch the clock.


Inside St. Jakob's Church is the 12 Apostles altar from 1546. It is permanently left in its open festival-day position.

Inside St. Jakob's Church is the 500 year old "Altar of the Holy Blood" by Tilman Riemenschneider.

The pictures ENLARGE if you click on them.

During the day Rothenburg is busy with tourists, but Catherine and I spent the night and practically had the town to ourselves.

Examples of Schneeballen, a Rothenburg specialty that is a terrible tasting pastry.

Use the search box at the bottom of this page to find previous postings on London, Amsterdam, Japan, Germany, Austria, Yellowstone, New York, Boston, Switzerland, Alps, Plymouth Mass., Washington DC, San Francisco, Manila, San Diego or Quebec.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany - Bavaria - Zwei

The pictures ENLARGE if you click on them.

Rothenburg is a pleasant medieval village. Here Catherine pretends she has her own motorized bike.

Catherine and I took a tour of Rothenburg with Hans Georg Baumgartner, "The Night Watchman".



A closer look at the town clock that commemorates the event in 1631 when the walled town was under siege from the Imperial forces of Count Tilly. Count Tilly told the city that he would spare them if anyone could drink a tankard containing a gallon of wine in one drink. The mayor successfully took the challenge and the city was saved. The clock also has a sun dial above the regular clock.

Catherine and I always got a kick out of seeing the little "Smart" cars in Europe.

This is what it looks like when you don't have a tripod and you put the camera on the ground to take a picture. At least it is a picture of the two of us in Rothenburg.

When we were driving to Rothenburg we saw a breed of cow we had never seen before. When we were in Rothenburg we saw the truck below with a drawing of this cow and I was able to do some research to discover that this region of Bavaria has cattle from the local Hohenlohe breeds of Limpurger, Fleckvieh and red-yellow Franconian

The pictures ENLARGE if you click on them.

You can see part of the medieval wall that protected Rothenburg.

Use the search box at the bottom of this page to find previous postings on London, Amsterdam, Japan, Germany, Austria, Yellowstone, New York, Boston, Switzerland, Alps, Plymouth Mass., Washington DC, San Francisco, Manila, San Diego or Quebec.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany - Bavaria

The pictures ENLARGE if you click on them.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a well-preserved medieval walled town. The name Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a shortened version of Rothenburg oberhalb der Tauber that means Rothenburg over the Tauber. That is because the town is located on top of a mount overlooking the Tauber river. The name Rothenburg comes from the German words Rot (Red) and Burg (burg, medieval fortified town), referring to the red colour of the roofs of the houses which overlook the river. Rothenburg is the inspiration for the village in Walt Disney's story of Pinocchio. Most of the surviving buildings in Rothenburg were built in the 1400's.

View of the skyline of Rothenburg.

Catherine pretending to be sleepy.

Catherine and I had a small, but very nice room at the Hotel Kloster-Strüble.

A famous street in Rothenburg at Koboldzellersteig and Spittalgasse.

Part of the wall around Rothenburg.

We had a very nice dinner at the Hotel Kloster-Strüble.

The pictures ENLARGE if you click on them.

This building is the Ratstrinkstube, and it contains a clock which re-enacts the historic meistertrunk daily. According to legend, the meistertrunk commemorates the event in 1631 when the walled town was under siege from the Imperial forces of Count Tilly. Count Tilly told the city that he would spare them if anyone could drink a tankard containing a gallon of wine in one drink. The mayor successfully took the challenge and the city was saved. The clock re-enacts the event hourly.

Town Hall Square of Rothenburg.

Use the search box at the bottom of this page to find previous postings on London, Amsterdam, Japan, Germany, Austria, Yellowstone, New York, Boston, Switzerland, Alps, Plymouth Mass., Washington DC, San Francisco, Manila, San Diego or Quebec.

Bavaria Germany - Neuschwanstein Castle

The pictures ENLARGE if you click on them.

Me with the Neuschwanstein Castle castle in the background.

Catherine and I took a day trip from Munich to visit the Neuschwanstein castle. Below is a little background on King Ludwig that built the castle.

"Mad King" Ludwig Friedrich Wilhelm II, King of Bavaria was king of Bavaria from 1864 until shortly before his death 1886. Ludwig's sanity or lack thereof, was a hotly disputed issue near the end of his life. Ludwig ascended to the Bavarian throne at 18, following his father's early death.

Due to the loss of Bavarian independence, Ludwig became increasingly withdrawn from the royal court and government. In the 1880s, Ludwig spent much of his time in seclusion in the Bavarian Alps. There he built several expensive fairytale castles including Neuschwanstein Castle.

Mystery surrounds Ludwig's death on Lake Starnberg. Some people believe that Ludwig was murdered by his political enemies while attempting to escape from Berg. Ludwig asked to take a walk with Professor Gudden. The two men never returned. King Ludwig and Professor Gudden were found dead floating in the water near the shore of Lake Starnberg. Ludwig's death was officially ruled a suicide by drowning but there have always been doubts about the circumstances of his death. Ludwig was known to be a strong swimmer, the water was less than waist-deep where his body was found, and the official autopsy report indicated that no water was found in his lungs.

Catherine with the Neuschwanstein Castle.

The yellow Hohenschwangau Castle stands below Neuschwanstein Castle. It was "Mad" King Ludwig's boyhood home. Hohenschwangau was originally built in the 1100's. It was later ruined by Napoleon. Ludwig's father, King Maximilian II then later acquired the castle when he was crown prince and had it rebuilt in the romantic, neo-Gothic style.

Neuschwanstein Castle

The Grswang valley.

Linderhof Castle, located in the Grswang valley, was built in the style of the time of King Louis XIV of France. It is the only one of Ludwig's three castles that was ever completed. His father, King Maximillian II, had earlier built a hunting lodge in the vicinity.

Inside Linderhof Castle.

Ludwig Friedrich Wilhelm II, King of Bavaria - His bed in Linderhof Castle.

Chandelier in Linderhof Castle.

Chandelier in Linderhof Castle.

The pictures ENLARGE if you click on them.

The grounds at Chandelier in Linderhof Castle.

The grounds at Chandelier in Linderhof Castle.

Fountain on the grounds at Chandelier in Linderhof Castle.

Linderhof Castle.

Use the search box at the bottom of this page to find previous postings on London, Amsterdam, Japan, Germany, Austria, Yellowstone, New York, Boston, Switzerland, Alps, Plymouth Mass., Washington DC, San Francisco, Manila, San Diego or Quebec.