Via Romea Germanica Day 39: Rothenburg ob der Tauber - Bortenberg

The history of mankind is the instant between two strides taken by a traveler.

- Franz Kafka

In Germany, as in France, youth hostels are primarily used by large groups of young people on organised group expeditions, and cater to their needs, with meeting rooms, games rooms, a large canteen, and so on. Breakfast at the Rothenburg hostel began at 7:30, and a very large group of North American teenagers in matching red sweatshirts evidently had instructions to be there as soon as the canteen opened. Which made breakfast a rather chaotic affair, the only diners not belonging to this large group being me and a Korean family, encompassing three generations, all looking equally bewildered and out of place!

I managed nonetheless to implement my usual breakfast routine, eating muesli, fruit, bread and jam with coffee and inconspicuously making myself a cheese and cucumber sandwich to put away for lunch along with a hard-boiled egg and an apple. Even when accomodations in Germany charge extra for breakfast, it's definitely worth the cost, because (unlike in France, where all you get is bread and coffee, and maybe a croissant, if you're lucky!), a German breakfast is a complete meal, and you can easily stretch it into two meals, if you remember to bring a bag with you to stash away your picnic!

Before I leave the topic of youth hostels and begin my account of the day's walk, Rothenburg youth hostel deserves a little more attention. While not outstandingly comfortable as an accommodation - the dormitory rooms are pretty basic, and were clearly fitted out in the days when people travelled without electronics and didn't require access to the internet or to electrical outlets - the hostel is of particular historical significance. I found some information on its history here.

In the Middle Ages, the Spital or hospital was the fifth most important element of any self-respecting town, after the marketplace, the court of law, the parish church and the fortifications. The hospital was not, as now, primarily concerned with caring for the sick, but provided a variety of charitable functions for the town's residents and visitors: what we might now call social services. It offered low-cost accommodation and food for travellers and pilgrims (as the youth hostel continues to do today). It cared for the elderly and infirm, provided they had bought a hospital benefice or been given one out of Christian charity. It provided hot meals for the poor, schooling for children, and shelter for orphans, widows and unmarried mothers. 

For reasons of security and hygiene, it was generally considered preferable to build such hospitals in an isolated location on the edge of the town. In the second half of the 13th century, the growing city of Rothenburg decided to build a new hospital south of the city gates, on the road to Gebsattel. The project was financed through the sale of indulgences, and through donations made by citizens and residents of the city as well as knights and farmers in the surrounding area.

The main hospital/hostel building

The new hospital was expanded after the Reformation, and by the second half of the 16th century it had become the leading charitable institution in Rothenburg. A new main hospital building was constructed in 1574/78,  and the hospital kitchen with the stableman's apartment in 1591; the bakery in the complex, later used as a brewery, was rebuilt in 1624 following a fire. This is now the youth hostel annex, the building I slept in!

1624 bakery building, now the hostel annex

The history of the hospital is extraordinarily well documented; hospital bills have been recorded since the financial year 1426/27, and detailed financial statements are available dating back as far as the financial year 1489/90! In the 19th century the various functions of this type of institution were separated, and the hospital became a hospital in the modern sense, caring for the sick. In the second half of the 20th century, buildings that belonged to the former hospital complex were put to new uses, such as retirement and nursing homes, community centres, or the Reich City Hall; the youth hostel opened in the main building and the formery bakery building in 1984. 

So it's well worth spending a night at the youth hostel in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, putting up with the shortage of electrical outlets, the creaky floors and noisy doors, to have the privilege of sleeping in such a historic building! 

Leaving behind this historic institution, and the teenagers in red sweatshirts who probably had no idea of its significance, I left Rothenburg through the Spitaltor ("hospital door") city gate at the southern end of the old town.

I walked along a footpath beside the main road and then along a quiet street to the next village, Gebsattel. The church bells began to toll 9 as I approached the village, and as always in German towns, a sign informed me of the times of weekly church services. The Catholic mass was held at 9 o'clock on Sunday mornings, while the Lutheran service was at 10,  in a different village. Right, Catholic it is, then! 

My attempt to enter the church, where the service was already underway, and slide inconspicuously into a back pew were foiled, because the side door I used took me right to the front of the congregation! I sat down in the nearest pew, grabbed a hymn book and did my best to follow the service. At least the Catholic mass is pretty much the same in any language, so I had a general idea of what was going on! When mass was over, several of the parishioners greeted me and wished me well in my pilgrimage; I cornered the priest and asked him to stamp my pilgrim credential. 

From Gebsattel I followed a cycling track along a former railway line, in service between 1905 and 1971, to the next village, Bockenfeld, where the former railway station is now someone's house. But they kept some of the railway fixtures as decorations in their garden!

The path then went into the woods. Funny how we love the forest, as an idea... but when we're in it, we feel vaguely uneasy, and are cheered when we come out of the trees into the fields, and spot the first farm buildings! Walkers rarely stop and take a break in the forest, but wait until the comfort of human habitation is nearby, preferring to sit on a village green,  on a park bench or in a churchyard. And in fact I took my lunch break at a picnic table under a vast linden tree by the church in the village of Faulenberg.

The trail then went back into the forest, but this time it was a much more civilised trail, a broad gravel path, with boardwalks over the boggy bits. 

A steady climb through the trees brought me out of the forest and into Schillingsfürst, where I found a café open and went in for an Apfelschorle... then gave in to the temptation to order a chocolate mousse as well!

The last few kilometres seemed, as always, so much longer than all the others - despite the energy boost of a sugary drink plus a sugary dessert! But finally I arrived at my destination,  Gästehaus zur Linde in the tiny village of Bortenberg. Here I had a dinner of the much-touted Spargel, fat white asparagus, served with new potatoes in a Hollandaise sauce topped with melted cheese. That and a side salad, with a small beer, and I had no room left for ice cream! I retired to my comfortable and generously sized room, which I appreciated even more after having only the top bunk in a youth hostel dorm in terms of personal space the night before!

Rothenburg ob der Tauber - Bortenberg 25 km