No place to misbehave

Wilson "takes stock" of Rothenburg.

ROTHENBURG-- This is a town that knows how to deal with miscreants. Wilson, for example (pictured above), found out about the humiliation that awaits those who flout custom here. But I'm getting ahead of myself. For now, here's the official buzz about this amazing walled city just a short drive from Nuremberg:

"A medieval castle originally stood on the site of the baroque fortress: a Hilpold von Rothenburg was mentioned for the first time in 1254. Rothenburg was later owned by the burgraves of Nuremberg, followed by Emperor Karl IV, who as King of Bohemia thus acquired a new outpost. In 1401 King Ruprecht took the castle from King Wenceslas <Yes! King Wenceslas was more than someone's figment of imagination in a Christmas Carol> in Bohemia. During the Thirty Years' War, the castle was occupied by Bavarian troops, posing a considerable threat to the free Protestant city of Nuremberg. In the Spanish War of Succession, the now heavily fortified castle was taken in 1703 by the imperial troops and completely destroyed. After the peace treaty of 1714, Elector Max Emanuel rebuilt it as an even more powerful fortress, which proved its worth ... (source: http://www.schloesser.bayern.de/englisch/palace/objects/nbg_roth.htm)"

 Rothenburg is a must-see walled city of narrow streets and buildings clustered together like sardines. Visitors can walk the walls, gaining an idea of what archers did to keep the enemy at bay and the folk inside safe. And you can also get a taste of what awaits you if you misbehave.

From the highway approach visitors can see cannons poised at gunports.

A view of the protective wall and a watch tower from inside the city.

A similar view of the walkway that affords views of both the exterior and interior of the city.

To the left are ports from which archers can defend the city.

Why buy a brick to support the wall when you can have your name cast in concrete?

From the balcony, a view of the rooftops, one of which appears to be looking back, with three eyes.

Stacked roof tiles await installation.

Rothenburg gives the concept of "setback" an entirely new perspective.

In a city like Rothenburg, people have an opportunity to meet their neighbors.

This square was more open than much of the town.

One of the entries into the city.

A public fountain, at least at one time.

Incentives to behave

The folks at Rothenburg believed in punishment for misbehavior. There were offenses great and small. Even so much as touching the finger of a free woman might cost the offender a pfennig or two. Touch her wrist, and the fine gets heavier; her arm, heavier. Her breast -- now you're talking real money. The documents at the museum for punishment and torture made no mention of volume discounts.

No, not the movie carriages you see  heading toward Count Dracula's castle. These are actually medieval paddy wagons.

Not the man you want to see: The executioner wore this mask to keep the condemned from giving him the evil eye.

But he also prayed for you. The engraving on this lopper was a prayer that the loppee would have eternal life. No hard feelings. Really.

Just to make sure no innocent people were killed, they always extracted confessions with thumb screws (left), leg screws (right) or the easy chair in the center, with all those pokey things sticking out. There were other more draconian methods. Naturally.

For the vertically challenged, there was this bench to stretch them out a bit.

Or, you could just hang out inside this iron maiden, which had little pokey things aimed inward to keep you from falling over.

Those are just some of the nifty devices these inventive people created to keep the devil at bay. Some are too revolting to describe on a family blog. But speaking of families, they also had tools for promoting harmony at home:

A townsman who got a little too frisky would be persuaded to wear a neck "violin" (left), a device whose "eyes" looked strangely like perky nipples, and whose nose looked like, uh, well, what the offense was all about. The brace of neck violins on the right was for couples who needed more together time. The large holes were for the neck; the small holes for the wrists.

Do you have big eyes, ears and nose to stick in other people's business, and a tongue that distributes the news? You won't have to say so, once the authorities place this mask over your head, with a generous transparency that allows everyone to identify the offender as he/she knocks about town. No mention as to what the gaps in the teeth symbolized.

The horns on this shame mask were the sign of the cuckold. The nose speaks for itself. The snake on the forehead and the devil on the schnoz showed the culprit to be a person with evil thoughts.

Next time: We will start winding down the trip with a visit to Prague, the people, the architecture, and some strangeness as well.

Love,
Robert, and
Wilson