Dinkelsbuhl - Saved by a child

 Dinkelsbuhl is a medieval walled city with the flavor and character of Rothenberg.  It escaped the destruction that befell so many other cities in Germany.  Therefore it retains the appealing features of previous generations.  Germany was always a divided country and various forces including the Swedes, French and Romans plundered or invaded at will.  In addition their own infighting on religious or secular grounds also served to give reason for razing whole cities.

The name is derived from the German word for "child", and is called such because of the legend that a child saved the town from massacre by the Swedish troops during the surrender.  The legend tells  that when a Swedish army besieged the town, a teenage girl took the children  begging the general for mercy.  The Swedish general had recently lost his young son to illness, and a boy who approached him so closely resembled his own son that he decided to spare the city.

In the picture to the right I am holding a  map of the town with the prominent buildings identified.  This one is of a corn house, a storage facility of significant dimensions, obviously a sign to the importance of their winter stores.

The town was full of steep pitched roofs with ornate designs.  Around every corner their were relics of bygone times; wells, statues and towers.

The church is a masterpiece of the gothic style in the late 15th century.  The rather unadorned exterior belies the grandeur of the splendid interior.


I would rank this city right up with the best of any walled cities visited to date.  It was certainly worth the visit. All the car traffic in the old town took away from its otherwise historic image.