Rothenburg Museum, Rothenburg

The Rothenburg Museum is located in the former Dominican convent. With approximately 30,000 objects spanning painting, sculpture, handicrafts, weapons, and Judaica, the museum offers a diverse collection spread across 2,500 square meters of exhibition space.

The museum's origins can be traced back to the late 19th century when the Rothenburg trade association organized fundraisers to acquire an early baroque cupboard. This initiative was a response to the potential loss of art and cultural assets in Rothenburg during the 1850s and 1860s, with the local newspaper even suggesting selling "antiquities" to tourists. In 1898, the Alt-Rothenburg association also joined the trend of establishing a collection of cultural and historical artifacts in the Fleischhaus.

After World War II, the merging of club and municipal properties made it difficult to separate the collections. However, in 1947, 41 pewter objects stolen from Jews by the Nazis and displayed in the museum were returned. From 1945 to 1977, the museum operated on a voluntary basis until a major burglary in 1974 prompted the appointment of a scientific management team. Restoration work was undertaken between 1978 and 2006 to preserve and repair the collection.

The museum's collection includes historical artifacts from Rothenburg's imperial city period, as well as items from the Alt-Rothenburg association and the Baumann Foundation. Noteworthy additions are the estates of painters Wilhelm Schacht and Theodor Alt, containing over 1,200 and 1,400 works, respectively. The museum also showcases sacred objects on loan from the Evangelical-Lutheran parish of St. Jakob and includes items from the Alt-Rothenburg association, such as the Creußen tankard and the Rothenburg sketchbook. The Department of Jewish Antiquities features 51 tombstones and fragments from the Middle Ages, including a pogrom stone commemorating the beef pogrom of 1298.