Germany: Rothenburg: City Council Upholds an 1898 Resolution to Follow Strict Guidelines for Planning Any New Architecture

Eighty miles southeast of Frankfurt, Germany lies Rothenburg, the ideal destination for travelers seeking a storybook setting nearly untouched by modern distractions. The city has a history of keeping the world at bay; its founders built walls to repel intruders, and walking along them now provides an intriguing way to view the characteristic red roofs and cobbled streets below. To maintain Rothenburg’s distinctive beauty, the city council upholds an 1898 resolution to follow strict guidelines for planning any new architecture.

In keeping with such devotion to the past, Rothenburg boasts the Medieval Crime Museum, the largest collection of instruments of torture in Europe. For those seeking a more benign excursion, the nearby Doll and Toy Museum beckons. Holiday enthusiasts can satisfy all their shopping needs at the Käthe Wohlfahrt Christmas Store, which houses over 40,000 decorations in a series of medieval buildings bedecked with trees, tinsel, and nutcrackers.

If the combination of torture devices, bric-a-brac, and decadent pastry has left you reeling, climb to the top of the Rathaus, or Town Hall, for another magnificent look at Rothenburg. There you can contemplate the resilience of a city that been periodically attacked, beset by plague, nearly destroyed by earthquakes, and even bombed during World War II. The inhabitants of Rothenburg have a legend to explain their pluck: in the 1600s an enemy army conquered the town and prepared to move in. When the Mayor of Rothenburg offered the prevailing general a tankard of wine, the general told him the citizens could keep their town if anyone present could drain the glass in three swallows. One brave man stepped forward, and saved Rothenburg. Even if the story contains more myth than fact, it perfectly illustrates the dedication and civic pride ever present in this living reenactment of the past.