Above, gun embrasures inside the walls extending from Rothenburg's Hospitaler Gate

 The settlement of Rothenburg was established in the 9th century but by the beginning of the 12th century the founding family had died out. The original castle had been handed to the monastary of Comburg.
Within a few years Emperor Henry V gifted the castle to the Hohenstaufen dynasty. Rothenburg was the residence town of Konrad who became king and built his Emperor's Castle by the old original castle.

In 1172 Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa, nephew to the now deceased Konrad, gave Rothenburg its freedom.In this century the first of the town walls was built and included Castle Gate, the city's oldest fortification.

In 1356 an earthquake destroyed the castle.
One policy in village fortifications was to maintain a minimum width between residences and the wall to facilitate movement of men and materials during battle.


The exterior portal of Kobolzeller Gate and Kohl Tower.

 
The massive wall and buttresses protecting the imperial city hall.

 In 1339 Emperor Ludwig the Bavarian authorized the city to conduct its own foriegn affairs. The town did well until its was besieged in 1407 by Friedrich von Nürnberg and the Bishop of Würzburg when all the town outside the walls was destroyed.

In the Thirty Years War the town was conquered three times, in 1618, 1634 and 1645.

At right: steps leading to the wall's rampart, still accessible today by any wishing to walk the medieval defensive positions.