Dinkelsbühl in the context of Ansbach (district)

Rothenburg ob der Tauber (German pronunciation: [ˈʁoːtn̩bʊʁk ʔɔp deːɐ̯ ˈtaʊbɐ] ) is a town located in the district of Ansbach of Mittelfranken (Middle Franconia), the Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. It is well known for its well-preserved medieval old town, a destination for tourists from around the world. It is part of the popular Romantic Road through southern Germany. Today it is one of only four towns in Germany that still have completely intact city walls, the other three being Nördlingen, Dinkelsbühl and Berching, all in Bavaria.

Rothenburg was a free imperial city (German: Reichsstadt) from the late Middle Ages to 1803. In 1884 Johann Friedrich (von) Hessing (1838–1918) built Wildbad Rothenburg o.d.T. 1884–1903.

The Romantic Road (German: Romantische Straße, pronounced [ʁoˈmantɪʃə ˈʃtʁaːsə]) is a "theme route" devised by promotion-minded travel agents in the 1950s. It describes the 460 kilometres (290 miles) of surface roads between Würzburg and Füssen in southern Germany, specifically in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, linking a number of picturesque towns and castles. In medieval times, part of it was a trade route that connected the center of Germany with the south. Today, this region is thought by many international travellers to possess "quintessentially German" scenery and culture, in towns and cities such as Nördlingen, Dinkelsbühl and Rothenburg ob der Tauber and in castles such as Burg Harburg and the famous Neuschwanstein.

With about five million overnight stays, four to five times that number of day visits and around 15,000 jobs in tourism generated by the route, it is an economically important southern German travel destination.

Nördlingen (German: [ˈnœʁtlɪŋən] ; Alemannic German: Nearle or Nerle) is a town in the Donau-Ries district, in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, with a population of approximately 20,674. It is located approximately 115 km (71 mi) east of Stuttgart, and 145 km (90 mi) northwest of Munich. It was built in an impact crater 15 million years old and 25 km (16 mi) in diameter—the Nördlinger Ries—of a meteorite which hit with an estimated speed of 70,000 km/h, and left the area riddled with an estimated 72,000 tons of micro-diamonds.

Nördlingen was first mentioned in recorded history in 898. The town was the location of two battles during the Thirty Years' War, which took place between 1618 and 1648. Today it is one of very few towns in Germany that still have completely intact city walls—joining the ranks of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Dinkelsbühl and Berching, all of them in Bavaria.

Berching (German pronunciation: [ˈbɛʁçɪŋ] ; Bavarian: Bacham) is a town in the district of Neumarkt in Bavaria, Germany. It is today one of only four towns in Germany that still have completely intact city walls, along with Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Nördlingen and Dinkelsbühl, all in Bavaria.

Berching is a historical town with a fully preserved town wall and low streamlet. The first settlement was registered in 883, making it more than 1100 years old. Berching is located in the district of Neumarkt in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal, 20 km south of Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz. The old town or Altstadt is surrounded by a large wall interspaced with towers. One of the towers has been converted into a 6-story apartment. A small inn called Blaue Traube is located in the town center.