October 31, 2026
Reformation Day — Public Holiday in Select States
What this means for you
Closures of institutions and shops are possible on that date.
What to do
Check the current status before you arrive.
Traveling to Rothenburg ob der Tauber?
Enter your dates and see what NoStressTravel has for your exact stay.
📷 Diego Delso / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a fortified market town perched above the Tauber valley, which held the status of a Free Imperial City from 1274. Around 1400 it had over six thousand inhabitants and ranked among the ten largest cities in the Holy Roman Empire; today the population stands at around 11,500, with only 2,500 living within the walls. An air raid on 31 March 1945 destroyed approximately 275 houses — nearly a third of the town, concentrated largely in the eastern half — while the western part, which contains most of the historic monuments, was left unscathed. Restoration was funded by donations from around the world, and stone plaques bearing the names of benefactors can still be seen set into the town walls today.
October 31, 2026
What this means for you
Closures of institutions and shops are possible on that date.
What to do
Check the current status before you arrive.
November 1, 2026
What this means for you
Closures of institutions and shops are possible on that date.
What to do
Check the current status before you arrive.
December 25, 2026
What this means for you
Closures of institutions and shops are possible on that date.
What to do
Check the current status before you arrive.
December 26, 2026
What this means for you
Closures of institutions and shops are possible on that date.
What to do
Check the current status before you arrive.
January 1, 2027
What this means for you
Closures of institutions and shops are possible on that date.
What to do
Check the current status before you arrive.
January 6, 2027
What this means for you
Closures of institutions and shops are possible on that date.
What to do
Check the current status before you arrive.
March 26, 2027
What this means for you
Closures of institutions and shops are possible on that date.
What to do
Check the current status before you arrive.
March 29, 2027
What this means for you
Closures of institutions and shops are possible on that date.
What to do
Check the current status before you arrive.
May 1, 2027
What this means for you
Closures of institutions and shops are possible on that date.
What to do
Check the current status before you arrive.
May 6, 2027
What this means for you
Closures of institutions and shops are possible on that date.
What to do
Check the current status before you arrive.
May 17, 2027
What this means for you
Closures of institutions and shops are possible on that date.
What to do
Check the current status before you arrive.
August 15, 2027
What this means for you
Closures of institutions and shops are possible on that date.
What to do
Check the current status before you arrive.
October 3, 2027
What this means for you
Closures of institutions and shops are possible on that date.
What to do
Check the current status before you arrive.
Everything you need for Rothenburg ob der Tauber in one place
The Town Hall bridges two eras within a single building: the Gothic section with its tower was built between 1250 and 1400, the Renaissance façade between 1572 and 1578, and the arcades were added in 1681. The tower has no foundations of its own — it rests on the gable of the Gothic wing. A climb of 220 steps leads to the top, where the entire roofscape of the old town and the Tauber valley spread out below. The city officially recommends making the ascent at sunset.
The building next to the Town Hall, formerly the city council's tavern. Its facade features an ornate clock whose figures appear every hour on the hour from 10:00 to 22:00, re-enacting a scene from the 1631 siege: Mayor Nusch drains an enormous tankard of wine and thereby saves the city. This is a legend, not a documented event — it does not appear in the earliest account of the siege, written some fifteen years after the fact, and surfaces for the first time only a century later.
The point where the street forks into two branches: the upper one leads to the Zibersturm, dating from around 1385, while the lower descends to the Kobolzeller Tor, dating from around 1360. Between them stands a half-timbered house with a stone ground floor and timber-framed upper storey. No single building here is the main attraction — the corner is known for the way two street levels, two towers, and one house come together in a single frame.
Strips of short pastry are wound around the handle of a ladle, pressed together in special clamps, and deep-fried until they form a ball eight to ten centimetres in diameter. While still warm, they are rolled in icing sugar; today they are also made with glazed coatings. They were once prepared for weddings and other festive occasions.
Unlock access to see what else is worth trying.
Register for free and explore Rothenburg ob der Tauber.