Last Updated on October 27, 2025
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
By Jim Ferri
Although it’s still October, I was reminded how Christmas came early for me a few years ago while I was in Germany, on the “Romantic Road.”
It was also late October then, and I was in the little medieval town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Bavaria, one of the last remaining walled towns in Germany.
Rothenburg is a time warp for travelers, since it has some of the most impressive medieval architecture in Europe. I remembered one summer day years earlier walking along its streets feeling as if I was in medieval Germany.
This October day, however, the weather was schizophrenic. Bright-colored flowers were still cascading from window boxes, but it had turned cold, and snow was falling. The feel of Christmas was already in the air as the red geranium petals peeked out like little Christmas lights beneath the soft blanket of snow.
In Rothenburg, Germany, No Need to Wait for Chrístkindlmarkt
The fact that the town’s annual Christkindlmarkt doesn’t open until late November did nothing to dim the spirit. Besides, Rothenburg is a town that celebrates Christmas year-round, not only with shops selling Christmas ornaments, but also because it’s home to Germany’s Christmas Museum.
I soon realized that I wasn’t the only one getting into the Christmas spirit. Soon after I arrived, I saw a group of tourists making little snowballs in front of St. Jacob’s Church, placing them on top of a small three-foot-high pillar to make a little snowman.
Nearby, under the colonnaded front of the Rathaus, the city hall, were small groups of tourists. Trying to stay out of the falling snow, it was obvious they were not quite ready for winter weather yet. Behind them in a passageway, there was a flea market filled with household knick-knacks and some Christmas ornaments, all anchored by a cake sale at one end to benefit the local animal shelter.
I made my way past it all and headed around the corner to the Christmas Museum. The place was interesting not just because it displayed several antique Christmas ornaments, figurines, and the windmill-like German Christmas pyramids, but also because it gave the history of the different ornaments and explained how they originated. It also told you about Christmas customs in other areas of Germany over the years.
Museums to Keep You Busy
Since Rothenburg is built on tourism, it came as no surprise that everyone exited the museum into a Christmas shop run by one of Germany’s largest ornament manufacturers. Needless to say, it was doing a brisk business, as were most of the other tourist shops in town.
But it wasn’t the only museum in town. Rothenburg is also home to the Medieval Crime Museum, the Imperial City Museum, and the Doll and Toy Museum (Puppen & Spielzeugmuseum).
Since I wasn’t interested in the City Museum and wasn’t in the mood to see what I suspected would be a medieval torture demonstration, I chose the Doll and Toy Museum. It also helped that it was only around the corner and a short walk from the Christmas Museum.
The Puppen & Spielzeugmuseum was relatively small and, not surprisingly, wasn’t as crowded as the Christmas Museum. Still, it was interesting nevertheless, with its displays of dolls, dollhouses, and other toys. I couldn’t decide whether the children or the adults were more infatuated with the exhibits.
Plenty of Konditoreis, Cafés and Restaurants
There are plenty of konditoreis, cafés, and restaurants all around town, and for lunch, I joined some of my fellow travelers in the Ratsstube restaurant back on Market Square. It was a great little place, obviously targeted at tourist groups. With its Old-World decor and waitresses in Bavarian dress, you felt you were dining in an old German restaurant. The added benefit was that the food and beer were delicious.
About an hour later, warmed by lunch, I wandered down to the main gate to see the old medieval walls I remembered from years earlier. It was just as I recalled and still popular with photographers, though now dusted with snow.
In Rothenburg, Germany “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like…”
Along the way, I passed several konditoreis and shops selling the town’s famous schneeball, a snowball-looking confection made of fried sweet dough and covered with different icings. I didn’t taste any, but I noticed their popularity, since in many small shops they were stacked in little pyramids on countertops.
Later that afternoon, as I was wandering back towards the meeting area for our tour bus, I made a detour into a small shop. On the south end of the market square, it was overflowing with beer steins, cuckoo clocks, and Christmas decorations. While browsing, I heard a couple of people say this was the best shop they had been in. It probably was, since I noticed the selection was more varied and of higher quality than some other shops.
When I stepped outside once again into the falling snow, my ears immediately picked up the sound of a holiday tune. I followed my ears, walking past the shop, and then turned the corner.
In front of me, four tourists were singing “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas”… I couldn’t have agreed more.
If you go:
Christmas Museum (Deutsches Weihnachtsmuseum)
Herrngasse 1
Rothenburg ob der Tauber
https://www.weihnachtsmuseum.de/en/
Admission: Adults €5 / Seniors €4 / Children 6-11 years €2 / Family €11
Ratsstube Restaurant
Marktplatz 6
Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Tel: +49 9861 5511
http://www.ratsstuberothenburg.de
Doll and Toy Museum (Puppen & Spielzeugmuseum)
Hofbronnengasse 13
Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Tel: ++49-9861-7330
www.spielzeugmuseum.rothenburg.de
Admission: Adults €4
German National Tourist Office
122 East 42nd Street, 52nd Floor
New York, NY 10168
Tel: (212) 661-7200
www.germany.travel
Rothenburg Tourism
Marktplatz 1
91541 Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Germany
Tel: +49 (0)9861 404-800
http://www.rothenburg.de
Thanks for sharing your Rothenburg visit, Jim …. I love that place.
Just returned from my one-week river cruise through Bavaria and we stopped at many of those medieval towns. We had snow daily, during the day, into the evening …. watching gently-falling snow from a gliding river cruise ship, church spires in the background, is one of life’s most serene and uplifting pleasures.
If you like Rothenburg, you will love Passau and Regensburg, as well. I’m already planning my 2013 Christmas markets river cruise …. and hoping for SNOW! Buon Natale, Frohe Weinachten, Merry Christmas …
It sounds that you had a great time — aren’t river cruises great?
Buon Natale, Donna