Curious Traveler

- In Germany, there is a town that is so picture perfect with its brightly colored half-timber houses, little flower boxes, cobbled streets, and gorgeous stone fountains that it almost doesn't seem real.

In fact, it is so fairytale-esque that Walt Disney was inspired by this town for his films and even his theme parks.

But as you can see, it is very real.

In fact, it is one of the best preserved medieval towns in all of Europe.

Today we're taking you to get curious about Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

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(train alarm beeping) (upbeat music) (bright music) Rothenburg ob der Tauber is one of the oldest and best preserved historic medieval walled towns in Germany.

And even if you haven't been here yet, it might look familiar.

That's because it inspired many a Disney fairytale setting.

But before we get to that, let's start with that curious name.

Rothenburg simply means red castle or fortress, named for the 12th century castle that once stood here.

Now there's not much left of these castles today, but the castle gardens are still here and still gorgeous.

And the view from here is not only incredible, but it also gives us the second part of the town's name.

Because there are several Rothenburgs across Germany, the ob der Tauber was added, meaning above the Tauber River and Valley.

So Rothenburg ob der Tauber translates to "The red castle overlooking the Talbert River and Valley."

(gentle music) So here's what I'm curious about in Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

Who saved an entire town by drinking nearly a gallon of wine from this enormous tankard?

What does this magnificent altarpiece have to do with this tiny shell?

Where can you find some virtuous statues hanging out with some naughty vices?

Why does this town look like a fairytale princess might pop out of a window and start singing at any minute?

When was there a need for this quirky yet ingenious drive-through window?

And most importantly, how does this city maintain its medieval fairytale feel?

Who, what, where, why, when, and how?

So much to be curious about in Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

The first thing you'll notice when you wander these Disney-esq streets of Rothenburg is just how, well, Disney-esque it looks.

In fact, it's no secret that portions of the Disney theme parks and even some Disney movies are modeled directly from this particular town.

And just one glance around will tell you why.

Just look at all the colorful half-timbered houses, all the quirky little wonky shaped upper floors, the clock towers, the medieval walls, the gates, the little swinging shop signs, the stone fountains all still look pretty much like they did in the Middle Ages.

(bright music) To tell us more is Rothenburg Lord Mayor Markus Naser.

Hi, so nice to meet you.

So nice to meet you.

The second we got here, we looked, we said, "This is beautiful, this is beautiful, this is beautiful."

Your town is unique in that it feels like every single corner still looks like it did possibly back in the Middle Ages.

How do you accomplish that as Mayor?

- Well it has a lot of do with historical preservation.

The town has been taking care of its old buildings for many, many decades.

We started historical preservation at a time when others wouldn't even know what the term means.

So it's a long history of taking care that the city stays as beautiful as it is.

- So the Mayor works closely with the historic preservation groups to maintain the town's beautiful medieval look.

And he gets to live a pretty fairytale life himself.

Want to guess where he goes to work every day?

Well, right here in the centerpiece of the city, its magnificent 13th century rat house or town hall.

Here, he carries on the tradition of his predecessors, whose title was quite curious.

Now it wasn't a Mayor at first.

What was the title of the person who would've been in charge of the town?

- I don't know how you could translate that.

The German term is Reichskuchenmeister, which translates to Imperial Master of the Kitchen.

No no, really.

- Of the kitchen.

- Of the Kitchen.

- Why the Kitchen?

- It was an honorary title, like it was an honorary title.

And as they were installed by the King, by the Emperor.

So they got the title, Imperial Master of the Kitchen.

- Yep, that's right.

Many centuries before "Master Chef" was a reality show full of sharp knives and sharp-tongued cooks, the title of Imperial Hereditary Master Chef meant something else entirely.

While its origin does come from cooking, it really went on to be a title of honor, more of a chief than a chef.

So that Kuchenmeister ruled over the entire town, not just the kitchen.

Okay.

He probably ruled over that too.

Today, you can even find a hotel and a restaurant called the Kuchenmeister.

And one very important Kuchenmeister established this monastery, which we will visit soon.

But first, we continue our tour with the current Kuchenmeister, or Lord Mayor.

This view behind us is the quintessential view of Rohtenburg.

We've got the bright colored houses, the half-timbered houses, and even St. Jacob there in the distance.

But none of this would be here if it weren't for this.

Tell us about the unique medieval wall that we have here.

- [Markus] Well, a medieval city is not complete without a city wall.

So every city needed a city wall.

The one here in Rothenburg, the one that you still see today, is our second city wall.

The first city wall was established in the 12th century already.

But the city soon became too big.

- So in the 14th century, a longer wall was added with mighty towers, adorable little arches and walkways, and a clock tower like this one, which when you walk under it, you'll come across something quite curious.

This is the perfect place.

We can see a big curve for the higher wall here.

We can see this here.

There's a moat on the other side.

And even a church in the middle.

Was it a traveler's church?

Why was the church built, and who decided to make it part of the wall?

- It was a pilgrim's church originally.

When the church was built, that was in the end of the 15th century, this was part of the moat.

So it was the moat of the town.

And then a pilgrim side established or came up there just out of nothing really.

So the city took over control and they asked their local city building master for a concept that has a church integrated into the fortification system of the town - [Christine] And that's why today, this unique building is part church, part wall.

- At the town from outside, you would not be able to judge that this is a church.

From this perspective, you would never think that this is part of the city fortification.

- And what I think is fascinating, we can kind of hear the cars a little bit today.

So we have one archway just down the side here.

And then it looks like people are driving through the church.

It's a drive-through church.

- Yes, it is.

- It's incredible.

- There's a car just coming in there, yes, yes.

(upbeat music) - And while this church is unique, there is another glorious church we will visit soon that is famous for its pilgrims walking to it, not driving through it.

But first, it's time to head back to the center of town and visit the Mayor's office, that historic town hall, where a town hall meeting of the most curious kind is going on.

A celebration that helped to save the town.

(bright music) Once a year here in Rothenburg, you will see an exuberant, rowdy in a good way, delightful musical troop, all decked out in 17th century costume.

With lords and ladies and one very important drinking vessel.

This, my friends, is the time-honored tradition of the Meistertrunk.

(speaking German) To tell us the story is one of the actresses, who looks just like a Disney princess.

How fitting.

Tell us the story of the Meistertrunk.

- The events of the play actually take place during the 30 Years War.

It's in 1631 that Count Johann Tserclaes of Tilly.

He wants to invade the the city, - [Christine] The 30 Years War pit Catholics against Protestants all across Europe.

So when the Catholic Count Von Tilly attempts to capture Protestant Rothenburg.

That's when Laura's character steps in.

- And I also want to give them a moral lesson about Catholics and Protestants fighting against each other isn't leading anywhere because in front of God, we're all created equal.

And this is a very, very important lesson that we learn here or that I want to give him.

But he's not really listening.

- Not listening so much.

- No.

- So another ploy is offered up, and that's where this tankered and the Meistertrunk comes in.

Meistertrunk means master draft, or my favorite translation, the master gulp.

(person speaking German) - Tilly comes up with the idea, "Hey, what about if one of you Rothenburg citizens, if one of you is able and willing to chug the whole tankard."

And it's three and a quarter liters of Franconian wine, that would be more than two third of a gallon.

- So that's where this beautiful thing comes in.

- Tilly thinks nobody is able to do that.

But the former Mayor (indistinct) he stands up and he says, "Okay, I'll give it a try."

(person speaking German) - So the former Mayor steps up and accepts the challenge.

Today, conveniently played by the current Mayor.

And of course, he saves the town.

While this story is fictionalized, the play itself, written in the 19th century, became so popular that some mini Meistertrunk performers were added to the clock overlooking the market square.

(bells ringing) And tourists started flocking to the town to see the Meistertrunk performance.

(bright music) Year after year.

Thus bringing tourism and prosperity to this tiny little town.

And the tourists have been coming ever since.

(gentle music) Next, we visit another historic landmark of the town, which has attracted a much different type of tourist for hundreds of years.

In fact, this type of tourist is better known as a pilgrim.

500 miles in 30 days.

That is about how long it would take you to go across the entire Camino de Santiago de Compostela or the St. James Way.

The St James Way is a network of paths, a pilgrimage route that began as early as the ninth century when Christians from all across Europe wanted to make their way to the St. James Cathedral in Spain, which is where it is believed that St. James is buried.

Throughout the years, throughout the centuries, more and more paths were developed.

And one of them happens to come right through here in Rothenburg.

How do we know?

Well, along the roads and along the sidewalks, you will see these little embedded scallop shells every so often.

And you can see how the lines kind of radiate out.

And that's very important.

This statue is a statue of one of those pilgrims who is holding one of those scallop shells.

And the idea here you can see that different routes in different ways all radiate out.

That represents all the different paths that a pilgrim can take to get to the church in Spain.

But it also represents something bigger.

It represents all the different paths that a Christian can take to make his or her way into heaven.

And what better way to explore that here in the city than here at St. Jacob's Church?

(gentle music) St. Jacob's Church was named after the pilgrimage of St. James, and Jacob is a German version of James.

Each year, more than a thousand pilgrims visit the church for rest and spiritual inspiration.

In fact, so many pilgrims come here, that there is a designated pastor for them.

Built in stages between 1311 and 1485 in the high Gothic style, there are many artistic treasures to explore here, including the grand organ and two altars.

The first is the altar of the 12 apostles and is one of the most important of its kind in Germany, created in 1466 by a local Rothenburg artist.

Here you'll see an intricate altarpiece that depicts Christ on the cross surrounded by four angels.

On the back, you will see paintings of those pilgrims along the St. James Way, and wonderful depictions of Rothenburg's landmarks.

Look closely and you can see the town hall and market square.

And then up some stone stairs and around a corner is the true treasure of the church, the Altar of the Holy Blood by the German woodcarving Master Tilman Riemenschneider.

So as we come up, we see the ceiling getting higher and higher.

And then we have it, probably the most important piece in the entire church.

- It is.

So this altar was made for a pilgrimage in the years in the 15th century.

And we can see the holy passion story of Jesus Christ here.

- [Christine] And at the top, there is a cross, a very special one.

- Inside the cross, there's a capsule.

And in this capsule is a little piece of cloth.

And there are some drops of the blood of Christ.

But it's not normal blood.

It is the wine during the mass.

- Do we know how it came to be obtained in the first place?

Because that's always a fascinating story of how it makes its way to a church or into a piece of artwork.

- About in the year 1260 or 70, a pastor put the cup with wine for the so-called elevations.

And he dropped something from the wine.

And this is the beginning of this story.

And Tilman Riemenschneider formed his altar around this cross.

- Around the piece.

(gentle music) Riemenschneider carved these intricate sculptures and bar reliefs between 1501 and 1505.

Just look at the details on the facial expressions, and the hands, and the folds of the fabric all look so real, so soft and flowing, all carved out of wood.

And we know that Riemenschneider created this masterpiece specifically for Rothenburg because of a wonderfully curious detail.

As you know, in a lot of Christian art, they will take a biblical story, but put it into the context of the town where the artwork will be displayed.

So in this case, do we have Jesus making a procession into Jerusalem or into Rothenburg?

- I think the people of Rohenburg ob der Tauber, they didn't know how the historical Jerusalem looks like.

And Tilman Riemenschneider, who comes from Wurzburg, didn't know that too.

And they said Rothenburg is like, little bit like Jerusalem.

So we make Jerusalem on a depiction like Rothenburg is today.

(gentle music) - And when he did, he designed his beautifully detailed work of art specifically for this location, specifically for pilgrims who would come up the stairs just like we did, so that they would see this glory towering above them.

And when they did, they saw something a bit curious.

In the center of the altar, we of course have a depiction of The Last Supper.

But it seems to me at least that Jesus is not in the center the way he normally is.

He's a little bit off to the left.

Was there a reason for that?

- Yeah, maybe, we don't know the the real reason for it, but we think that the people came here in a long procession.

And they had their problems since they were ill. And they came here in the same way as Judas came to Jesus Christ, on the left side.

- I see.

That's fascinating.

So it's almost as if Jesus has turned this way to greet the pilgrims as they come in this way.

That's incredible.

And there's one more fascinating detail here that you just might miss.

Look closely at this hand.

It's pointing at something.

- On the left side, he has his hand to Judas.

And put his other hand, his right hand to the altar where the elements of The Holy Supper were.

And when you stay here, this disciple looks at your eyes.

- I see it.

So this disciple is forever pointing at the altar below, directing the focus of all those thousands of pilgrims who have journeyed to this special sacred space for more than 500 years.

(gentle music) Next, we go from this beautiful high gothic church to this incredible medieval monastery.

(bright music) Remember the Kuchenmeister title we learned about earlier?

The master of the kitchen who became the master or Mayor of the town?

Well, a 13th century Kuchenmeister established this peaceful monastery in the year 1258.

Today, it is the Rothenburg Museum, full of wonderful curiosities.

After all these centuries, miraculously, parts of its cloister are still intact.

And this lovely little courtyard was once the monastery garden.

And it is here that we're joined by local guide Elke Wedel, who takes us into one of the museum's highlights.

This is believed to be Germany's oldest and largest preserved monastery kitchen.

A kitchen any Kuchenmeister would be proud of.

This might be the largest kitchen I have ever seen.

For starters, this giant medieval rotisserie is large enough for a serious barbecue.

But.

Some things haven't changed.

That's kind of the same as what we use today.

- What we still use, and we have to bear in mind that according to the rules of this nunnery, the consumption of the meat of four-legged animals was strongly disapproved of.

Because in their medieval superstition, they thought it might arouse carnal fleshly desire.

- Are you serious?

- Yes.

- [Christine] Okay, maybe they use this for tofu.

But the real reason this kitchen was so large is because this is where hundreds of meals for the poor were made.

A medieval soup kitchen of the ginormous kind.

- [Elke] There was a large chain hanging down and there was the huge cauldron hanging.

- I saw the the photos, it would've filled up almost, I mean, it was really big.

- Can you imagine ccooking in such a huge cauldron?

- That's a lot of soup.

Now as we look up just one more time, was this so big because it was helping to heat the floors above?

Okay, that makes sense.

- It was the only source of warmth here in the whole huge building.

And above us, one floor above us, there was the winter dining hall of the nuns.

The so-called winter refractory.

And this hearth, this smokestack was providing warmth up there.

- It's medieval indoor heating.

It was a good system.

It was a good system.

- Quite modern.

- I love it.

The nuns who lived here, the ones who would've dined upstairs, were typically from noble families.

So they had many restrictions on who they could interact with, but as part of their vows, they still needed to help the poor and the hungry.

So a pretty ingenious little invention was created.

This cute little corner over here has a little more to do with giving to others versus appealing to the taste buds of the noble nuns.

Looks like a regular beer barrel, but I know it's not.

What is this?

- Yeah, it's a revolving drawer.

And that was built here that the nuns and their servants could provide sustenance like on plates and these tankards here for the needy ones outside for beggars, for pilgrims.

And why wasn't it only a window?

Well this device was built because the nuns lived in their enclosure.

It was like in a cloistered conventional community.

And contact to outsiders was strictly limited.

And so with this barrel, well they could put in the plates and the tankards and then they could turn it so the beggar outside could take it out, could have his food and his drink.

And the nuns could only look through this little window.

So they were almost not seen, only one eye or at least two.

- Okay, I'm officially calling this the world's first drive through window.

(lively music) Before we leave this incredible monastery turned museum, there is one more curiosity I want to show you.

This is definitely one of the more unique collections of caryatids you will probably ever see.

So a caryatid, of course, is typically a base, kind of a plinth thing here.

And then the upper half is the human figure.

So as beautiful as the statue might be, unfortunately they're not allowed to have any legs.

Typically this is a Greek kind of thing.

But here in Rothenburg, this definitely has a curious twist to it.

These figures were created in 1596, and all 14 of them used to stand proudly on the outside of a house.

And if you look closely at the symbols that each of these semi-humans are holding, you might be able to figure out why there are exactly 14.

This represents the seven virtues and the seven vices.

And they're each holding a little symbol to tell you who they are.

So we're gonna start back here.

This guy is definitely a virtue.

He is a modesty or moderation.

So he's holding measuring cups.

You know, the thing you're supposed to do with chocolate?

Yeah, I don't know how to do that either.

This one over here, this sweet lady, of course, is also a virtue.

She's representing softness, so that's why she's holding a fluffy little sheep.

Over here, of course, another virtue.

This is goodness with the woman putting her hand over her heart.

And I saved the best for last, though.

This one for sure is a vice, with his nice big round belly, what else could he be but gluttony?

And gluttony and his sweet and sinful pals originally hung out up here on the Baumeisterhaus, one of the most beautiful Patrician houses in all of Rothenburg.

What you see hanging here now are newer, more durable virtues and vices, who are all keeping an eye on this incredible fairytale town so full of curious history.

(lively music) So from a red fortress overlooking a beautiful river and valley to a medieval town so well-preserved, you wouldn't be surprised to see a Disney Princess strolling along its cobbled streets to a mighty wall dotted with arches, clock towers, and even a drive through church.

(bright music) To a trumpet and tankard tradition that celebrates the saving of the town, to a spiritual pilgrimage dotted with tiny symbols and soaring churches, with glorious artsy treasures kept safely inside.

To a medieval monastery that fed the poor in very generous and very creative ways.

And today, houses some curious and creative caryatids, reminding us of all manner of temptation.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber has so much to be curious about.

Danke for joining us on our educational journey.

And hopefully now you're even more curious about the who, what, where, why, when, and hows of beautiful Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

As they say here, Auf Wiedersehen.

I can't do it.

No, I can do it.

I can do it.

No, no, I can do it.

I'm gonna do it without looking.

Hey dude, I can't do it without laughing.

(Christine speaking German) Yeah, I got it!

It's slightly rude and it means like, "Hey, you, listen up."

Sorry.

She made me do it.

I made one person laugh.

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