The Romantic Road (, ) is a "theme route" devised by promotion-minded travel agents in the 1950s. It describes the of surface roads between

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

and

Füssen Füssen () is a Town#Germany, town in Bavaria, Germany, in the district of Ostallgäu, situated one kilometre from the Austrian border. The town is known for violin manufacturing and as the closest transportation hub for the Neuschwanstein and Sc ...

in southern

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, specifically in

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

and

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

, 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 Nördlingen (; Swabian: ''Nearle'' or ''Nearleng'') is a town in the Donau-Ries district, in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, with a population of approximately 20,674. It is located approximately east of Stuttgart, and northwest of Munich. It was ...

, Dinkelsbühl and

Rothenburg ob der Tauber Rothenburg ob der Tauber () is a town located in the district of Ansbach (district), Ansbach of Mittelfranken (Middle Franconia), the Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. It is well known for its well-preserved Middle Ages, medieval old town, a d ...

and in castles such as Burg Harburg and the famous

Neuschwanstein Neuschwanstein Castle (, ; ) is a 19th-century historicist palace on a rugged hill of the foothills of the Alps in the very south of Germany, near the border with Austria. It is located in the Swabia region of Bavaria, in the municipality of ...

. With about five million overnight stays, four to five times that number of day visits and around 15,000 tourist jobs generated by the route, it is an economically important southern German travel destination.Erwin Seitz, Dominik Rossmann: ''Fallstudien zum Tourismus-Marketing: Marketing-Erfolg trainieren.'' Vahlen, 2007.

Along the route

from north to south: *

* Holzkirchen (Unterfranken) (new itinerary since 2016) * Urphar (new itinerary since 2016) * Wertheim (new itinerary since 2016) *

Tauberbischofsheim Tauberbischofsheim () is a German town in the north-east of Baden-Württemberg on the river Tauber with a population of about 13,200. It is the capital of the Main-Tauber (district), Main-Tauber district. It is a popular tourist destination due t ...

Lauda-Königshofen Lauda-Königshofen () is a town in the Main-Tauber (district), Main-Tauber district in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the river Tauber, 7 km southeast of Tauberbischofsheim, and 30 km southwest of Würzburg. Most of the ...

Bad Mergentheim Bad Mergentheim (; Mergentheim until 1926; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Märchedol'') is a town in the Main-Tauber-Kreis district in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It has a population of around 23,000. An officially recogniz ...

Weikersheim Weikersheim is a town in the Main-Tauber district of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. History Town rights were granted to Weikersheim in 1313. As one of the seats of the House of Hohenlohe, until 1756 Weikersheim's town center was dominated by Wei ...

* Röttingen * Creglingen *

Schillingsfürst Schillingsfürst is a municipality in the district of Ansbach, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 12 km southeast of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, and 23 km west of Ansbach Ansbach ( , ; ) is a city in the Germany, German state of Ba ...

* Feuchtwangen * Dinkelsbühl * Wallerstein *

* Harburg *

Donauwörth Donauwörth (; ) is a town and the capital of the Donau-Ries district in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is said to have been founded by two fishermen where the rivers Danube (Donau) and Wörnitz meet. The city is part of the scenic route called "R ...

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

* Friedberg * Kaufering *

Landsberg am Lech Landsberg am Lech (Landsberg at the Lech (river), Lech) is a Town#Germany, town in southwest Bavaria, Germany, about 65 kilometers west of Munich and 35 kilometers south of Augsburg. It is the capital of the district of Landsberg (district), Lands ...

* Hohenfurch * Schongau * Peiting * Rottenbuch * Wildsteig * Steingaden and Wieskirche * Halblech *

Schwangau Schwangau is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the district of Ostallgäu in Bavaria, Germany. The village lies 4 km from the larger town of Füssen and just 1.5 km from Hohenschwangau, a collection of tourist-oriented facili ...

and

Hohenschwangau Hohenschwangau is a former village and now an urban district of the municipality of Schwangau, Ostallgäu district, Bavaria, Germany. It is located between Schloss Neuschwanstein and Schloss Hohenschwangau and is visited by about 2 million peop ...

image:Marienberg wuerzburg.jpg,

image:Wertheim_-_Stadtansicht_2.jpg, Wertheim image:Rothenburg BW 4.JPG,

image:Noerdlingen town hall from Daniel.jpg,

image:Castle_Neuschwanstein.jpg,

and

image:Romantische-Strasse Ende Fuessen.JPG, End of the Romantic Road at Abbey St. Stephan in Füssen

References

External links

Official website

Official website

Article
Article about the Romantic Road
{{Authority control German tourist routes Roads in Baden-Württemberg Cycleways in Germany Transport in Bavaria Transport in Baden-Württemberg Tourist attractions in Bavaria Tourist attractions in Baden-Württemberg

Along the route

See also

References

External links