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History and Geography


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. The English spelling is Rottenburg.


 * 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.


 * In 1170, the city of Rothenburg was founded at the time of the building of Staufer Castle. The centre was the marketplace and St. James' Church (in German: the St. Jakob). The development of the oldest fortification can be seen, the old cellar/old moat and the milk market. Walls and towers were built in the 13th century. Preserved are the “White Tower” and the Markus Tower with the Röder Arch.


 * From 1194 to 1254, the representatives of the Staufer dynasty governed the area around Rothenburg. Around this time, the Order of St. John and other orders were founded near St. James' Church and a Dominican nunnery (1258).


 * From 1241 to 1242, the Staufer Imperial tax statistics recorded the names of the Jews in Rothenburg. Rabbi Meir Ben Baruch of Rothenburg (died 1293, buried 1307 in Worms) had a great reputation as a jurist in Europe. His descendants include members of the dynastic family von Rothberg, noteworthy in that they were accorded noble status in the 19th century, becoming the hereditary counts of Rothenburg (Rothberg). The family is survived by its last living descendant, Andrew Sandilands Graf von Rothberg, 9th Count of Rothenburg (born 1972), who resides in the United States.


 * In 1274, Rothenburg was accorded privileges by King Rudolf of Habsburg as a Free Imperial City. Three famous fairs were established in the city and in the following centuries, the city expanded. The citizens of the city and the Knights of the Hinterland build the Franziskaner (Franciscan) Monastery and the Holy Ghost Hospital incorporated into the city walls. The German Order began the building of St. James' Church, which the citizens have used since 1336. The Heilig Blut (Holy Blood) pilgrimage attracted many pilgrims to Rothenburg, at the time one of the 20 largest cities of the Holy Roman Empire. The population was around 5,500 people within the city walls and another 14,000 in the 150 square miles of surrounding territory.


 * The Staufer Castle was destroyed by an earthquake in 1356, the St. Blaise chapel is the last remnant today.

Online Records

 * FamilySearch This link takes you to the catalog list of microfilmed documents for civil records of marriage proclamations, marriage supplements, genealogies, obituaries, military records, etc., Bayern, Germany. They are arranged in alphabetical order according to the last name of the husband. Digitized films (camera icon) can be viewed at a family history center or affiliate library.
 * There is some Rothenburg information at Find A Grave
 * Bavaria, Germany, WWI Personnel Rosters, 1914-1918 includes information on some soldiers from Passau on Ancestry.com This source is most useful when you are able to enter the ancestors full name and place of birth.  However if you don't know all those details enter what you can and you may be pleasantly surprised.
 * Various records can also be found through the Meta-search tool on the website of the German Society for Computer Genealogy.

Civil Registration


The Rathaus (town hall) is a notable renaissance building. The rear Gothic part of the building dates from 1250, and the attached front Renaissance building was started in 1572. This building served as the seat of government for the city-state during the medieval ages and for the city of Rothenburg since the formation of the federalist government. The town hall tower of Rothenburg ob der Tauber is one of the only accessible towers in the town of Rothenburg. The other is the Roedertor tower at the east end of the city, and is open daily for visitors to climb. It is almost 61 meters (200 feet) tall. At the top of the tower, an admission fee of 2 euros is charged to enter the room with a scenic view of almost the entire town. The room also contains manuscripts providing the visitor with historical information about the construction and relevant history of the city wall. If you are seeking informationn concerning your family prior to that time it is necessary to go to church records. Rothenburg Standesamt (Rathaus) Marktplatz, 91541, Rothenburg, Bavaria, Germany Phone: +49 09861 404 0 Fax: 09861 404 109 Website: Various civil records are available from the Rathaus through the town hall services website (including birth, death, marriage records) 

Also, you may contact city hall directly through their e-mail address. E-Mail: city@rothenburg.de

Catholic Church Records
There is one Catholic church in the town of Rothenburg.

Catholic Parish Church St. Johannis Untere Schmiedgasse 1 91541 Rothenburg ob der Tauber Germany E-Mail: st-johannis.rothenburg@erzbistum-bamberg.de Website

Catholic Rectory Office St. Johannis Burggasse 20 91541 Rothenburg ob der Tauber Germany Phone: +49 09861/5011 Fax: 09861/4256 E-Mail st-johannis.rothenburg@erzbistum-bamberg.de Website

Lutheran Church Records
St James Church Address: Klostergasse 15, 91541 Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany Phone: +49 9861 700610

Parish Horka Görlitzer Str.48 02923 Horka

Office hours in the parish office with pastor Schwäbe

Tel: 035892 - 3223

E-Mail http://www.evang-kirche-horka@online.de

Mo 15.00 - 18.00 clock di 08.00 - 10.00 do 08.00 - 10.00

Church of St Peter & Paul, Detwang Address: Detwang 24, 91541 Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany Phone: +49 9861 3113 E-mail http://www.rothenburgtauber-evangelisch.de/

Franziskanerkirche Address: Herrengasse, 91541 Rothenburg (Tauber), Germany Website Phone: +49 9861 700620

Cemeteries
The old cemetery in Rothenburg is located on the eastern side of Erlbacher Strasse, across from the new one. The main gate is located at Ansbacher Strasse/Erlbacher Strasse, at its most northern tip. The cemetery is owned and maintained by the city of Rothenburg. The northern part of this cemetery is managed by the Lutheran St. Jakob congregation of Rothenburg, which had been given a perpetual lease for that part by the city in 1911. It has the oldest graves in it. There is a WAR GRAVE SECTION with graves of soldiers and civilian victims of both world wars. Often two individuals are buried in one war grave, who are not related.

The new cemetery in Rothenburg is located on the western side of Erlbacher Strasse, across from the old one. Also known as the "Städtischer Friedhof Rothenburg"

In the middle of the cemetery, under a group of large trees, there is the Children's Corner, an area for burials of infants and children. Many of their grave markers display no last names.

The "Judenkirchhof", the Jewish cemetery was the Jewish citizens' burial ground and was originally situated outside the first town wall, (the present wall being the second one). Already in 1339 this site was known as the 'coemeterium Judaeorum' (the burial ground of the Jews). In 1406-07 a new synagogue was built close by. In 1519 the Jew-baiting campaign of preacher Johann Teuschlein caused consequently the town's council to evict its Jews from Rothenburg and the population looted the synagogue. It was turned into a chapel, dedicated to the 'Pure Virgin Mary' and pulled down in 1561. From 1520 the site was used as a Christian cemetery. In 1532/33 it was enlarged, with the bones being removed from the Jewish tombs by Christian workers to an unknown site. In 1914, when underground engineering work led to the grounds being opened up again, 33 medieval Jewish tombstones, dating from 1266-1395, were discovered. Today they are either at the Reichsstadtmuseum, in the surrounding wall of the Rabbi-Meir-Garden next to the White Tower, or in the Jewish Museum of Franconia in Fürth. However, it was only in 1958 that the 'Judenkirchhof' was renamed 'Schrannenplatz'.

Location: Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Bayern 91541 Mittelfranken.

The second or newer Jewish cemetery in the city of Rothenburg. It is kept as a memorial, no new burials are taking place. The first Jewish cemetery in Rothenburg was established in the 14th century and used until 1520. It was turned into a Christian cemetery after that and eventually closed altogether and turned into a market square. The area maintained the name "Judenkirchhof" (Jewish Burial Ground) until 1958, when it was renamed Schrannenplatz.

The New Jewish Cemetery was established in 1899 and used until 1938, when the Nazis in Germany destroyed it and the stones within. The Jewish congregation was forced to sell the property to the city of Rothenburg in 1943. After World War II the area was returned to the Jewish community and 40 grave stones were "re-created" to mark the graves, which had been mutilated 15 years earlier. Those stones still exist as of 2013. The cemetery is no longer in use but remains intact as a reminder to the atrocities of the Holocaust.

Location: Erlbacher Strasse, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Ansbacher Landkreis, Bavaria (Bayern), 91541 Germany