RothenburgMuseum

About the museum

The museum is housed in the former Dominican convent on Klosterhof. The imperial head cook Lupold von Nordenberg donated the site in 1258, and the first nuns moved in as early as 1259. Over the course of the 13th and 14th centuries the complex grew into one of the largest in the town; after conflicts with the surrounding nobility, the convent came under municipal control around 1400. With the Reformation the community died out, and in 1554 the property passed to the town, which used the buildings as housing and grain storage, among other things.

After the transfer to Bavaria in 1803, the convent church was demolished in 1812/13, and parts of the building were converted for a tax office. Only in 1933 did the town buy the property back and set up its city museum there, which has been housed here since 1936. A lengthy restoration followed from 1977, during which the southern cloister wing was rebuilt in 1980; it was completed in 2006.

The former Imperial City Museum (Reichsstadtmuseum) has been called RothenburgMuseum since 2019. On around 2,500 square meters it shows the town's collections from eight centuries: the convent kitchen from the 13th century, the twelve panels of the Rothenburg Passion of 1494, a Judaica department, domestic culture, crafts, and music history, as well as the weapons collection of the Baumann Foundation. Since 2025, the permanent exhibition "Der Rothenburger Weg" (The Rothenburg Way) has told how the town rebuilt its townscape after the destruction of 1945.

Highlights

• Convent kitchen from the 13th century, one of the oldest in Germany
• Rothenburg Passion: twelve panel paintings from a rood screen cycle of 1494
• Weapons collection of the Baumann Foundation with around 800 objects, including a hunting rifle of Marie Antoinette
• Judaica with medieval gravestones and the pogrom stone of 1298
• Original figures of the seven virtues and vices from the Baumeisterhaus in the cloister
• Ballroom with an 18th-century stucco ceiling

Permanent exhibitions

• Der Rothenburger Weg – How Rothenburg has become the epitome of the picturesque old town since the 19th century and how the reconstruction after 1945 preserved the townscape – with paintings, postcards, photos, and film clips.
• Waffensammlung der Stiftung Baumann – Around 800 objects in the ballroom and in cabinets show the development of weapons from the hand axe to the 19th century, including pieces from princely ownership.
• Judaika – A former storeroom of the convent tells of Rothenburg's Jewish community since the 13th century, with medieval gravestones and everyday objects from Franconia.

Founded

1936

Operated by

Stadt Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Admission & discounts

Group tours €80 plus admission per person; tours with "Nonne Sabine" (Sister Sabine) on request only.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: not available
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The museum in the historic convent buildings is not accessible.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide

Free public children's tour for ages 5 to 12 on the first Sunday of every month at 14:00 (no registration). Museum scavenger hunt "Museumswissen für Kids!" for ages 6 to 10 at the entrance or to print out. Programs for kindergartens and school classes, for example on nuns and knights in the Middle Ages.

Getting there & parking

The museum is in the historic old town and is best reached on foot.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Museum shop; volumes of the museum's publication series are available in the museum. The Kreuzhof courtyard and the neighboring convent garden invite visitors to rest.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Plan your visit