Rothenburg and Wurzburg, Germany

April 8, 2026

Today we visited Rothenburg, a small town that still retains its medieval character. The Romanticists were charmed by this little town that was untouched by the industrial revolution of the time and insisted that it be preserved as it was. On the way, we drove along the "Romantic" route named for the movement that romanticized the past at a time when so many things were changing.

Once in Rothenberg, we had a quick tour starting with the medieval wall that still surrounds the old town.

Our guide explained that during war time, families in houses like these would bring both the human and animal members of their families into houses like these to stay protected.

We got a sample of the snowball treat which is very like bits of leftover piecrust sprinkled with powdered sugar when broken open, although they don't look like it from the initial presentation.

After a delicious lunch we enjoyed plenty of free time to explore.

We visited the museum of Crime and Punishment which focused on medieval methods such as the dunking chair

and shame masks that were used as punishment for crimes like gossiping too much.

There was a miniature display of people in a medieval town with some of the punishments that were common.

Luckily one of the most barbaric, the Iron Maiden, was never used, but appears to be a made up punishment imagined centuries later.

Outside the museum were the prison carts used in the Disney movie, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang which was partially filmed in Rothenberg.

On a happier note, we enjoyed our visit to the Christmas store which had some wondrous displays.

As we left Rothenberg, we had more views of the city walls.

In Wurzburg, we visited the Baroque palace of the Prince Bishop, the Wurzburg Residence.

It was lavishly decorated. Guests of the Prince Bishop would ascend up the grand staircase which had shallow steps allowing the ladies in their finery to glide up the steps without tripping over their gowns.

At the top was a lavish ceiling mural, Apollo and the Continents, painted by the artist, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, each side dedicated to a different continent. You can see the Americas above the stairs with the lady of the Americas shown riding a huge alligator.

One side is dedicated to Africa

and the other to Asia.

The European continent had the prime position as guests reached the top of the stairs and entered the first of the luxurious rooms. The Prince Bishop himself, Carl Philipp von Greiffenclau, is featured in the portrait surrounded by angels.

We started with the white room that guests would first enter

with its impressively ornate ceiling.

In the next room, there were frescoes highlighting the close relationship between the Prince Bishop and the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick Barbarossa. The bishop allowed the emperor to annul his first childless marriage to marry the much younger Beatrice.

In return, the emperor later crowned the bishop as a prince.

There wasn't much time left, but we quickly walked through the other rooms as well.

As we rushed back to the bus, we passed the Frankoniabrunnen fountain outside the Residence.