This place is definitely a MUST SEE while you're visiting or living here. Its open to walk around…read morein, in the summer. During winter, they lock it off so there is no access. You may drive right up to it, park and explore. In the summer, the "keep" is open for a small donation so you can see such amazing views. The rest of the area is open for Frei. This is one of my most favorite and unique places to come.

I strolled about the Marktplatz and nearby areas of the wonderful town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber…read more- further down below I give the legend of the clock tower and the reenactment of when the mayor saved the town from destruction. Quite a popular attraction, not to be missed. This surprise effect worked: After walking through the narrow old quarter alleyways in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, visitors suddenly find themselves in the center of the city - the Marktplatz with its giant Town Hall. The entire ensemble expresses the pride of Rothenburg's past residents with their city. With its grand stairs, the Renaissance façade and surrounded by the romantic timber-frame buildings, Rothenburg's Town Hall appears all the more like a monumental castle. In Rothenburg, having a beer cellar below Town Hall was not enough - here the impressive tavern, the Ratstrinkstube, is towering above the Marktplatz.

If Germany has one thing and only one thing going for itself, it's the town squares. Thankfully, it…read morehas much more than just the town squares, but they're all pretty unique, that's for certain. The town square of Rothenburg isn't exactly the largest, but it's still pretty cool. And with its year-round Christmas Market, it definitely sets itself apart from some others. When in Rothenburg, set some time aside to stroll through here, you'll be glad you did.

Schwäbisch Hall or Hall for short was first mentioned in a document dating from 1063. It's…read moreunclear, but Hall possibly refers to the open-pan salt making method used there until the saltworks closed down in 1925. Salt was produced from brine by the Celts at the site of Schwäbisch Hall as early as the fifth century BC. Hall flourished through the production of salt and coins after imperial mint was founded by Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa. Hall became a Free Imperial City of the Holy Roman Empire around 1280. From the 14th to the 16th centuries, Hall systematically acquired a large territory in the surrounding area, mostly from noble families and the Comburg Monastery. The wealth of this era can still be seen in some gothic buildings like St. Michael's Church (rebuilt 1427-1526) with its impressive stairway (1507). The town joined the Protestant Reformation very early. Johannes Brenz, a follower of Martin Luther, was made pastor of St. Michael's Church in 1522 and quickly began to reform the church and the school system along Lutheran lines. Hall suffered severely during the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) though it was never besieged or scene of a battle. However, it was forced to pay enormous sums to the armies of the various parties, especially to the imperial, Swedish and French troops. Between 1634 and 1638 every fifth inhabitant died of hunger and disease, especially from the bubonic plague. The war left the town an impoverished and economically ruined place, but with the help of reorganizations of salt production and trade and a growing wine trade, there was an astonishingly fast recovery. The Napoleonic wars brought the history of Hall as a Free Imperial City to an end. Following the Treaty of Lunéville (1801), the duke of Württemberg was allowed by Napoleon to occupy the town and several other minor states as a compensation for territories on the Left Bank of the Rhine that fell to France. Although Swäbisch Hall doesn't have any medieval fortifications walls surrounding it like Rothenburg o. d. T. or Dinkelsbühl, it certainly provides a very quaint medieval atmosphere with its numerous half-timbered houses and buildings, cobble stone streets, massive Gothic church on the hill, and Kocher River running through it. You can certainly enjoy strolling and wandering in this town for hours imagining how one's life might have been during those days. You'll enjoy visiting this town.

A gorgeous street in town that still has many of the Middle Ages buildings intact and beautifully…read morerestored or painted. Very few places in town survived after the war and although the city is dotted with many older buildings this is one of the few streets that is quite intact with its cobblestone walkway. It takes you down memory lane and, if you can only imagine what these streets were like in their time, it's incredible :-) A must visit if you are in Nuremberg and you can also walk from here along the river to St. Johannis Friedhof which is another beautiful and interesting place to visit and the whole experience takes you back in time.