Strafturm - Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany
N 49° 22.784 E 010° 10.513
32U E 585301 N 5470334
The Strafturm, literally 'punishment tower', is part of the wall around the City of Rothenburg ob der Tauber.
Waymark Code: WM13HK5
Location: Bayern, Germany
Date Posted: 12/19/2020
Views: 2
The structure was build in 1400, when the outer wall around the City of Rothenburg was constructed. It was a prison for minor offenses, often with short periods of incarceration. Crimes of the times that landed you in the Strafturm were non-payment of debts and shorting customers for a loaf of bread. The following website has an interesting means of punishment for disreputable bakers:
"Our view now is of the Strafturm, a tower feared bakers who tried to shortchange their customers. When a loaf of bread failed to weigh in at the minimum standard, the baker was taken with his underweight loaf to this tower and lowered outside into the moat. Baker and loaf of bread soaked up water, enough water to make the loaf weigh the minimal standard. Only when the loaf reached the proper weight could the baker be released from further dunkings."
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The tower itself was also part of a scene from the movie Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang.