Walk around day in Rothenburg

We had some time yesterday afternoon and evening to explore Rothenburg, and then all day today.  It's easy to see why this is a very popular tourism destination.  The city dates back to the twelfth century, and during the middle ages grew to be one of the most prosperous in Europe, largely due to its location near the intersection of key north-south and east-west trading routes.   With prosperity came large houses for the wealthy merchants and civic infrastructure (including an extensive set of walls and towers surrounding the city).  After the Plague, and then the Thirty-years War in the early 1600s, the city fell into poverty.  The upside of this misfortune is that it sat pretty much untouched for over 200 years.  Around 1900 Rothenburg was rediscovered for its charming old buildings and beautiful setting, and tourism started to grow; now tourism is pretty much the whole game.

It's getting late and close to bedtime, so I'll just pop up a few pictures without much explanation.  We spent part of today walking around the city ramparts.   You'll see lots of tourists in some of the pictures.























One of the routes of the Camino de Santiago passes through here.  This plaque and statue of a pilgrim are outside the Church of St James (called Jakob here in Germany).