Even in former times this was a market venue as well as a public court of justice and sometimes the backdrop for the burning of witches and heretics. Still today, you can find the market there on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 7a to 2p. A handful of cafés are open daily and are especially good in summer to sit down and enjoy the scenery. The market place is enchanting, surrounded by historical buildings. The place is dominated by the Heiliggeistkirche (Holy Ghost Church) and the Rathaus on the other side. Between both is a fountain with a baroque statue of Hercules dating from 1801. Among the highlights are the Kurfürstlichen Hof-Apotheke (the former Elector's Court Dispensary at no. 190) as well as the magnificient renaissance facade of the hotel Zum Ritter St. Georg.
The world famous Christmas toy and ornament company from the fairytale village of Rothenburg ob der Tauber has a shop on Hauptstraße, where passersby can marvel at window displays of traditional Christmas items throughout the year. The Wohlfahrt family’s success story is closely tied with American presence in post-WWII West Germany, when US army friends encouraged the family to sell traditional Christmas music boxes on a US army base in 1963. Far from espousing the modern-day mantra of cheap and disposable, items found in the shop are the product of centuries of wooden toymaking traditions passed down from generation to generation. You will find here elaborate spinning Christmas pyramids, wooden Räuchermann incense smokers, handsome nutcrackers and Schwibbogen candle arches of a long-forgotten mining past.
The assorted advertisements posted outside and around this store offering healing seminars of various sorts may be welcome invitations for tired souls, but just step inside and let a hot cup of tea do its work on you. A big selection of assorted teas is available in an arrangement by which you pay by weight for the amount you need, including more exotic varieties than those found at your local supermarket, such as Gudichi, from the Himalayas.
The furnishing in this shop is very sober. However, the richly filled shelves are filled with many exciting, entertaining, foolhardy, thoughtful and instructive secondhand books of different ages (among them some first editions). Looking for a certain book related to history, art, politics, the working class movement, sociology or philosophy? You could – with a little luck - make a strike. Among the bargains in the boxes outside, you might find this or that oddity. If you're looking for a new book, then order it from the shop and pick it up or have it sent to you.
For a “corner house” shop, Eckhaus Heidelberg is certainly floating with some high-end exclusive brands. New and secondhand pieces are displayed alongside in a flurry of color that includes mustard velvet jackets by Dondup, tangerine nylon messenger bags by Prada and a number of old-fashioned travel suitcases with the trademark initials of Louis Vuitton. With an intimate and friendly atmosphere, Eckhaus Heidelberg also dabbles in small furniture, dainty tea sets, crystal chandeliers and accessories, including scarves, belts and other leather goods, all lying casually around on its milky furniture. Expect slightly marked down prices, nevertheless steep and typical for the provenance of the baubles and trinkets at hand.
The little world of the Troll Children’s Shop is just the right size for a quick peek on behalf of the little ones without losing oneself in too many choices. Troll is stocked with pastel and marine outfits from the French brand Petit Bateau and animal-illustrated tops from South African Keedo, among other smaller high-end labels. Clothes for babies, boys and girls are neatly organized by color and age, amidst soft, traditional toys that echo those of your grandparents’ generation— dolls, plush bunnies, woolly sheep, geese, dragons and other adorable stuffed animals from the German 100-year-old toy brand KÖSEN. Among its accessories, Troll carries a line of eco-friendly footwear from the New Zealand-brand Bobux, with embroidered leather flowers and kittens.
The assorted advertisements posted outside and around this store offering healing seminars of various sorts may be welcome invitations for tired souls, but just step inside and let a hot cup of tea do its work on you. A big selection of assorted teas is available in an arrangement by which you pay by weight for the amount you need, including more exotic varieties than those found at your local supermarket, such as Gudichi, from the Himalayas.
The furnishing in this shop is very sober. However, the richly filled shelves are filled with many exciting, entertaining, foolhardy, thoughtful and instructive secondhand books of different ages (among them some first editions). Looking for a certain book related to history, art, politics, the working class movement, sociology or philosophy? You could – with a little luck - make a strike. Among the bargains in the boxes outside, you might find this or that oddity. If you're looking for a new book, then order it from the shop and pick it up or have it sent to you.
For a “corner house” shop, Eckhaus Heidelberg is certainly floating with some high-end exclusive brands. New and secondhand pieces are displayed alongside in a flurry of color that includes mustard velvet jackets by Dondup, tangerine nylon messenger bags by Prada and a number of old-fashioned travel suitcases with the trademark initials of Louis Vuitton. With an intimate and friendly atmosphere, Eckhaus Heidelberg also dabbles in small furniture, dainty tea sets, crystal chandeliers and accessories, including scarves, belts and other leather goods, all lying casually around on its milky furniture. Expect slightly marked down prices, nevertheless steep and typical for the provenance of the baubles and trinkets at hand.