Rothenburg ob der Tauber Christmas Market – Reiterlesmarkt – 4K 60fps with Captions

Rothenburg ob der Tauber Christmas Market – Reiterlesmarkt – 4K 60fps with Captions

Merry Christmas! Welcome to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a well-preserved medieval old town in Bavaria, Germany. We are currently at the Castle Garden looking out towards Siebers Tower, which dates back to 1385. The name “Rothenburg ob der Tauber” is German for “Red castle above the Tauber”.

The town is located on a plateau overlooking the Tauber River. This garden was the site of the Hohenstaufen Castle back in 1142, which was destroyed by an earthquake in 1356. The castle is gone, but the impressive outer gate remains.

Above the gate is a stone mask with a “mouth.” It was through this hole that castle defenders would pour hot tar on their attackers. Rothenburg is one of the oldest and most historic medieval towns along Germany’s Romantic Road.

The Romanic Road was a route created in 1950 to promote tourism in Germany. The road loosely follows an old Roman road and passes through several medieval towns.

Rothenburg is one of only three towns in Germany to still its original city walls in tact, the other two being Nördlingen and Dinkelsbühl, both also in Bavaria. There is another road, parallel to this one, just ahead that follows along the wall with a view down into the valley.

This road, Herrngasse, passes all the way through town and exits through the Röder Gate. Many of these homes date to the 13th and 14th centuries. This the Franciscan Church, the oldest church in the city, dating back to 1285.

There are actually other towns named Rothenburg in Germany so make sure you plan accordingly and visit the right one. While there was a settlement here dating back to 1st century BC, the history of Rothenburg begins around 960 AD, when a parish developed down in the valley.

In 1070, the first castle was built for the counts of Rothenburg. After the counts family died off, the Hohenstaufen King took possession of the castle. At the top of the fountain is a mermaid holding a golden scepter and wearing a gold crown.

One hundred years later, a second castle was built and the town started to develop. Just two years later, in 1172, Rothenburg received city rights and the first fortifications were built.

In fact, we will see those original fortifications during this tour, the Markus Tower, the White Tower and the Roder Gate….but first, Teddy Bears. Thanks to its geographic location, the city developed over the years as a commercial center in the region.

In fact, during the middle ages, Rothenburg grew to be the second largest city in Germany with a population of 6,000. There is one in every family..or in this case, several. 🙂

Here on the right is the hotel I stayed at, Hotel Eisenhut. The price was € 338 for 2 nights, with a great breakfast included. Besides the great breakfast, I enjoyed the interesting architecture inside, the creaky wood floors and the loose wood banister.

Today is the first day of the Christmas market. The market lasts between December 1st and December 23rd. Ever since the 15th century the festive time prior to Christmas (Advent) has been accompanied by a delightful Christmas market.

The height of the event is the arrival of the “Rothenburger Reiterle” (Rothenburg Horseman) which also gave the market its name. The “Reiterle´s” (horseman´s) historical origin began centuries ago when it was told that the horseman would ride through skies in winter months with the souls of the dead.

The horseman´s image changed over the centuries from a ferocious character people feared to a welcomed ambassador of the Christmas season who is now loved by young and old alike.

The “Reiterlesmarkt” has grown to become a true symbol of a romantic and idyllic Rothenburg Christmas which is also enhanced by the festively decorated city that surrounds it. Every day during the market, there is a guided tour in English starting here at the Market-Square (Marktplatz) at 2pm.

Santa Claus visits the market every day at 4:30 pm. At 5pm every day, there is the illumination of a new advent window which is followed by a brass band concert at 5:30. Finally, every night starting at 8pm, the Night Watchmen gives a guided tour of the town.

The historic town hall with its clock tower can been seen directly ahead. The foundation stone of the town hall was laid in 1204. At the far end of the piazza is the Ratstrinkstube building, or Councilor’s Tavern. It’s clock tower chimes every hour on the hour between 10am and 10pm.

Two doors open on either side of the clock face to reenact the legendary story of the brave mayor who drank nearly a gallon of wine in order to save his city.

I got two of these while I was here. I got the plain cinnamon and sugar. They are basically strips of pie dough rolled into a ball and covered with different flavors. They are called Snowballs.

They look like bottles of food coloring. 🙂 but they are in fact bottles of strawberry honeywine, baked apple honeywine, cherry honeywine, among others. The small bottles are €9.99 and the large bottles are €13.00.

The eastern wing of the town hall burnt down in 1501, and was replaced with the magnificent renaissance building that you now see. The white colored building on the other side, including the clock, are part of the original town hall. “Rothenburg Horsemen Market Gluhwein Red or White”

If you are enjoying the tour, please give the video a Like and Share it with a friend. Thanks! In 1274, Rothenburg became a free imperial city which included more rights & autonomy allowing the city to develop even more.

Visitors can climb to the top of the tower. You enter through the town hall front door and pay at the top. Not this tower, but the taller one on the opposite side.

I was given a free pass to visit the tower, but I didn’t get a chance to go up until after I was done filming. It would have been difficult to carry my camera up to the top. You actually have to climb out and lift yourself up onto to the walkway.

I took a few pictures from the tower which you can see by clicking on the link to the map of this walk in the video description.

In 1631, during the Thirty Years’ War, the County of Tilly wanted to quarter his 40,000 soldiers in Rothenburg but the town tried to defend itself and stop the Count.

The Counts army defeated the town, but at a loss of 300 men. Afterwards, the story goes, that General Tilly was set to burn the city down. A city councilman stepped up and said tried to persuade the count to reconsider by offering a 3.5 liter drink.

General Tilly responded by saying he would spare the town if anyone could drink that much in one drink. The town’s mayor stepped up for the job. The mayor at the time, Georg Nusch, succeeded, and General Tilly kept his word.

This is George’s Spring, which is 25 feet deep and holds 25,000 gallons. The pillar is from 1608. The story of the drinking mayor, now called Meistertrunk, may or may not be true. The first mention of it came 100 years after the event.

When General Tilly and his men finally left after winter, they left the town poor and nearly empty. Just a few years later in 1634, the outbreak of the bubonic plague killed many more townsfolk. Without any money or power, Rothenburg stopped growing, thus preserving its 17th-century state.

The walled town is relatively small and it is pretty easy to explore the entire area in an afternoon. After breakfast, I went out at about 7:30 am and walked around all the main streets, including the entire perimeter.

This is where I got the cinnamon and sugar snowball. It was good, but would have been better toasty fresh.

As I walked back into the market, I got a tap on my shoulder from the guy running the event. He invited me up to the town hall office so I could get a view from above.

Rothenburg has appeared in several movies. It was the inspiration for the village in Walt Disney’s Pinnocchio and the location for the Vulgarian village scenes in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Scenes from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows parts I and II were also filmed here.

In 1802, Rothenburg lost its independence and became part of Bavaria. In 1877, the famous German landscape painter Eugen Bracht visited Rothenburg and although he only stayed two days, he was quite impressed. Other artists began to flock to Rothenburg, followed by…..the tourists!

Laws were eventually created to prevent major changes to the town. Modern Rothenburg developed outside the city walls. During the 1930’s and WWII, Rothenburg’s unique history and atmosphere made it an important location.

The town held a special significance for Nazi ideologists. For them, it was the epitome of the German ‘Home Town’, representing all that was quintessentially German. This area is a called the Historical Vault which was the dungeon below the Town Hall. It is now a museum.

Throughout the 1930s, the Nazi organization KDF (Kraft durch Freude) “Strength through Joy” organized regular day trips to Rothenburg from all across the Reich. In October 1938, Rothenburg expelled its Jewish citizens, much to the approval of Nazis and their supporters across Germany.

In March 1945, during World War II, German soldiers were stationed in Rothenburg to defend it. On March 31, bombs were dropped over Rothenburg by 16 planes, killing 37 people.

The bombs also destroyed around 275 houses (around 32% of all houses), six public buildings and damaged nine watchtowers and over 2,000 feet (610 m) of the wall. Around 265 houses were rebuilt.

The historical significance of the town was known to US forces so six US soldiers were ordered to march into the town holding a white flag.

They explained to the Germans, “We are representatives of our division commander. We bring you his offer to spare the city of Rothenburg from shelling and bombing if you agree not to defend it.”

“We have been given three hours to get this message to you. If we haven’t returned to our lines by 1800 hours, the town will be bombed and shelled to the ground.”

The local military commander Major Thömmes gave up the town, ignoring the order of Hitler for all towns to fight to the end and thereby saving it from total destruction by artillery. American troops of the 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Division occupied the town on April 17, 1945.

The U.S. Assistant Secretary of War, John J. McCloy was named an honorary citizen of Rothenburg in 1948. Many of the rebuilt structures can now be distinguished from the surviving medieval structures as being plainer.

Reconstruction aimed not to replicate exactly what stood before, only to rebuild in the same style as the surviving buildings so that the new buildings would still fit into the overall aesthetic of the town. Any surviving walls of bombed-out buildings were kept in their reconstructed facades as much as possible.

In the case of more significant or iconic structures, such as the town hall, whose roof was destroyed, and parts of the town wall, restoration to their original state was done as accurately as possible, and they now appear exactly as they did before the war.

Donations for the rebuilding works in Rothenburg were received from all over the world, and rebuilt parts of the walls feature commemorative bricks with donor names. The older western section from which the medieval town originated and contains most of the town’s historic monuments, did not suffer from the bombing.

Thus, most of the buildings in the west and the south of Rothenburg still exist today in their original medieval or prewar state. Construction of St. Jakobs Kirche (St. James church) started in 1311 and took over 100 years to complete.

There will be a tour of the church in the day tour video of Rothenburg. It is also noteworthy that while the eastern walls and towers received bomb damage, they, unlike the houses in that part of town, remained relatively intact. Many parts even survived completely because of their sturdy stone construction.

In most cases, only the wooden upper portions or roofs of the eastern towers and walls needed to be rebuilt, and most of their stone structure had been preserved. This is due to the fact that the US used incendiary bombs which are designed to start fires.

The White Tower is part of the 12th-century walls. It is connected to a half-timbered building that used to be the town’s Jewish Community Center from 1390 to 1520.

The White Tower stands at the highest point in the old town at 435 m above sea level, the tower height is 110 ft tall (33.50 meters.) The White Tower is also known as the “Galgenbogen” or “Inner Würzburg Gate.” This road leads out to the Gallows Gate which you can see up ahead.

This is the Am Platzl restaurant. You will want to make dinner reservations here in Rotherburg. I had to walk around for a while before I round a place that room for one I finally had dinner at Restaurant Gasthaus und Café Zur Silbernen Kanne. I ordered a chicken skewer and fries.

You can see pictures of my meal by clicking on the Restaurant icon on the map of this walk. Only 5% of the 6.5 million monthly views come from subscribers. If just 6% of you subscribe right now, the channel will instantly jump to 1 million subscribers!

I would like to see that. 🙂 It would be a nice Christmas gift. The Markusturm is one of the many towers that once guarded the city’s walls and provided defensive capabilities. The time is currently 4:35 PM. This road leads out through the Röder Gate to the modern town of Rothenburg.

The Rothenburg train station is about a 10 minute walk from here. It is just outside the gate and down to the right. It is possible to walk along about 75% of the town walls.

I thought I had the perfect route planned for my day tour, which included walking along the perimeter walls, but… I am 6’3″ (190.5 cm) tall, and these beams are about at 6’2″ (188cm) and I had to walk hunched over…for over a 1 mile! It was super uncomfortable.

So I had to change my walking route and ended up leaving out a couple interesting sites, namely the Blade Gate and the Klingentorbastei Barbican. Right now we are going to walk a short distance just so we can turn around and get a cool view of the Gerlachschmiede, “Blacksmith’s House.”

Besides being uncomfortable to walk in, the view never changes which meant the walk get around this perimeter gets a little boring. I walked the entire thing in the morning after breakfast, before I started filming.

Before 1945, the house was only a barn with a gable and exposed brickwork . It was completely destroyed during an air raid in 1945 and only built again around 1951.

Notice the plaques on the wall to the right. These are the names of people who donated to the rebuilding of the town after WWII. If you are tall, I would avoid walking along the entire town wall. 🙂 I was focused on not slipping and didn’t notice the low stonework here. Woops.

We are now going to walk back towards the Market Place and then go down to the most photographed spot in the town to the Plönlein: The “Little Square.” This square here is probably the second most photographed spot in town, but from the other side of the street next to the fountain.

There are several museums in town, including the Criminal Museum, Imperial City Museum, Doll and Toy Museum, Shepherds’ Dance Museum, Christmas Museum, Craft House and the Historical Vaults. I unfortunately did not have time to visit any of the museums.

Rothenburg was not actually part of my original itinerary for this trip. I had planed to film Cologne, Brussels, Bruges, Aachen, Trier, Strasbourg, Colmar, Ribeauvillé, Montbéliard, Metz and Paris. However, the weather report called for rain just about everywhere, so I skipped Brussels, Bruges and Trier and went to Rothenburg instead.

The train left Aachen, went to Cologne. From Cologne to Frankfurt. From Frankfurt to Wurzburg and from Wurzburg to Rothenburg. The trip took about 6 hours. I arrived here in Rothenburg about 3:30pm yesterday. I stopped off at this toy store and got a wood sword for my son. He enjoyed it. 🙂

Up ahead is the Plönlein, also known as the “Little Square”, and the Siebers Tower. The tower dates back to 1385 and was part of the “new” fortifications. Plönlein is located at the intersection of two streets, with the Siebers Tower on one side and the Kobolzell Gate Tower on the other.

The spot is notable for its charming half-timbered houses and cobblestone streets, which have been well-preserved over the centuries. In addition to its picturesque setting, Plönlein is also home to a number of quaint shops and restaurants, offering visitors a chance to sample local cuisine and pick up unique souvenirs.

Every person here is probably thinking the same thing, “I wish all these tourists were not here so I could get a good picture. I’m the only tourist that should be here.” 🙂 Plönlein comes from the Latin word planum, which means even or flat square.

We are now going to walk back to the Market Place, just in time to see Opening Ceremony with the Rothenburg Reiterle (Horseman), the Lord Mayor and the Rothenburg City and Youth Orchestra.

I hope you have enjoyed this tour. If so, please give the video a Like and Share it with a friend. Grazie! There is the horseman riding into the Market Place. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

This walking tour around the Christmas markets of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany was filmed on Friday, December 1st, 2023 starting at 3:26 pm in the Castle Gardens.
🗺️Map of the Walk – https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1iO1Dd-itGUW2voFIcQQUSddhMMb-DbQ&usp=sharing 🗺️

🔻𝗩𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀🔻
0:00 Drone intro and Map
0:52 Castle Gardens
3:46 Castle Gate
5:51 Street into town
7:41 Herrnbrunnen Fountain
*15:09 Marktplatz Christmas Market*
24:00 Georgsbrunnen Fountain
28:36 View of Market from above
36:21 Alley Market
39:01 Grüner Markt
43:56 Kirchplatz Christmas Market
55:12 White Tower
1:00:31 Markus Tower
1:01:06 Röderbrunnen
1:03:43 Röder Gate
1:10:07 Blacksmith’s House
1:17:30 Obere Schmiedgasse
*1:21:36 Plönlein/Siebers Tower*
1:27:51 Marktplatz

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For the best viewing experience, be sure to watch on a large smart TV like the Samsung Frame. Closed Captions [CC] which include historical facts and descriptions are available in all languages. This tour was filmed using amazing Binaural Audio 🎧 which is a method of recording sound that uses two microphones, arranged with the intent to create a 3-D stereo sound sensation for the listener of actually being there.

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