Above: The
colourful Käthe
Wohlfahrt Gift
Express bus
outside the shop
Follow the "Romantic Road" to one of Germany's last remaining walled medieval towns —
Rothenburg ob der Tauber, lovingly preserved, and where Christmas is celebrated all year round
C
enturies ago,
Rothenburg was
ruled by the Holy
Roman Empire. It
was a busy merchant city until the
irty Years' War and the plague
threw it into poverty. is 17th-
century stagnation froze
Rothenburg in time, to be
rediscovered by German Romantics
in 1802. An optional excursion to
this charming town, you will see the
picturesque Plönlein square and the
Kriminalmuseum, stroll the castle
garden and observe its system of
weirs across the river. Walk along
the Herrengasse, an inviting lane of
old patrician houses. And see the
1466 High Altar of St. Jakob's
Church and the Gothic–
Renaissance Town Hall.
Perhaps one of Rothenburg's
most famous attractions is the
Käthe Wohlfahrt Christmas shop.
Founded by Wilhelm and Kathe
Wohlfahrt in 1964, from a desire to
gift friends traditional music boxes
Rothenburg ob der tauber
WHERE CHRISTMAS
HAPPENS ALL YEAR ROUND
12
VIKING
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