Explore Northern Bavaria: Franconia
Fifteen million years ago a meteorite slammed into the Alb plateau close to the site of present-day NÖRDLINGEN, southeast of Dinkelsbühl on the boundary with Baden-Württemberg. Hitting the earth at a speed of 70,000km per hour, the impact of the meteorite was sufficient to form a crater 25km wide, known today as the Ries, and reputedly the best-preserved impact crater on the planet. Geology isn’t the only reason to visit the town however, for Nördlingen is another of the Romantic Road’s perfectly preserved medieval gems, a former imperial free city like Rothenburg ob der Tauber and Dinkelsbühl, but less touristy than either.
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So, G’sell, so – the treachery of the Nördlingen town guards
So, G’sell, so – the treachery of the Nördlingen town guards
Every half-hour between 10pm and midnight the tower watchman atop the Daniel issues the traditional cry “So G’sell, so” (roughly “ah, so that’s how it is, lads”). The “official” explanation for this strange custom is that one evening in 1440 the town guards left the town gate open, having been bribed by Count Hans of Oettingen, who wanted to storm the town. Their treachery was discovered by a woman passing the Löpsinger Gate; her appalled reaction is echoed to this day in the watchman’s cry. It’s not certain how accurate the story is, but it is a matter of record that two guards were charged with treason that year and executed.
