We showed up in Rothenburg, Germany on a sleepy afternoon in Bavaria.
Rothenburg has the reputation as being one of the best-preserved Medieval villages in Germany, due to many different factors. It’s been around for over 1,000 years, and it’s history is immense! One thing that interested me was that in 1631, during the 30 years war, the town was Protestant Lutheran, and was attacked by a Catholic Count who wanted a place to house his 40,000 troops. The town tried to keep them out, but lost the battle (quite literally). That following winter the soldiers left, but also left the city poor and nearly empty. Three years later the Black Plague made its way through town, killing many more people. The town stopped growing, which led to the very well-kept preservation of Rothenburg in its 17th Century state!
The city wall that encircles the old village!
Love this!
Where the doll goes, she goes…
I love this photo, but just because of the reflection in the glass!
Standing on one of the outer walls, we were able to look across and see another end of Rothenburg, and the beautiful countryside!
The girls gave up fighting for a few hours, and played with their 2 barbies, instead. That is pretty much the only toy they each have.
While walking around I caught an American talking to a friend about an upcoming festival, and I couldn’t help but stop and ask her what she was referring to. She told us that they had specifically come to visit the Medieval Festival that was taking place that weekend (starting the next day). Wha-what?!!
Okay…change of plans, family!
- A taste of what was to come…
After passing some many cute dolls in the window, I couldn’t help but notice some little children’s dolls on sale outside of one of the stores. I turned to Jared and suggested that money spent on a doll for each might be a good treat. I shocked the girls by offering to buy them one (not a normal thing), and they so sweetly each selected the doll they wanted (being sure to pick dolls that were slightly different). I assure you, that 25 Euros has been money VERY well spent!
Rothenburg had several high-quality teddy bear stores. We refrained from that temptation for our kids, but let Ella pose at the door! 
Going up the tall stairs to walk on the high wall that surrounds the city! 
I greatly appreciate the fact that they fenced in the walkway on the wall (I suspect it was all open before...but this was scary enough)! We left Rothenburg that evening, knowing we would surely be returning for tomorrow’s Medieval Festival.
But I’ll save that post for another day 🙂
[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://livingoutsideofthebox.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/P5075177.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]My name is Alisa, and I am off traveling the world with my super adventurous husband and rambunctious 3 small children. I take joy in the beauty of the world around me, I love making memories with my family, and I enjoy sharing our travels with others! [/author_info] [/author]
Your posts are making me miss Germany!!!
Hahahaa! It is a VERY beautiful place!
This is so exciting! I love Medieval festivals too! Can’t wait to see your next post!
Hahahaaa! To be continued…
I’m sure I told you, Rothenberg is my favorite place in the world. I always loved it, but then we spent the night there. It is a totally different place after 8:00 PM when all the tourists leave. Your pictures are a terrific reminder of why I love it there.
I wish we had spent the night. We learned that the night we left they had late fireworks that would have been fun to see. BUT…we figured it was probably expensive to stay in town and packed with tourists for the festival. So, we didn’t ask around and test that theory!
You should go back at night and do the Nightwatchman’s Tour. It is awesome! It is really interesting to learn about early defense of the city. In the summer they do Nightwatchman tours during the day, but the rest of the year they only do them at night. http://www.nightwatchman.de/index.php?&sprache=ENG
That looks awesome! I wish I had known about that! And the prices (I think 6 Euros for adults, free for kids) would be well worth it! Next time!