Ratstrinkstube Clock (Meistertrunk)
Ratstrinkstube
A clock on the gabled façade of the Ratstrinkstube on the Marketplace, where a hourly puppet show re-enacts the legend of a mayor who saved the town by downing 3.25 liters of wine in one go.
The Ratstrinkstube is a 15th-century building with a stepped gable, once a drinking hall for town councillors and now home to the tourist information office on the ground floor. On its façade is a puppet clock added in 1910. On the hour, small windows on either side open: on the left is General Tilly, who besieged the town during the Thirty Years' War, and on the right is the old mayor Nusch. The show re-enacts the "Meistertrunk" legend. In 1631, after Tilly captured Rothenburg, he threatened to execute the councillors unless someone drained a 3.25-liter tankard of wine in one go. Mayor Nusch stepped forward and drank it all, saving the town. The performance lasts about one minute, and the square fills up before the hour, so arrive several minutes early to claim a spot. The façade also has a sundial and a date clock. The tourist office can supply maps and book guided tours.
Opening hours
Puppet clock shows on the hour daily: 10:00/11:00–15:00 and 20:00–22:00
Nearby sights
- Night Watchman's Tour
- Marktplatz & Town Hall Tower
- Reiterlesmarkt Christmas Market
- German Christmas Museum (Käthe Wohlfahrt)
- St. Jakob's Church (Holy Blood Altar)
- Medieval Crime and Justice Museum
- RothenburgMuseum (Imperial City Museum)
- Plönlein