"Romantic Rothenburg" Rothenburg ob der Tauber by nicolaitan

Rothenburg ODT is one of Europe's best preserved medieval villages and one of the prizes on Germany's famed Romantic Road. Like all these villages in Europe, commercialization is a way of life but unlike so many Rotherburg has real and worthwhile touristic attractions other than its attractiveness and antiquity with every footstep. The relatively small commercial district in the center of the old town maintains its charm with locally owned vendors and eating places. Branches of international enterprises are pleasantly absent. Incredibly, we saw no on-street tacky kiosks.

The medieval village is understandably overrun with tourists but did not seem overcrowded and much of the village was quaint, empty, and on the surface unadulterated by the 21st Century. Its major museum and church are bona fide attractions in their own right and deserve visits. And for those fortunate enought to stay overnight when the day trippers like us leave, there are multiple delightful and well-decorated hotels.

The town sits on a 200 foot limestone cliff overlooking the Tauber River valley. It is no more than 2.5 times its medieval population, now 15000, with many occupied by manufacturing of textiles, automobile related items, and electronics.

As early as 500 BC, Celtic tribes inhabited the mountain overlooking today's Tauber River and before 1000 AC, a settlement now the Detwang area of Rotherburg was founded. Its first imperial castle was built in 1142 for Emporer Konrad III. In 1274 Rotherburg became a free imperial city and developed into a major trading and commerce center. By the late 14 Century, under the leadership of the famed mayor Heinrich Toppler, the city controlled over 400 square km with a town population of 6000.

In 1408, Toppler was imprisoned and died, probably murdered, for financial impropriety. A brilliant leader, he was also a shady character ( Toppler means gambler in German) and his downfall was sudden. Rotherburg would never again have such a dynamic leader. The city's power and financial strength waned, with a significant military defeat in 1525 during the Peasant's Revolt. Conversion to Protestantism in 1544 offended the HRE, accelerating the decline. Defeat during the Thirty Years War was the end of Rothernburg as an important city and in 1802 it was appended to Bavaria.

By the mid-19th Century, writers and artists discovered this quaint medieval town, beginning the "Romantic Rothernburg" concept which continues to this day. WWII saw little damage to the historic section, rapidly repaired to original appearance. The latest invading force is only touristic.

A Jewish presence can be traced to 1180 when a rabbi is mentioned in the town archives. By law, only Jews could lend money and deal in other financial matters, so the community prospered as Rotherburg became a major trade center in the 12 - 13th Centuries, and accounted for 15% of the population. The city was also home to Rabbi Meir ben Baruch, the Maharam, from 1246 - 86, Germany's greatest Talmudic scholar, who attracted many followers and visitors seeking his teaching and advice. In 1286, King Rudolf I took away personal freedoms for Jews and Meir fled. He was captured and imprisoned for 7 years, dying in an Alsace fortress. Further woe struck the Jewish community in 1298 in the Rindfleisch
pogroms in which 10000 German Jews including 80% of those in Rothenburg were murdered. Multiple lesser pogroms followed in the 14th Century and the ultimate downfall of the German Jews came with the passage of laws allowing non-Jews to lend money. In 1520, the last Jews fled Rothernburg rather than wear badges indicating their faith.

Eight Jewish families returned in the 1880's, but Rothernburg was virulently anti-Semitic and the last of them left in 1938. Much of the Jewish Quarter was destroyed by WWII bombing.

Little remains of the Jewish community. Judengasse was the center of the Jewish area, but is not prominently promoted and the site of the synagogue is now a carpark. The castle garden contains a memorial stone and a small section of the city museum is devoted to the local Jewish heritage.