Rothenburg ob der Tauber Germany Bavaria
14
Cruises availables
At departure or passage at this port
Riviera Travel (6 Cruises)
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Rothenburg sits on no navigable river: this is a call with no berth and no gangway. Ships stay moored on the Main, at Würzburg or Ochsenfurt, and send passengers by coach along the Romantic Road.
About an hour from Würzburg, through Franconian vineyards and villages. Factor in the return trip when planning your day: a short call does not leave much time on site.
Start with the covered rampart walk, which nearly circles the town: it is the best introduction, because you grasp the place through its walls. Follow with the Plönlein and the market square, and save thirty minutes for the altarpiece in St. James's church.
A small triangular square south of the centre where a yellow half-timbered house, a fountain and two towers line up behind one another. It is one of the most photographed corners in Germany, and it fills up quickly by midday.
Allow a good half hour for half a circuit, longer if you stop at every arrow slit. You climb through one of the towers and walk between the rooftops and the battlements, with gardens passing below.
A legend from the Thirty Years' War. In 1631 the mayor, Nusch, is said to have saved the town by draining a tankard of more than three litres in one go. The clock on the old councillors' tavern replays the scene at set hours on the market square.
It is worth a long look. Carved by Tilman Riemenschneider in the early 16th century, the Holy Blood altarpiece catches the apostles of the Last Supper mid-movement in limewood. It is the town's most important work of art.
Yes, and two museums aim straight at them: the Medieval Crime Museum with its instruments of justice and pillories, and the Christmas museum where trees and ornaments glitter all year. The rampart walk is a hit with younger visitors too.
Distances are short but the ground is unforgiving: cobbled streets, lanes that rise and fall, stairs inside the towers. Good shoes are necessary, and the rampart walk does not suit everyone.
The euro. The local speciality is the Schneeball, a ball of sweet pastry sold in every bakery in the centre, in a dozen flavours. Craft shops selling cutlery, gingerbread and wooden ornaments occupy cellars and back courtyards worth a detour.
