Imperial City of Rothenburg
| Rothenburg ob der Tauber | ||
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Plönlein with Kobolzeller Steige and Spitalgasse
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 Rothenburg ob der Tauber
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Location of Rothenburg ob der Tauber within Ansbach district
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| Coordinates: 49°23′N 10°11′E / 49.383°N 10.183°ECoordinates: 49°23′N 10°11′E / 49.383°N 10.183°E | ||
| Country | Germany | |
| State | Bavaria | |
| Admin. region | Middle Franconia | |
| District | Ansbach | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor | Walter Hartl (Für Rothenburg) | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 41.68 km2 (16.09 sq mi) | |
| Elevation | 430 m (1,410 ft) | |
| Population (2015-12-31) | ||
| • Total | 11,041 | |
| • Density | 260/km2 (690/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) | |
| Postal codes | 91541 | |
| Dialling codes | 09861 | |
| Vehicle registration | AN, DKB, FEU, ROT | |
| Website | www.rothenburg.de | |
| Imperial City of Rothenburg | ||||||||||
| Reichsstadt Rothenburg | ||||||||||
| Free Imperial City of the Holy Roman Empire | ||||||||||
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| Capital | Rothenburg | |||||||||
| Government | Republic | |||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | |||||||||
| • | City founded | 1170 | ||||||||
| • | Granted Reichsfreiheit by Rudolph I | 1274 | ||||||||
| • | Sieged by Tilly in the Thirty Years' War | October 1631 | ||||||||
| • | Mediatised to Bavaria | 1803 | ||||||||
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Rothenburg ob der Tauber (German pronunciation: [ˈʁoːtənbʊɐ̯k ɔp deːɐ̯ ˈtaʊbɐ]) is a town in the district of Ansbach of Mittelfranken (Middle Franconia), the Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. It is well known for its well-preserved medieval old town, a destination for tourists from around the world. It is part of the popular Romantic Road through southern Germany.
Rothenburg was a Free Imperial City from the late Middle Ages to 1803.
The name "Rothenburg ob der Tauber" means, in German, "Red fortress 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 (burgh, medieval fortified settlement), 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.
In 950, the weir system in today’s castle garden was constructed by the Count of Comburg-Rothenburg.
In 1070, the counts of Comburg-Rothenburg, who also owned the village of Gebsattel, built Rothenburg castle on the mountain top high above the River Tauber.
The counts of the Comburg-Rothenburg dynasty died out in 1116. The last count, Count Heinrich, Emperor Heinrich V appointed instead his nephew Konrad von Hohenstaufen as successor to the Comburg-Rothenburg properties.
In 1142, Konrad von Hohenstaufen, who became Konrad III (1138–52), the self-styled King of the Romans, traded a part of the monastery of Neumünster in Würzburg above the village Detwang and built the Stauffer-Castle Rothenburg on this cheaper land. He held court there and appointed officials called 'reeves' to act as caretakers.
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Wikipedia