2 Best Sights in Rothenburg-ob-der-Tauber, The Romantic Road

The museum is housed in two historic buildings filled with examples of torture and public humiliation from the Middle Ages to the 19th century, along with legal documents and books pertaining to all kinds of crimes from being drunk in public to misleading advertising to murder. You'll find a wide selection of handcuffs, finger screws, and metal facemasks, which were shaped to "fit" the nature of various crimes; for example, one mask has a very long tongue and was meant to be worn by a so-called blabbermouth. Want to know the origin of the modern drunk tank? Find it here: the drunk was imprisoned inside a large, heavy beer or wine barrel and forced to stick his arms out of this literal person-sized tank. On top of the anti-crime accoutrements, you'll also find an entire section on witchcraft. You'll return home with a greater appreciation of modern criminal punishment.

Formerly known as the Reichsstadtmuseum (Imperial Town Museum), it is housed in a former Dominican convent dating back to the 13th century, including a cloister where one of the artifacts is the great tankard, or Pokal, of the Meistertrunk, which legend says saved the town in the Thirty Years' War in the 1600s when the conquering general could not empty it on a bet. The town purchased the property in 1933 and converted it into a museum. Exhibits include hunting weapons used by Marie Antoinette, a hunting rifle belonging to Frederick the Great of Prussia, musical instruments and original Biedermeier room reconstructed from a Rothenburg townhouse from the early 1800s. A large gallery is devoted to Jewish life in Rothenberg and their contributions to the city and region from the 13th century to the Third Reich.