The best time to visit Rothenburg ob der Tauber is from May to September. Winters are cool here, and summers are hot, with temperatures above +30 °C.

Rothenburg has a glorious history: it was once the pride of Franconia and was considered a center of trade. Gradually the city turned into a corner of comfort. Today, only 12 thousand residents live in Rothenburg. The area of ​​its territory is small - a little more than 40 km². But it is still noisy here, because every year 2 million tourists visit the village. According to statistics, it is the third most visited city in Germany. First of all, guests from Japan and China are interested in Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

Rothenburg's popularity is due to its favorable location. The city is located at the intersection of the most popular routes for tourists - the Romantic Route and the Road of Castles. The view of Rothenburg is impressive - it seems that it rises above the Tauber River valley. No wonder the name of the city is translated as “fortress above the river.”

History of Rothenburg ob der Tauber

The first houses in this area appeared in 960. Two centuries later, a fortress was built, and then the settlement of Rothenburg arose. The geographical location of the city played into the hands of local residents. Rothenburg ob der Tauber became a center of trade, quickly developed and prospered. In the 13th century, the locality was given the status of a “free imperial city.” This meant that the local people were directly subordinate to the king.

In the 14th century, the fortress was destroyed due to an earthquake, but this did not prevent the further development of the city. At the beginning of the 15th century, the number of residents exceeded six thousand - this was the “Golden Age” of Rothenburg. The subsequent history of the town is sad. During the Thirty Years' War, the settlement was occupied several times. The heyday gave way to decline. After this, the city seemed to fall into a sleep - it did not develop, lost its significance, but managed to maintain its original medieval appearance.

In the 19th century, Rothenburg became part of Bavaria. When Germany became unified, the settlement attracted the interest of tourists. Rothenburg ob der Tauber had to endure difficult times during the Second World War. About 40% of buildings were destroyed due to bombs. The eastern, new part of the Old City suffered. Fortunately, the most important landmarks survived and the residents rebuilt the center of Rothenburg. The Americans helped restore the buildings - memorial plaques on the walls remind us of this.

The ancient spirit of Rothenburg

Rothenburg ob der Tauber is protected from adversity by the city wall. Its length is quite large - 3 km. You can walk along the city walls and walk around the entire perimeter of the settlement. The fortress is complemented by turrets, some of which were erected in the 12th century.

Guests enter through the gate, which is considered a landmark in itself. If you move from the railway station, you need to go through the 14th century gate. But in beauty they are inferior to the Castle Gate, which is also called the Eastern Gate. The path through them leads to a city park located on a cliff. When passing through the gate, you should raise your head and look for the mask - through it, tar was poured onto the attackers of Rothenburg. The castle itself has not survived.

Other buildings of the ancient town also proved to be beyond the control of time. Tourists admire the powerful fortress wall, ancient paving stones, and narrow streets. The houses match - quaint, with neat facades. Almost all of them are half-timbered - this is the name of the technology that developed back in the 15th century in Germany. The buildings have almost no load-bearing walls, only a frame made of horizontal and vertical elements. The space between the beams is filled with different materials: stone, brick, wood. Since there is no load on the walls, they can be removed and rebuilt as desired. This allows you to organize the space inside the house in a new way.

The walls of the buildings in Rothenburg ob der Tauber are snow-white and decorated with ornaments. The balconies and windows are decorated with flowers. You can walk around the entire city, but still not find a single modern building, but you can fully feel the atmosphere of the Middle Ages and comfort. Thanks to its “classic” appearance, Rothenburg is often chosen as a film location. Usually films about Germany or the Middle Ages are shot here. The last part of Harry Potter was even created in Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

The pride of the “fortress above the river”

Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a small town. Just ten minutes - and tourists find themselves in the very center, on the Market Square. The town hall is here. It differs in color - the snow-white part is adjacent to the brown one. One half of it is a medieval Franconian building, the other is an ancient tower. The height of the town hall is 60 meters. You can go up to the observation deck and admire the view of the peaceful German town. There is an entrance fee, but it is inexpensive. You can safely pass the turnstile and climb the steps of a narrow and steep staircase. They pay at the very top.

To the right, near the town hall, is a building with an intricate doll clock. It's worth taking a look at the "masterful sip" here. The clock shows the doll emptying a large goblet of wine twice a day. It is believed that the original decoration was created in memory of the burgomaster of Rothenburg. At the beginning of the 17th century, during the Thirty Years' War, the city was captured. An unpleasant fate awaited him - the enemies were going to completely destroy and burn Rothenburg. The invaders mockingly promised that they would not touch the territory under one condition. The local burgomaster Nush had to drain a huge goblet of wine - 3.5 liters - in one sip. The head of the city coped with the task.

There is an old diner near the town hall. It was created during the heyday of Rothenburg, in the 15th century. Around the square there are various cafes, shops with souvenirs, and shops. All the most significant events take place on the Market Square: festivities, theatrical performances, seasonal markets.

Another local pride is the Church of St. James. Since the 14th century, the temple has been “protecting” the city. Tourists admire the carved wooden altar. It is believed that the cross contains rock crystal capsules that were used at the Last Supper. Stained glass windows create a special atmosphere in the church, turning the interior space into a work of art.

After exploring the main attractions of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, you can take a break and stroll through the city park. On its territory there is a small hill from where a panorama of the surrounding area opens up. You can see houses with red roofs, and the surrounding greenery of the trees emphasizes their beauty. The park gates and the ancient well of St. George have been preserved.

Museums Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Rothenburg is not only a “time machine”, it is considered a “city of artists”. You can easily verify this by walking through museums. Interesting exhibitions include the Nativity Exhibition and the Crime Museum of the Middle Ages. It is worth exploring local art or learning about the wild customs of medieval society. The museum of the imperial city contains a collection of ancient objects: furniture, sculptures and paintings, tools and even toys. The building itself where the collection is kept is also interesting - it is a convent of the 13th century.

There are always a lot of tourists at the Museum of Medieval Forensics in Rothenburg. The collection includes an assortment of different types of punishments from the 12th to 18th centuries. Chastity belts, chairs with spikes, metal masks of shame in the shape of a pig's snout - the most sophisticated methods were found to torture and shame citizens. Even documents about the process of torture of witches have been preserved.

After the horrors of the Forensic Science Museum, you can look into the Old Rotenburg Craftsman's House, where a completely different atmosphere reigns. The building has been in operation since the 13th century. At first, various craftsmen lived in it: coopers, basket makers, soap makers... A hermit who did not recognize the benefits of civilization also called it his home. He did not provide any plumbing or electricity. Today the museum consists of 11 rooms reproducing ancient furnishings. There is an apprentice's closet, a kitchen with an open window, and a well inside the house for water.

Eternal Christmas

In Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Christmas is revered and remembered throughout the year. Opposite the town hall there is a Christmas museum. At the door there is a large sleigh with gifts. The showcase is decorated with festive garlands. On the street near the building, Christmas carols are constantly sung. The museum unites five houses in the Bavarian style. There is a festive atmosphere inside. Santa Claus and reindeer, Christmas trees and toys - the products are made of different materials. The collection includes vintage postcards. The museum has a toy store where you can shop with significant discounts in the summer. Near the houses, a five-meter spruce tree peacefully “watches” what is happening.

One of the fabulous places in Rothenburg ob der Tauber is the doll museum. Here is a collection of toys created by German and French masters. There is also a shop in town that sells Teddy bears. At Christmas, Rothenburg hosts festive markets, brass bands fill the streets with music, and theatrical performances and dances are held. You can join a tour through the mysterious nooks and crannies of Rothenburg.

Time for fun

Residents of Rothenburg ob der Tauber liven up their lives with more than just the Christmas spirit. Every year costume parties are held. The townspeople try on ancient clothes and figure out their roles - merchants, artisans, horsemen, musketeers. The events are dedicated to the Thirty Years' War, which significantly changed the fate of the German city. An obligatory figure of the holiday is the burgomaster, who must drink wine from a goblet and stand on his feet. Even the name of the celebration is appropriate - “Mastery Sip”. After draining the cup, local residents loudly shout the phrase “The city is saved!” and rejoice. Similar theatrical celebrations are held several times a year. The walk takes place on a large scale, covering different venues, but the most significant event in Rothenburg ob der Tauber is held on Whitsunday.

The townspeople are sensitive to old traditions and revere them sacredly. On the holidays of Trinity and Easter you can enjoy shepherd dances. The tradition has come down from the time of the plague. So the cattle drivers tried to ward off the disease from the city. At the end of September, a vibrant city festival takes place. The history of Rothenburg is “brought to life” with the help of costume plays and processions, and even Medieval trials are re-enacted. When it gets dark, residents and visitors of the city are treated to volleys of fireworks.

Another tradition is the night guard walking around the fortress every day. A man dressed in black carries a lamp and a halberd. First it goes around the Old Town, ending at the Market Square. The position of Rothenburg guard remained as a reminder of the past - he has no duties other than patrolling.

Shopping in Rothenburg

There are no skyscrapers or large shopping complexes in this German city, but in many houses there are small souvenir shops, clothing boutiques and jewelry stores. Most buildings with brisk trade have metal signs hanging on them. In the past, Rothenburg merchants used them to stand out from the gray crowd. This was one of the first forms of advertising. In the passage under the town hall you can stroll through the flea market and look at antiques.

You can buy a Teddy bear as a gift - toys of different sizes are sold at your local store. The Christmas decoration shop is also worth buying something as a souvenir, even if it’s summer. In Rothenburg, tourists buy copies of medieval armor and weapons - men are primarily interested in this.

Local delicacies

The delicacy of Rothenburg ob der Tauber is considered to be “snowballs” – “schneebal”. This is a bun cake, which is created from shortcrust pastry according to an old recipe. It is sold everywhere: in cafes, bakeries, shops and even in souvenir shops. They will please even the discerning tourist, because cookies are made in different variations - with powder, glaze, chocolate, cinnamon. It is worth trying different types of bread and local wine, which is bottled in special shapes.

Hotel deals

How to get there

Traditionally, tourists include a visit to Rothenburg ob der Tauber in the program of their trip to Bavaria or Germany in general. It will not be possible to fly to this city directly from Russia, since Rothenburg does not have its own airport. But there are more than a dozen flights daily from Moscow and St. Petersburg to Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Munich and Nuremberg. The main air carriers are Aeroflot and S7, as well as their foreign partners. The flight will take about 3 hours, and then from each of the four neighboring cities Rothenburg can be easily reached by car or train.

By car, be prepared to cover the following distances: from Stuttgart – 165 km, from Frankfurt – 185 km, from Munich – 245 km, if you count from the airports. The journey along the German autobahns will take no more than 2–2.5 hours; stay on the A7 highway. After the exit "Rothenburg/Tauber" - 2 km to the Old Town. A more attractive option seems to be a trip from Nuremberg, only 80 km, but it is worth keeping in mind that you can only fly to this city from Russia with a transfer.

You can park your car near the walls of the Old City - there are five parking areas. Two of them are free – P5 and partially P4. They are located in the northeast of the town. You can’t get into the center of Rothenburg by car on a weekend - access is only open to local residents. On weekdays the passage is closed from 11:00 to 16:00, and then from 19:00 to 5:00. Entry is free for hotel guests.

You can get to Rothenburg ob der Tauber by train using the RB regional train network. From the central stations of Munich, Stuttgart and Frankfurt, trains to Rothenburg depart every 30-40 minutes. Trains depart from Nuremberg a little less frequently, about once an hour. Travel times vary depending on the type of train, so the journey from any city listed will take approximately 2.5 to 3.5 hours. You can get to the cozy German city through Wurzburg. By train - about an hour. Excursion bus tours from Prague or Munich with Russian-speaking guides are also organized to Rothenburg.

The city's territory is small, so there is no need for public transport. You can travel on foot or rent a bicycle at one of the hotels. For complete immersion in the ancient atmosphere, tourists are offered a ride on a horse-drawn cart.

They are ready to provide guests with information on site - it is provided at the tourist center located on the main street of Rothenburg. Travelers are offered booklets in Russian - with information about the city, a map, and a list of hotels. You can also find out about upcoming city holidays at the office.

“That summer day in 2005 completely changed the life of a simple St. Petersburg driver, Pavel Yakshis, who worked part-time as a freight transporter. He was driving his Gazelle along Tikhoretsky Avenue in the northern capital, when a concrete mixer suddenly braked in front of him.

To avoid a collision, Yakshis sharply took to the right and immediately heard a loud, irritated beep. It turned out that he accidentally cut off a black Toyota Land Cruiser and a Mitsubisi Pagero. The jeeps overtook Yakshis's Gazelle and stood up, blocking her path. Two men of athletic build, dressed in colorful Hawaiian shirts, with gold chains around their necks, came out of the first one, and with a springy gait walked towards Yakshis. One of them approached the door of the Gazelle and tried to pull Yakshis out. When he failed, he hit the driver hard in the face. He took out a traumatic pistol "Osa" and threatened: "I'll shoot you now." This only caused the attacker to grin contemptuously, and he struck Yakshis again. Then the driver actually fired, a rubber bullet hit the attacker in the chest, he lifted his T-shirt, looked at the dent and muttered through his teeth: “Well, now my people will bury you.”

Later, Yashkis wrote in his testimony to investigators that those who attacked him resembled “brothers.” But these were not bandits. A simple driver had the misfortune of colliding with one of the most influential people in the country, co-owner of the Northern Sea Route bank, judoka and friend of President Vladimir Putin, Boris Rotenberg.

Two months later, the trial of Pavel Yakshis took place in the Vyborg Court of St. Petersburg. At first, the prosecutor's office accused Pavel, who himself came to the police station, of “attempted murder,” but then the case was reclassified as “hooliganism.” Yakshis pleaded not guilty and stated that he shot accidentally, dodging the attacker’s blow. In the end, the judge qualified the charge as “intentional infliction of minor bodily harm” and sentenced the defendant to a fine of 20 thousand rubles.

Boris Rotenberg, who suffered during the conflict, did not appear at the court hearing. Yakshis told the newspapers that he would file a complaint with the City Court of St. Petersburg, but then abandoned this idea. According to Forbes magazine, soon after the trial he stopped working in freight transport and entered a monastery.

In the summer of 2005, neither Pavel Yakshis nor 99.9 percent of Russian citizens had the slightest idea who Boris Rotenter was. Now the Rotenberg family is widely known, largely thanks to the road conflict. True, much larger than the one that happened in St. Petersburg ten years ago.

Part-time billionaire

Arkady is considered the head of the Rotenberg family. He was born in 1951 in Leningrad. Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences. Honored Judo Trainer. According to Forbes, he ranks 60th in the list of the richest people in Russia with a capital of $1.4 billion. Included in the list of US and EU economic sanctions. Divorced. Has 4 children. Ex-wife Natalya Rotenberg lives in the UK with their two common children - Varvara and Arkady.

In September 1964, a young St. Petersburg sambo coach Anatoly Rakhlin, having visited several schools in Leningrad, gathered a group of several boys and began training them in a small gym. Among those who signed up for the section was 12-year-old Arkady Rotenberg, who had previously been involved in artistic gymnastics. The boy immediately attracted the coach's attention. Agile, stable, like a cat, intelligent and stubborn. “They fought a lot on the streets,” Rakhlin recalled. “Of course, in St. Petersburg they had to defend themselves. But Arkady was very aggressive, he liked to hurt someone somewhere...”

Apparently, he wanted to be strong and brave. I thought that Volodya was calm, but then it turned out that no, he was explosive.

Six months later, another boy, Volodya Putin, who lived nearby, in Baskov Lane, signed up for Rakhlin’s section. “I don’t know what his motivation was to start practicing sambo,” Rakhlin recalls about Putin. - Apparently, he wanted to be strong and brave. I thought that Volodya was calm, but then it turned out that no, he was explosive. It seems to me that he retained this attacking style throughout his life."

“The wise coach was right,” Russian political scientist Andrei Piontkovsky comments on Rakhlin’s memoirs. “In order to survive in his environment, a weak boy had to become resourceful and cruel, be able to adapt to a strong one and never experience moral doubts and suffering. As a result, the yard wolf cub grew up in a strong and merciless wolf, who forever remembered the blows and always passionately wanted to jump higher in order to overcome the humiliating wall of inequality that he had faced since childhood."

Sports firmly connected Arkady Rotenberg and Vladimir Putin. Arkady, his brother Boris, who also began studying with Rakhlin, and Volodya Putin spent almost all their free time together. Training, cleaning the gym, visiting, traveling to competitions - all this brought them together. “I’m still friends with the people I worked with then,” Putin admitted in 2000 in his biography-interview “From the First Person.”

However, some who knew the Rotenbergs well at that time gave them far from flattering characteristics. For example, this is what Nikolai Vashchilin, master of sports in sambo, a former KGB officer, who studied in the same section with Rakhlin, says about Arkady: “I know Arkady as a poor little Jewish boy. And suddenly not a millionaire, but a billionaire! Yes, he counts He doesn’t know how to reach these numbers! He graduated from the correspondence department of the Institute of Physical Education! In our time, it was believed that if you study by correspondence at the Lesgaft Institute, then you are a fool!

Today Nikolai Vashchilin is a pensioner receiving a 10 thousand ruble pension. After several interviews he gave about Vladimir Putin and people from his inner circle, he tries not to leave the house and does not meet with old acquaintances.

Between organized crime groups and PIC

Rotenberg’s sporting ties with Putin were not interrupted even when Putin took the post of Chairman of the Committee on External Relations (KBC) of the St. Petersburg City Hall. In the early 1990s, Arkady helped Putin continue his judo training. He performed with him in training as his sparring partner, since they were in the same weight category. Thanks to this, Rotenberg has since become known as “Putin’s coach.” In 1998, Arkady became the general director of the Yavara-Neva sports club, of which Vladimir Putin was elected president.

Of course, I don’t have a direct connection with Putin, but information about our successes is passed on to the right person

“Can success in sports bring benefits? Yes, if you play sports with Vladimir Putin,” writes Forbes magazine. By the way, Arkady Rotenberg himself has never been shy about emphasizing his connection with the president. Once he was asked if it helped him that the head of state himself took patronage of Yavara-Neva. Arkady replied: “What do you think? Our moral duty to the country and the president gives us strength. After all, Putin is a real judoka.” And then he added: “Of course, I don’t have a direct connection with Putin, but information about our successes is passed on to the right person.” Rotenberg was disingenuous. Putin never refused to meet with him, no matter how busy he was.

But let's go back to the early 90s. Journalist Alexander Kostin published on the website сompromat.ru under the heading “The President is tightening the screws on presumptuous St. Petersburg authorities.” It states that in the 90s, judoka Arkady Rotenberg was involved in “protection” of trade tents and had extensive connections with members of the so-called “Tambov” organized crime group, at that time the most powerful organized crime group in St. Petersburg. The article, in particular, states that he was doing business with one of the leaders of the Tambov gang, Oleg Shuster, co-owner of the professional wushu club Fei Long, as well as one of the sponsors of the cult television series Streets of Broken Lanterns.

Shuster was part of the top echelon of the Tambov gang, along with former boxing coach, later State Duma deputy on the LDPR list Mikhail Glushchenko (nickname “Khokhol”), authorities Vasya “Bryansky”, Stepa “Ulyanovsky” and Bob “Kemerovsky”. Later, Rotenberg, thanks to his connections with Putin, assigned Shuster as an assistant to the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Government, Minister of Agriculture Alexei Gordeev.

According to Evgeny Vyshenkov, a former employee of the Criminal Investigation Department, who later headed the St. Petersburg Agency for Investigative Journalism, the Rotenbergs were nevertheless able to stay away from obvious crime. Vyshenkov tells the following story. While working in the Criminal Investigation Department, he once observed negotiations in one of the St. Petersburg restaurants. The conversation took place between several strong men and a two-meter Chechen nicknamed Orbi. Vyshenkov later learned that one of the men was Arkady Rotenberg. The case in question concerned his friend, who was attacked by the Chechens. Rotenberg was ready for any surprises, but he could not maintain a conversation in specific slang, says the former operative.

At the same time, Arkady probably served as an intermediary between the mayor’s office and representatives of the organized criminal group, with whom Deputy Mayor Putin could not communicate due to his position. But there was a need for this - Vladimir Putin, for example, was in charge of the development of the gambling business in the city, and all the large St. Petersburg casinos were then controlled by the Tambov organized crime group.

“It was a time when everyone was doing everything,” says one of Arkady Rotenberg’s first partners, Levan Pirveli. He headed the Russian-Austrian joint venture that built the five-star Metekhi hotel in Tbilisi. The entrepreneur was planning to build a similar hotel in St. Petersburg together with Arkady Rotenberg. Nothing came of this venture, but Rotenberg made “the most pleasant impression” on his partner with his connections and entrepreneurial talent.

Arkady's business began to develop more actively after his younger brother Boris Rotenberg returned to the northern capital from Finland.

Boris Rotenberg was born on January 3, 1957 in Leningrad. In 1978. Graduated from the Leningrad Institute of Physical Culture and Sports named after. P.F. Lesgafta. He played for the city's sambo team and was a prize-winner at the USSR Championships and USSR Cups among youth. Since 1992, coach of the professional judo club "Chikara" in Helsinki. Master of Sports in Judo (1974). Master of Sports in Sambo wrestling (1980). Entered the Forbes magazine ranking, taking 100th place with a fortune of $700 million. Divorced, has two children.

Moscow "sublimation"

By the turn of the century, the Yavara-Neva club had become one of the most successful sports organizations in the country, and in 2000, with the election of Vladimir Putin as President of Russia, the horizons of the Rotenbergs' opportunities expanded immeasurably.

Rotenberg passed his first test as an entrepreneur at the federal level in the fall of 1999, when Putin was still Prime Minister of Russia. Then he met a little-known businessman who sold alcohol and sporting goods, Sergei Zivenko. They became friends, and in February 2000, Rotenberg introduced Zivenko to the head of the Presidential Security Service, Viktor Zolotov. According to the German magazine Spiegel, Zolotov contributed to the appointment of Zivenko to the post of general director of Rosspirtprom, to which about a hundred state-owned alcohol and distillery factories were transferred. Rotenberg and Zivenko formalized their trading partnership by registering the wholesale company "Zirot", which was located on one of the most prestigious streets in Moscow, Novy Arbat.

In 2000, Zivenko lost this post. Most likely, he was “eaten” by Patrushev’s people, who were eager to establish control over one of the most profitable areas of business in Russia. However, Zivenko did not lose out; he created the influential Kristall group, which included two large vodka factories. The Rotenberg brothers invested billions of rubles they earned from selling vodka into the Northern Sea Route bank, which they founded in 2001.

Their property is absolutely protected, and their interests are comparable to those of the state

Rosspirtprom is not the only government agency that finds itself in the Rotenbergs’ sphere of interest. In 2008, Alexander Grigoriev, a KGB colleague and friend of Putin, who headed Rosrezerv, a giant purchasing organization whose activities are largely classified, died suddenly. After Grigoriev’s death, Dmitry Gogin, a manager of one of the companies controlled by the Rotenbergs, became the deputy head of Rosrezerv.

However, the largest state-owned enterprise with which the brothers established work was Gazprom.

“There is a layer of businessmen in Russia who are not afraid of any bureaucratic barriers and despise political risks,” writes Novaya Gazeta. “Their property is absolutely protected, and their interests are comparable to state ones. They are untouchable. The doors of state-owned companies are open to them. And almost any entrepreneur from the Russian Forbes list will gladly offer them a share in their own business."

In 2002, Rem Vyakhirev’s managers at Gazprom were replaced by members of Vladimir Putin’s team, led by Alexei Miller. The new management began to reorganize the commodity and financial flows associated with procurement. There was $4.5 billion at stake. For this amount, Gazprom then annually bought a variety of products, from pipes to compressors and other equipment.

In 2006, Maxim Mironov, a young economist from Russia who moved to the United States, published an interesting study. Using a pirated database of financial transactions of Russian banks, Mironov identified several unknown companies through whose accounts, in the complete absence of production activity, gigantic sums were pumped. The record holder was Gaztaged LLC, owned by the Rotenberg brothers. In 2003-2004 alone, it passed through about $1 billion.

In 2005, the director of corporate research at the British investment company Hermitage Capital Management (it advised the Hermitage fund, a minority shareholder of Gazprom), Vadim Kleiner, who was applying for a seat on the board of directors of Gazprom, in his report named several intermediaries who received incomprehensible preferences from "Gazprom". One of them was Gaztaged.

This criticism has cost the foreign investor dearly. In November 2005, Hermitage executive director William Browder was banned from entering Russia. Vladimir Putin, answering questions from journalists on this matter, shrugged his shoulders and said that he did not know why this happened. Putin put it roughly in the spirit that anyone who breaks the law will be denied entry, and investors can hope for support.

Hermitage Capital Management worked in Russia for about ten years; Browder attracted about $4 billion in Western investment, but this did not save him. At first, Browder was not allowed into the country. In 2007, searches followed in Hermitage. In 2008, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs opened a criminal case against Browder, and Hermitage closed its Russian office. Later, he led a campaign to investigate the theft of income taxes paid by the foundation to the Russian budget at the end of 2006, and to search for the killers of the foundation's lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, who revealed this theft.

In July 2013, a Russian court sentenced Browder in absentia to 9 years in a general regime colony. The “Magnitsky case” has acquired the widest international resonance. However, this did not in any way affect the business of the Rotenberg brothers. On the contrary, in the absence of Western competitors, whom President Putin cut off with decisive actions, their business began to flourish even more. In the spring of 2008, Gazprom sold five of its companies to Rotenberg's structures - Krasnodargazstroy, Volgogaz, Lengazspetsstroy, Spetsgazremstroy, Volgogradneftemash.

Non-core assets, as Gazprom later announced, were sold at the starting price of 8.4 billion rubles. Cypriot offshore companies acquired controlling stakes in these construction companies. For the time being, the new owners did not show themselves in any way, but then extraordinary meetings of shareholders were held in all companies at the same time, and as a result, representatives of the NPV-engineering company received the majority of seats on the boards of directors. The owner of this company is Arkady Rotenberg, and his son Igor heads its Board of Directors. This is how Stroygazmontazh was born. The corporate booklet reports that already in 2008, revenue amounted to 54 billion rubles, and the number of employees was 11,000 people. The brainchild of the Rotenbergs, having supplanted all competitors, became the main supplier of pipes and other equipment for the powerful Gazprom.

The activities of Arkady and Boris Rotenberg, however, are not limited to working with state-owned companies. In 2008, entrepreneurs Alexander Ponomarev and Alexander Skorobogatko took the Rotenbergs into their business, giving them 10 percent of the Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port. State Duma deputy Ashot Yeghiazaryan attracted Arkady Rotenberg as a partner in the reconstruction of the Moscow Hotel. Relations with Vladimir Putin continued to function smoothly along all fronts. And the Rotenbergs took on everything that brought in a solid income - pipe trading, organizing shipping, vodka production, housing construction, and real estate trading.

Very often, large construction companies became partners with the Rotenbergs. For example, the MSM-5 company attracted little-known Paritet LLC to cooperate. This company had neither workers nor construction equipment, the authorized capital was only 15,000 rubles. But the founders of Parity are Arkady and Boris Rotenberg. Why does a large construction company need such cooperation? “Everyone has strengths. Some know how to build, some have financial resources, some have administrative resources,” believes Andrei Pankovsky, deputy general director and co-owner of DSK-1, one of the largest Moscow construction companies.

“The Rotenbergs’ business is trading in the right connections,” summed up the late political scientist Vladimir Pribylovsky, author of several books about Vladimir Putin’s St. Petersburg entourage. The former head of the Judo Federation, businessman Vladimir Shestakov, who emigrated to Latvia, thinks the same. “They solve issues that took me months with one call,” Shestakov said about the Rotenbergs.

However, the Rotenbergs’ activities were not always greeted with jubilation by other “sharks” of Russian business. On one autumn day in 2011, employees of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) raided the office of the Northern European Pipe Project company of the Rotenberg brothers on Michurinsky Avenue in Moscow. Why did the FAS become interested in the Rotenbergs in 2011, although their companies, the main suppliers of pipes to Gazprom, have been operating since 2005? The check, as the Vedomosti newspaper found out, began on the orders of then Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, who, like the Rotenbergs, is part of Putin’s inner circle. But in the case of the Rotenbergs, Sechin had to retreat.

They don't care about black marks

“If I hadn’t been promoted as Putin’s friend, business would have been worse,” admitted Arkady Rotenberg in an interview.

Rotenberg's companies build not only gas pipelines - the Mostotrest holding, in which Arkady Rotenberg and his son own about 26% of shares, has come out on top in terms of the volume of government contracts for the construction of roads and other infrastructure structures. Mostotrest built a backup of Kurortny Prospekt in Sochi, the head section of the Moscow-St. Petersburg highway. The largest contract for 34.7 billion for the improvement of roads around Skolkovo was presented to Rotenberg’s company on one of the last days of his presidency by Dmitry Medvedev. Mostotrest won another contract for a section of the Moscow-St. Petersburg highway at a competition of the Moscow government in a fierce struggle with ARKS (co-owner Gennady Timchenko), reducing the price from the initial 29 billion to 23 billion rubles.

And finally, in 2015, the Rotenbergs took on a particularly important project, which Timchenko, also a close friend of Putin, refused. In January 2015, the Russian government published a decree appointing Arkady Rotenberg's Stroygazmontazh company as a contractor for the construction of a bridge across the Kerch Strait to Crimea. They plan to allocate 228 billion rubles for its construction. Arkady Rotenberg himself promises to meet the construction deadlines announced by the head of state: the bridge should be ready by 2018.

Arkady Rotenberg once admitted in an interview that he understands: the Crimean project is a “black mark” for him and complete isolation from the West. “But this doesn’t bother me much,” the businessman added.

In 2014, the Rotenberg brothers came under US sanctions, and Arkady Rotenberg was also included in the EU sanctions list. The American payment systems Visa and MasterCard have stopped servicing the cards of clients of SMP Bank, owned by the Rotenbergs. Almost simultaneously, the property of Arkady Rotenberg was arrested in Italy. The Corriere della Sera newspaper, which reported the news citing its sources in Italy's financial guard, estimates the value of the seized property at at least 30 million euros. “I have been under sanctions for several months now, nothing surprises me anymore,” said Arkady Rotenberg. “It is surprising that in this case we are talking about some kind of real estate that is not subject to sanctions. Only accounts and assets are subject to the announced sanctions. which I don’t have in Italy. This once again shows the illegitimacy of the measures and the absurdity of this situation.”

As a result of the sanctions, the Rotenberg family, which includes four members of the Forbes list - Arkady Rotenberg, his son Igor Rotenberg, brother Boris Rotenberg and his son Roman, lost its leadership in the ranking of the richest family clans in Russia over the course of a year. According to Forbes, the combined fortune of Arkady, Boris and Igor Rotenberg dropped to $2.95 billion over the year (last year their family fortune was estimated at $5.55 billion).

However, athletes accustomed to wrestling are not inclined to dramatize the situation. They began to get rid of risky assets and at the beginning of May 2015 they sold, in particular, their shares of the Latvian subsidiary SMP Bank to local businessmen.

In addition, Arkady and Boris began to transfer their assets to their sons, who are not on Western sanctions lists. Igor Rotenberg, for example, received from his father shares of Mostotrest, Gazprombureniya and TPS Real Estate. Today, Igor Rotenberg formally owns the largest number of shares in the family portfolio.

Igor Arkadyevich Rotenberg was born on May 9, 1973. In 2002 he graduated from the Higher School of Privatization and Entrepreneurship. In 2002-2003 - Deputy Head of the Property Department of the Fuel and Energy Complex of the Russian Ministry of Property. In 2003-2004 – head of the transport and communications property department of the Ministry of State Property of Russia. In 2004-2005 - Vice President of Russian Railways OJSC. Since 2006 – Chairman of the Board of Directors of NPV Engineering OJSC. Net worth: about 0.5 billion dollars. Married, three children.

Don't forget to pay your fare!

Despite Western sanctions, the Rotenbergs continue to remain the “kings of government contracts” in Russia. And if in 2013 their companies received government contracts worth 102.8 billion rubles, then in 2014 this amount increased to 184 billion.

In addition to the super project to build a bridge to Crimea, the Rotenbergs receive other large-scale contracts. In June 2015, information appeared that Gazprom was going to build the Kuban-Crimea gas pipeline worth 14.3 billion rubles and, apparently, without a tender, Arkady Rotenberg’s Stroygazmontazh would receive the order. The construction of a main gas pipeline to supply the peninsula is estimated at 20 billion rubles.

Back in 2010, the Rotenberg family had its eye on such a tidbit of the budget as allocations for the construction of toll roads.

“I was amazed at how decisively President Vladimir Putin addressed the obstacles we faced,” Yves-Thibault de Silguy, president of France’s largest construction group Vinci, told the French press. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced that it refuses to finance the construction of the Moscow-St. Petersburg toll road because it will have to cut down 14 oak trees in the Khimki forest. Putin personally intervened and quickly found replacement creditors for foreigners. Instead of the EBRD, Sberbank and Vnesheconombank agreed to issue loans for the construction of toll roads on very preferential terms.

French companies remained in business, but, of course, control was not with them, but with private Russian investors. The Minsk direction went to Rossiya Bank, whose owner is another old acquaintance of Putin, Yuri Kovalchuk, the Moscow-St. Petersburg road was given to the Rotenberg structures.

Corruption whistleblower Alexei Navalny recently published online photos of two giant twin palaces of Arkady and Roman Rotenberg, built in Barvikha, near Moscow. “Arkady and Boris Rotenberg graduated from the Physical Education Institute,” Navalny writes about them. “They didn’t create anything. They didn’t come up with anything new. They didn’t give us iPhones, social networks, or successful investment projects. But they got everything they wanted practically for free.” .

Recently, the Rotenbergs have become interested in the issue of collecting transport taxes on toll federal highways.

Back in 2010, Transport Minister Igor Levitin, whose name has also been associated with the Rotenberg brothers in recent years, proposed restoring fees for road funds that were eliminated in 2001. Then the funds were closed for political reasons: theft in road construction was flourishing in the regions, and the governor’s corps had to be built into the vertical of power and deprived of opportunities for corruption. By 2010, the vertical system had been rebuilt, gubernatorial elections were long over, but it was understood that the way out of the economic crisis could be stimulated through road construction, for which there was not enough money in the budget

All that remained was to find the necessary lobbyist to carry out this operation. And he was soon found. It was Sergei Chemezov, head of Russian Technologies. He convinced the government that it was his state corporation, as part of fashionable import substitution, that was capable of establishing a toll collection system that would be based on Russian technologies. But Chemezov himself did not take on this work. He recommended transferring all rights to the company, the head of which was Igor Rotenberg. Putin agreed. As a result, Rotenberg’s company had to collect tolls on federal highways. This is approximately 50 billion rubles a year, of which 10 billion a year will go to her for her services.

A loan of 25 billion rubles for the implementation of the project was received from Gazprombank, where another family member, Roman Rotenberg, serves as an advisor to the Chairman of the Board.

Roman Borisovich Rotenberg (born in 1981 in Leningrad) – entrepreneur, manager, sports functionary. Employee of the external communications service of Gazpromexport, advisor to the Chairman of the Board of Gazprombank, first vice-president of the Russian Hockey Federation, general director of the sports nutrition company Doctor Sport, main owner of the marketing agency Telesport and the Finnish stadium Hartwall Arena. He ranks 186th in the list of the richest people in Russia.

In 1991, his parents took 10-year-old Roman to Finland. “At first it was not easy,” he recalls, “Russian emigrants were not treated very well in Finland at that time, they even had to fight. They didn’t think it was enough.” Of course, Roman’s father Boris Rotenberg, master of sports and judo coach, trained his son from the age of five and took him with him to sports training camps.

Later, at the insistence of his mother, Roman was sent to study in London at the European Business School, Faculty of International Business. After graduating from a London university, Roman decided to return to Russia. There was nothing surprising about this. It was 2005, Putin was in his second presidential term, and my father and uncle had already achieved very important heights in the Russian economy. Roman chose the position of an expert at Gazpromexport. But in 2009, an even more interesting offer awaited him: he became an adviser to the chairman of the board of Gazprom. In his own words, Roman began “attracting large clients.” The chain is closed. The Rotenberg family took over the construction of the country's largest infrastructure projects.

God is dead, only the Rotenbergs remain

In November-December 2015, mass protests by truck drivers who disagreed with the introduction of tolls swept across many regions of Russia. Starting from November 15, for every kilometer driven on federal highways, vehicles weighing over 12 tons were to be charged 1.5 rubles (from March 2016, this amount increased to 3.73 rubles). That is, on average, for one trip of a heavy truck, taking into account the huge Russian distances, you would have to pay 10-15 thousand rubles. This system was called "Plato".

Almost half of the heavy-duty trucks in Russia belong to individual entrepreneurs, who earn plus or minus 50 thousand rubles from one trip. The additional expense could easily put them on the brink of ruin. Truckers took such a tough position that the authorities were forced to make concessions. In December 2015, President Vladimir Putin signed a law according to which fines for non-payment of fees in the Platon system for drivers of heavy trucks are reduced by 90 times - from 450 thousand rubles to 5 thousand. Drivers have already called the fee “Rotenberg’s stranglehold,” and the protest has become personalized: for the first time in the history of Putin’s Russia, it was directed against the president’s closest associate.

“The surname Rotenberg is generally very popular in Dagestan now,” wrote Novaya Gazeta. “The entire federal highway is painted with it: “Rotenberg is worse than ISIS” (a terrorist organization banned in Russia), “Russia without the Rotenbergs.” Now all truck drivers know “that billionaire Arkady Rotenberg is a friend and ally of the president, that he has a son, Igor Rotenberg, and that Igor has a small company with which, for mysterious reasons, they entered into an agreement, farming out the new federal transport tax to private hands.”

In connection with the conflict between the Rotenbergs and truck drivers, independent Russian political scientists asked themselves the question of how the authorities will react to social protests and what kind of relations have developed recently within the Putin clan? And they came to the conclusion that in the case of the Rotenbergs, it’s not just about the personal financial interests of the president. For example, Putin quite easily removed from his post the head of Russian Railways, his old friend Vladimir Yakunin, about whom there were rumors in 2008 that he might be offered the Kremlin throne? Why? Yakunin belonged to the president’s close “chekist circle”, ate wood grouse with Putin, but went too far, built himself an overly luxurious estate with a separate house allocated for fur storage, and even undermined the “social system” - through his fault, for example, residents of many Russian cities were left without electric trains .

The Rotenbergs are another matter. They are connected with Putin not by belonging to the KGB or membership in the Ozero cooperative, but by strong emotional threads that go back to their childhood.

...In 2013, at the age of 76, the former coach of Putin and the Rotenbergs, Rakhlin, died. Soon after this, a rare photograph went around the world - Putin alone, without any security, walking along some long wall in St. Petersburg. The photographer who took the photo, Konstantin Zavrazhin, talks about it this way: “After the funeral service, the president decided to stay away from strangers. He walked on foot towards Vatutina Street, then, stopping the guards with a gesture, walked alone along the wall of the engineering plant.”

“Wonderful transformations have repeatedly happened to Putin,” wrote political scientist Andrei Piontkovsky on this occasion. “But none of them were as personally significant for the second and fourth president for life of the Russian Federation as Salvation at the age of 12: from a street boy he turned into the ruler of the world At the same time, former coach Rakhlin remained an indisputable authority for Putin, almost God.”

But God died, and among the closest old friends, whom Putin trusts infinitely, perhaps only Arkady and Boris Rotenberg remained.

Boris Romanovich Rotenberg is an athlete, honored coach of Russia, businessman, co-founder of SMP Bank and Stroygazmontazh Group of Companies, one of the owners of TEK Mosenergo, Novorossiysk Seaport, deputy head of the Russian Judo Federation, ex-head of FC Dynamo.

In 2010, according to Forbes, with an estimated assets of $700 million, he was included in the list of the hundred richest Russians. In 2015, this print publication assessed the business value of the wealthiest Russian families. The Rotenbergs were in second position on this list (after the Gutserievs). Their total financial assets amounted to $2.95 billion.

Boris owns 920 million of them (elder brother Arkady – 1.55 billion). In 2014, their family fortune was estimated at $5.55 billion. After the oligarch brothers came under EU and US sanctions, in order to avoid possible losses, they transferred part of their assets to their sons.

The businessman is known for being friends with Vladimir Putin. Even as a child, together with his brother, he studied in the same sports section with the future head of state. Arkady was a sparring partner of the President of the Russian Federation. They have maintained friendly relations for more than half a century.

The childhood and youth of Boris Rotenberg

The future multimillionaire was born on January 3, 1957 in the Northern capital and became the second son in the family. His 6-year-older brother Arkasha trained in sambo wrestling from childhood at the Turbostroitel club on Dekabristov Street with coach Anatoly Rakhlin, now deceased.

At the age of 11, Borya joined the same sports section. The future head of state Volodya Putin also trained in their group, with whom Arkady regularly went out on the tatami.

Boris was a successful athlete, competed for the judo team of the city on the Neva and the country, and won prizes at competitions at various levels. In 1974 he was a prize-winner at the USSR championship. Sport contributed to the development of his moral and volitional qualities. At the age of 17, he earned the title of Master of Sports in judo, and in 1980, in the sambo self-defense system.

After graduating from school, he, like his brother, entered the Leningrad Institute of Physical Education. After finishing his studies there in 1978, he began working as a self-defense instructor at a police school.

The collapse of the USSR influenced Boris's future life. Unemployment reigned in the country. Thanks to his wife, Boris’s family moved to Finland as repatriates in 1991. From 1992 to 1998, Rotenberg worked as a coach of the Helsinki judo club Chikara, and received Suomi citizenship.

Business of Boris Rotenberg

In 1998, Boris returned to his hometown and went into big business. In 2001, the judo brothers created the Northern Sea Route Bank, which was subsequently included in the Top 50 largest banking institutions in the country, according to the ranking of the Center for Economic Analysis of the Interfax Group. They also acquired a share of the assets of the Rosspirtprom enterprise.

Gathering a team of like-minded people, the entrepreneur set about restoring the traditions of youth sports and creating martial arts sports clubs. He organized a society for promoting the development of various types of martial arts “Fatherland”, “Judo School”. On his initiative, clubs were opened in Cheboksary, Novosibirsk, Grozny, Ryazan, and Noginsk.

In 2003, the entrepreneur founded two companies specializing in the supply of pipes for the Gazprom corporation. One of them, Baza-Torg, became the founder of the Gaztaged enterprise, which also produced equipment for Gazprom. The second, called “Supply”, was the owner of Stroygazimpex LLC, registered in the city of Gorno-Altaisk.

Business of the Rotenberg family

In 2008, the brothers became owners of a 10% stake in the Novorossiysk seaport, the market value of which was estimated by experts at $300 million. In the same period, on the basis of 5 of its construction and installation contractors purchased from Gazprom, they founded the Stroygazmontazh corporation for the construction of main pipelines and industrial facilities. In particular, they were involved in the construction of the onshore section of Nord Stream and the Sakhalin-Khabarovsk-Vladivostok highway.

In 2009, through the established Paritet LLC, Boris became a partner of the Mosstroymekhanizatsiya-5 company, which won a competition for the right to build housing for the Ministry of Defense near Podolsk. The cost of the order was about 34 billion rubles.

Personal life of Boris Rotenberg

The oligarch was married twice. He met his first wife, Irina, in the summer while on vacation in the village of Toksovo near Leningrad. The young people were young, love captured both of them. In 1981, their son Roman was born, and in 1986, Boris.

The wife's father had Jewish roots, and her mother was a native of Toksov and belonged to the Ingrian Finns. Thanks to her background, the family took advantage of the opportunity to emigrate to Finland in 1991.

After leaving, they lived in the capital of Suomi. On the recommendation of her relatives, Irina got a job at the Fexima company, and the head of the family began working as an instructor at the Chikara judo club. In 1998, the couple’s family life became complicated, they separated, and he returned to the Northern capital. Subsequently, Irina remarried and gave birth to a third son, Niko.

Rotenberg’s second wife was Karina, the current president of the Equestrian Federation of the capital of the Russian Federation. She is a native of St. Petersburg, lived for a long time in the USA, and graduated from Atlanta University there. In October 2010, she gave her husband twins - a boy and a girl.

Thanks to his second wife, the billionaire became interested in equestrian sports, accompanying her to training and imbued with the emotional communication of a woman with horses.

The eldest son of a major Russian entrepreneur returned to Russia after graduating from London Business School in 2005. He is a citizen of Russia, Great Britain and Finland, received higher education in his homeland, as well as a PhD in economics. He is a millionaire and has interests in a variety of business areas in Russia and Suomi. According to his passport, his full name is Roman Michael Oliver Rotenberg.

Son Boris is a football player. The first Russian club in his sports career was Zenit. Then he changed a number of football teams, including Yaroslavl Shinnik, Saturn near Moscow, Israeli Maccabi, Vladikavkaz Alania, Dynamo, Rostov.

Boris Rotenberg today

The multimillionaire in 2010, in partnership with Arkady, acquired one hundred percent of the shares of OJSC TEK Mosenergo. The company was headed by his nephew Igor Arkadyevich. Boris Rotenberg was the president of FC Dynamo

Since 2012, the entrepreneur began to take part in auto racing. In 2014, he competed in the annual 24-hour endurance race in Daytona, Florida. During the period 2013-2015. Boris was the head of FC Dynamo.

In this article you will learn:

Rothenburg ob der Tauber is the most romantic and most visited medieval city in Germany. When traveling around Western Bavaria, it is simply impossible to pass by, which is due to one of its peculiarities. It is known that almost every German city has a historical center called Altstadt or Old Town.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber, having survived to the present time almost completely intact, itself seems like a small Altstadt, as if it came out of Christmas fairy tales.

Geographical position

Rothenburg ob der Tauber is located in and is subject to the administrative district of Middle Franconia. Its population is approximately 11,000 people. In German pronunciation, the name of the city is pronounced Rothenburg-ob-der-Tauber, literally translated as “Red Fortress over the River”. Indeed, located on a high coastal slope, the city seems to rise above the Tauber River flowing below.

The closest major cities to Rothenburg are Würzburg (67 km) and Nuremberg (76 km). True, the most significant ones are much further away - 210 and 185 km, respectively.

Some facts from the history of the city

The first mention of Rothenburg as a settlement dates back to 804. At that time, this was the residence of the Dukes of Franconia. A little over a century and a half later, the local nobleman Ranger built Grafenburg Castle on a hill. Perhaps because it belonged to the Counts of Rothenburg-Comburg or because of the color of the roofs of the buildings in the nearby village, this city received its present name.

In the 12th century, it was given over to the Comburg monastery for some time, but soon, thanks to the efforts of King Henry V, Rothenburg became part of the possessions of the ruling Hohenstaufen dynasty. From that moment on, active construction began there. Two- and three-story stone houses are being built here, and fortifications and fortress walls are being built around.

Rothenburg was officially granted city status in 1172. It became a very significant settlement in medieval Franconia, but never turned into a metropolis. In the 13th century, Rothenburg ob der Tauber became a free imperial city, and by the beginning of the 14th century it already had 6,000 inhabitants, which allowed it to enter the 20 largest cities of the Holy Roman Empire.

The further prosperity of Rothenburg was prevented by the 30-year war, which crippled its economy and financial reserves. At some point, the enemy troops who captured it were even going to destroy the city, but the city burgomaster Georg Nusch saved it from ruin, who fulfilled the almost impossible condition of the invaders. He had to drink 3.5 liters of wine in one gulp. This story was included in the annals of Rothenburg under the name “The Master’s Sip.”

The post-war payment of indemnities stopped the development of Rothenburg. Over time, it lost its independence and became subordinate to Bavaria. The city received new development opportunities with the advent of railways, one of which was extended to Rothenburg. People began to come here who wanted to see an almost untouched medieval city.

Wise authorities, noticing the promise of nascent tourism, completely focused on preserving its appearance, prohibiting the construction of modern houses. Today, Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a tourist center in northwestern Bavaria, which is visited with pleasure by various people, including painters, writers and musicians.

Attractions

City Hall

Like most other ancient cities, one of the main attractions of Rothenburg is the town hall. This building is located near the central square, called the Market Square, and consists of two parts: a high tower in the Gothic style and an adjacent building in the spirit of typical medieval Franconia.

The town hall tower, whose construction began in 1250, is 60 meters high. Now there is an observation deck at its top, from where a view of Rothenburg opens.

City Hall

Beer "Mastery Sip"

We are talking about a municipal beer hall, in which an event once took place, imprinted in city history as the “Mastery Sip”. At the beginning of the 17th century, during the 30-year war that raged here, the city was captured by a unit of enemy troops. According to legend, the enemies were going to burn the city, but agreed to cancel their decision if one condition was met: one of the city residents had to drink a 3.5-liter container of wine in one go.

The then burgomaster Georg Nusch undertook to save the city. He complied with the demands of the invaders, drinking the container he brought to the bottom. It is now difficult to say how true this story is, but this incident is still played out by local residents during the annual festival, which always begins with a theatrical performance called “The Magic Drink.”

On the building itself there is a clock with figures in the façade of the roof. At strictly defined times, seven times a day, the dolls in them show various scenes.

Beer "Mastery Sip"

Church of St. James

The Gothic structure was founded in 1311. Its construction took 150 years. Tourists are attracted here primarily by mosaic images and altars from the famous carver Tilman Riemenschneider and his students.

Church of St. James

Christmas village

The city, as if it came out of a fairy tale, cannot do without a Christmas village, which operates almost all year round. Here you can buy New Year's decorations, toys and even a Christmas tree at any time. The Christmas village itself consists of 5 houses connected into a single complex, which can be walked around entirely without going outside.

The entire atmosphere of the village is stylized as winter holidays: a richly decorated spruce tree rises, artificial snow lies around, stars shine and festive toys are everywhere. In fact, this village is a real museum of Christmas celebrations.

Other noteworthy places are the crime museum, popularly called the Museum of Torture, and the city fortifications.

Christmas village

How to get to Rothenburg

You can come to Rothenburg by rail. The city railway station is located a quarter of an hour's walk from the central Market Square. However, when purchasing a ticket, you should make sure that it was purchased in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, since there are several cities in Germany with the same name.

Bus routes are organized here. You can also arrive by your own transport. The journey from Munich will take about two hours.

The town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber has a history of more than a thousand years. However, it has managed to maintain its identity, and now tourists flock here to travel back in time.

Where to stay

A hotel map will help you find a hotel in the city.

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Today Rothenburg is one of the most beautiful cities in Bavaria (Germany). It is located high above the Tauber River valley. The name of the city Rothenburg comes from the merger of two German words rot ("red") and burg ("fortress") and literally translates as "red fortress". There is no red fortress in this area, but the roofs of all the houses in the city are of this color, which is probably why it was named this way. The location above the Tauber River valley added the piece ob der Tauber to the name, and today its full name is Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

Fairytale city

The city of Rothenburg ob der Tauber is more than a thousand years old, but it has managed to preserve its originality. A trip to this ancient town will be a journey back in time. Complete preservation of the medieval appearance is the main thing that attracts thousands of travelers from all over the world. This can be judged from the stories of tourists who visited Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Reviews and impressions about the beauty of these places are equally enthusiastic. Everyone unanimously insists that they have never experienced such a feeling of a fairy tale anywhere else in the world.

History of the city

The first mention of the town of Rothenburg - the residence of the Dukes of Franconia - dates back to 804. It received city status in 942. Until 1108, it was part of the possession of the Counts of Rothenburg-Comburg, and after the death of the last representative of this family, it was bequeathed to the Comburg monastery. However, eight years later, Henry V gives Rothenburg ob der Tauber to the Duke of Swabia, his nephew from the Hohenstaufen dynasty. Since then, a new era in the development of this city began: fortress walls and other fortifications were built, new houses of three and four floors, squares, pavements, etc. appeared. Most of them, thanks to the care of the owners and local residents, have survived to our days days.

"A masterful sip" saved Rothenburg from ruin

In the 70s of the 13th century, Rothenburg ob der Tauber became free and expanded and went beyond the fortress walls. There is a need for the construction of new protective structures. By the beginning of the 14th century, Rothenburg was considered one of the 20 largest cities of the Holy Roman Empire. Its population by this time was about 6,000 people, who mostly professed Protestantism. It was because of faith that the city was drawn into a 30-year war between Catholics and Protestants, during which it suffered greatly. According to legend, Rothenburg was saved from ruin by the burgomaster Georg Nusch, who fulfilled the invaders' condition - he drank 3.5 liters of wine in one gulp. The story about the burgomaster’s “masterful sip” is recorded in the chronicles of the city. In memory of this event, local residents organize annual celebrations, which begin with a theatrical performance called “The Magic Drink.”

Decline and rebirth

After the end of the war (1648), the city had to pay an indemnity. As a result of this, its economy suffered great losses, it lost its former independence and moved to However, by the beginning of the 19th century, when the railway was built to the city, it began to be revived again due to tourism. The beauty of the small provincial town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber (photos can be seen in the article) and its fabulous atmosphere attracted artists, musicians, writers and poets. Entire crowds of tourists sought to visit places sung by famous poets, to see with their own eyes the beauty captured on the canvases of talented artists, etc. The wise city authorities understood that luck and prosperity depended on the preservation of the medieval appearance, and decided to completely abandon modernization.

Another city rescue

During the Second World War, danger again hovered over the city. Some buildings were destroyed by aerial shells. But, like 300 years ago, the city was saved from complete destruction, this time thanks to the American general John McCloy, who was later given the honorary title of “Noble Defender of Rothenburg.”

How can I get there?

This beautiful town, part of the federal state of Bavaria, is located in the center of the "Romantic Road of Germany" - the most popular tourist route in Germany. It stretches from Main to the Alpine peaks. All along the way there are ancient castles, cozy and well-preserved cities with medieval architecture, etc. However, many tourists want to visit Rothenburg ob der Tauber. How to get from Munich to this town? The distance between them is 204 km. If you wish, you can do it by bus. However, as noted above, there is a railway to the city, therefore, you can also come here from Munich by train.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber: attractions and museums

Rothenburg is a unique city. Its uniqueness lies in the preservation of its integrity as there is not a single modern building to be found here. City Hall (built in 1419), market square, central St. James (1311), narrow streets, brightly painted houses with balconies decorated with flowers, and windows with carved shutters and lace curtains, winding fortifications along the entire perimeter of the city, well-groomed fields and meadows behind them - this is such a beautiful Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

One of the main attractions of Rothenburg is the unique Museum of Christmas Decorations, and in the chambers of the Benedictine Convent today there is a Museum of Local Lore, the main exhibition of which is an exhibition of armor and weapons. In the southern part of the fortress in the Burggarent park there is the ancient chapel of St. Blaise. You can also find many interesting buildings along the fortress walls, and from the walls you can look at the beautiful panorama of the surrounding area and the Tauber River valley. The atmosphere of the Middle Ages is most created by the cozy Plönlein square. However, here every centimeter is imbued with antiquity. Walking along the streets of the city, you involuntarily plunge into the Middle Ages, and at some knock you freeze in anticipation of meeting around the corner knights in armor on horseback or women in ancient costumes and a veil on their faces.