May 24, 2009

Rothenburg ob der Tauber.................


Rothenburg ob der Tauber
is a town in the district of Ansbach of Mittelfranken (Middle Franconia), the Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany, well known for its well-preserved medieval old town, a destination for tourists from around the world. In the Middle Ages, it was an Imperial Free City. A significant fraction of Rothenburg is carfree.

The name "Rothenburg ob der Tauber" is actually a shortened version of "Rothenburg oberhalb der Tauber", which in German means "Rothenburg above the Tauber". This is so because the town is located on a plateau overlooking the Tauber river. As to the name "Rothenburg", some say it comes from the German words Rot (Red) and Burg (burg, medieval fortified town), referring to the red colour of the roofs of the houses which overlook the river. The name may also refer to the process of retting ("rotten" in German) flax for linen production.

Since German does not have the th-sound (as in thin), the proper pronunciation of the first syllable of the name is more or less like English rote, while -burg is similar to "burk". In IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet): [ro:tənbʊag ɔp dєr taʊba].


Town wall of Rothenburg





The western town gate





A famous street in Rothenburg called Plönlein with Koboldzellersteig and Spitalgasse







Town Hall of Rothenburg





more pics at Webshot Album.......Bervic

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