Rothenburg,
Germany
2000
Rothenburg
was once a prosperous medieval town that went to sleep after the Thirty-Years
War and didn’t wake up until tourists began knocking on their door centuries
later. Knowing a good thing when they saw
it, the residents vowed to keep the town just as it had been in the Middle
Ages.
Originally a castle on a hilltop a thousand years ago, the walls
surrounded the entire town when built in the 13th Century. During the Reformation, the town turned Protestant
and as a result suffered terribly during the Thirty Years War of the 17th
Century. Stripped of its wealth and too
poor to afford new buildings, Rothenburg sank into obscurity until the tourists
arrived.
Spencer
on the wall surrounding Rothenburg.
Spencer
on the Rothenburg wall facing into the village.
St
James Cathedral.
It’s
so large, it’s hard to get a good picture with all of it showing.
St
James Cathedral – trusses supporting the side of the sanctuary.
Alter
of the St James Cathedral.
Close-up
of the alter.
The
old organ at St James Cathedral.
The
organ pipes in the balcony area.
Some
of the many figures adorning the outside of St James Cathedral.
Down
the winding road to the Torture Museum!
A
guesthouse in Rothenburg.
Picturesque
street in Rothenburg.
One
of the interesting spots in Rothenburg is the Torture Museum. As gruesome as it sounds, it is actually a very
interesting exhibit of laws and punishments from the medieval times. Here is a collection of clamps and screws
attached to a wrongdoer’s arms or legs in very uncomfortable ways.
From
the Torture Museum, a place to rest your weary bones if you were ornery.
The
next day, though, you would be several inches taller.
Here’s
an interesting device known as the “double violin” for fighting spouses.
Not
a musical instrument, but rather a means to clamp your neck and hands, along
with those of your spouse, for a period of several days or weeks. Needless to say, some cooperation was
necessary for eating and drinking.
(I
won’t even try to IMAGINE going to the bathroom!)
For
a better picture of what this was like, see the next picture.
Imagine
being “attached” to your spouse like this for a few days!!
Shame
mask. Worn for minor offenses like
telling dirty jokes.
A
depiction of mediaeval torture.
An
ornate doorway in Rothenburg.
I always
thought Rachmaniniff was just a composer, but
it
looks like he liked to make vodka, too.
This
was in one of the Rothenburg storefronts.
Hey,
let me out. Dad did it, not me!!!
Horse
and buggy coming through one of the many arches in Rothenburg.
Can
you believe it? What medieval village
would be complete without its very own McDonalds!!??
Hope
you enjoyed
Rothenberg.