"Cycling to Tauberrettersheim" Tauberrettersheim by Nemorino

Tauberrettersheim Travel Guide: 14 reviews and 35 photos

Historic stone bridge over the Tauber River

Tauberrettersheim is a town of 839 people in the Tauber Valley just five and a half kilometers upstream from Weikersheim. It is also nearly three kilometers upstream from Schäftersheim and roughly the same distance downhill from Queckbronn.

The name Tauberrettersheim means Tauber-Rescuer's-Home or maybe Tauber-Savior's-Home, though I have never found any explanation of how it got that name. (If you know, please tell me.) 37 kilometers downstream from Tauberrettersheim there is a town with the similar-sounding name of Tauberbischofsheim (Tauber-Bishop's-Home), which most Germans have heard of because their Olympic fencing team does its training there.

The classic Tauber Valley bicycle route

Both Tauberbischofsheim and Tauberrettersheim are located on the "classic" Tauber Valley bicycle route, which starts at Rothenburg ob der Tauber and goes downstream for one hundred kilometers to Wertheim, where the Tauber River flows into the Main.

This "classic" route is very popular with us older cyclists because it goes right down the valley and is therefore flat or slightly downhill all the way. I have shown some of the places along this "classic" route in the Off the Beaten Path tips on my Weikersheim page.

There is also a parallel cycling route called the "sportive" route which goes up and down lots of hills just south of the Tauber Valley, for you young folks who like this sort of thing.

Religious statuary in Tauberrettersheim

When you cycle the five and a half kilometers from Weikersheim to Tauberrettersheim you at some point cross the invisible boundary between Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria.

You also cross the invisible religious boundary between Protestant and Catholic communities, but this difference becomes very visible when you get to Tauberrettersheim because the town is full of religions symbols and statuary.

Not all communities in Bavaria are predominantly Catholic, but most of them are and Tauberrettersheim certainly is, and they make quite a show of it, perhaps to set themselves off from their nearby Protestant neighbors.

In the year 1987 Tauberrettersheim had 754 inhabitants, of whom 719 (= 95 %) were Roman Catholics and 32 were Protestants. (That leaves three unaccounted for.)

Bavaria keeps close track of this sort of thing because predominantly Catholic communities are entitled to an extra holiday, Maria's Ascension into Heaven on August 15th.

Predominantly Protestant communities also used to have an extra holiday called Buß- und Bettag (Penitence and Prayer Day), but that was in November when nobody was particularly in the mood, and it was abolished as a holiday in 1995.

Last visit to Tauberrettersheim: Jul 2009
Intro Updated Jan 7, 2012
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Reviews (14)

1. Cigarette machine - Tauberrettersheim

Cigarette machines Warnings and Dangers (1)

Photos: 1. Cigarette machine 2. Another cigarette machine Catholic or Protestant, rich or poor, urban or rural, every... more travel advice

1. House with solar panels - Tauberrettersheim

Solar panels Local Customs (4)

Photos: 1. House with solar panels 2. Solar panels mounted on a garage 3. Another house with solar panels A very... more travel advice

Ornamental well and pump Local Customs (4)

Photos: 1. Ornamental well 2. Ornamental pump Tauberrettersheim today is a prosperous town with a perfectly functioning... more travel advice

Volunteer fire brigade - Tauberrettersheim

Volunteer fire brigade Local Customs (4)

As in many other rural towns throughout Germany, the volunteer fire brigade in Tauberrettersheim is one of the most... more travel advice

Off The Beaten Path (6)
See All Jews in Tauberrettersheim
Things to Do (2)
See All Balthasar Neumann's stone bridge

Hotels (1)
Gasthaus Krone
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Comments (34)

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lmkluque Oct 31, 2012 at 10:14 AM

Sounds like a nice little town to visit. Thanks for the tour Don!
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  Nemorino Nov 1, 2012 at 4:01 PM
  
  Hi Linda, thanks for your ratings and nice comment.
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evaanna Jan 7, 2012 at 4:59 AM

Excellent page on this scenic Bavarian town, Don. I envy you the great bike rides in the country there. I wonder if you can recognise the building of the old synagogue or if it has been completely altered?
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MD2nd Jun 28, 2011 at 3:50 AM

Beautiful photos and great tips of Tauberrettersheim! Thanks for visiting my little Bavaria pages. I too thought that Muhr lake didn't look like an "artificial Stausee". Nice place however.
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Martinewezel Feb 2, 2011 at 7:38 AM

The streets in Tauberettersheim look indeed spic and span. They mostly do in those nice Bavarian towns and villages. Funny detail of the sweeping dwarf :-)
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kris-t Jan 29, 2011 at 6:07 AM

An other lovely Bavarian town... Thanks Don for checking out our Toronto page.
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traveldave Nov 30, 2010 at 12:08 PM

I enjoyed learning about this town I'd never heard of. Although I'm not a cyclist, riding that trail sounds like a nice activity. Off to New Mexico in a couple of days, so I'll be in touch next week.
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breughel Jul 23, 2010 at 12:58 PM

The name of this town is by itself a story: Tauberettersheim = "Pigeonsaversvillage" if I am not wrong! I know, I forgot an "r" at the river Tauber but even "Tauberretter" must hide some legend.
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balhannah Apr 26, 2010 at 1:39 AM

Interesting page. We do the same with solar panels, as for the cigarette's, that was banned years ago, and they are making more & more laws against smokers here!
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Yaqui Mar 20, 2010 at 8:04 PM

I really enjoy hearing and learning about charming places like Tauberrettersheim. Lovely page!
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richiecdisc Mar 18, 2010 at 6:51 PM

A thorough and enticing account of this cycling route, Don. Love the half-timbered houses and small villages though I also would rather live in the city and visit these places.