BEAUTIFUL TOWN

Wairarapa Times-Age, 7 June 1938, Page 9

BEAUTIFUL TOWN

ROTHENBURG-ON-THE-TAUBER. ARCHITECTURAL TREASURES. Medieval in appearance and rich in the history and tradition of that period, Rothenburg-on-the-Tauber, in Southern Germany, is architecturally one of the most interesting and beautiful old towns in the world. A tourist spending a few days there with a camera could come away with a treasure of recorded beauty. Redgabled houses, admirably preserved fourteenth and fifteenth century ramparts with many towers, old town gates dating from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, Gothic churches and Renaissance secular buildings, all combine to make Rothenburg a singularly charming memorial of medieval architecture. The town has not increased in size since the Thirty Years War, and it may be justly claimed for Rothenburg that, in the words of the poet, “the clock of time has stopped there.” Rothenburg does not stand on a plain as it seems to when seen from a distance, but is really picturesquely situated high “above the Tauber,” on the edge of a high plateau which drops steeply to the romantic valley of the Tauber. And when the visitor stands out in the Burggarten, the site of an ancient castle where the Hohenstaufen Emperors resided until the town gained its independence, and looks down at the charming landscape and then up at the sturdy Burg-Tor, tnen the past seems to come to, life. When he wanders through the dreamy lanes, not in a spirit of curiosity, but quite overcome with a feeling of unreality, and finds himself in front of one of the finest town halls in Southern Germany, or in one of the quite attractive courtyards, or before one of the delightful churches, then perhaps he may secretly wish that he had lived in these olden times. But when he is told that there is a torture chamber to be seen in the Beetelvogt tower, hears stories of the feud between Rothenburg and the Burggraves of Nuremburg and the Bishops of Wurzburg, and learns how Tilly stormed the town in the Thirty Years War, and how the Imperial troops were billetted within its walls, then he feels that it is pleasanter and better to be living today and not back in the past. It is much bettei- to find a scat in one of the cosy panelled wine-shops and drink a toast to the present in fine Franconian wine. It is on an incident in the history of this proud walled city that occurred in 1631 that the historical play “Der Meistertrunk” is based. The play is performed in summer along with an historical shepherd's dance and plays by Hans Sachs. Open-air performances of these are gjven in the market place. The town caters extensively for the tourist traffic and draws large numbers of visitors annually. The eastern entrance to the town is through the Roder gate, remarkable for its picturesque bastion. There is a narrow part in the Herengasse in the Gothic style which dates from the 13th century and every part of the town is rich in buildings that have withstood the centuries.

Travellers who have been enchanted by Rothenburg always want to see more of the ancient picture towns of Northern Bavaria. Within an hour or two’s drive north or south are other towns depicting a world that time has passed over, but from which the years have not been able to rob the natural beauty. In fact, with the passing of the centuries Rothenburg and its sister towns have gained an ancient beauty that is all their own.