Rottweil

Understand

thumb|200px|Rottweiler memorial

Rottweil is the oldest city in Baden-Württemberg being founded as Arae Flaviae in 73 CE and named after the then ruling dynasty of the Roman Empire. However, the Roman settlement was never all that big and only in 1950 did archeologists positively identify Arae Flaviae, which had been mentioned in various sources, including the Tabula Peutingeriana, with modern Rottweil. The town lends its name to the (nowadays far more famous) dog breed, believed to descend from Roman drover dogs.

See

The heart of Rottweil is its walled old town set high above the valley. The walls are no longer complete, but you can certainly follow their course around three of the four sides of the town. On the fourth side, there was no real need for a wall, as the landscape drops down to a deep river valley.

Within the walls is a main street lined with traditional German town houses. An especially attractive one houses the tourist information. Opposite it there is the small town museum. At the top of the street there is the town gate which still imposes its presence and limits the entrance into the town.

The setting of the town can probably best be appreciated in the North East corner. Here you can see a small chapel and tower remains on the wall at the edge of the valley.

Go next

Tuttlingen Villingen-Schwenningen Bad Düreihm