History of the Hotel Reichsküchenmeister

The heraldic figure of the „Reichs-Küchenmeister“ has remained unchanged for 800 years. Next to the knight’s helmet you find traditional cooking utensils, symbols of an esteemed Trade that they once practiced. The “Reichs-Küchemeister”, or “Master Chefs of the Empire”, were in charge of enforcing the law in the free Imperial Town of Rothenburg. Such was their status that they were answerable only to the Emperor himself.

They held the latin title “magister coquinae”, i.e. “Master of the Culinary Arts”. Their Office as “Master Chef of the Empire” was awarded to them in the Imperial “Golden Bulle”. Their most influential member by far was Lupold von Nordenberg, part of whose bequest to the Town is the Dominican Monastery, which nowadays houses the much admired “Reichsstadtmuseum” (“Imperial Town Museum”).

The history of our Hotel is just as rich: As one of the oldest Patrician Houses, it was built by the noble Brodsorg family in the 12th Century. Their heraldic figure still adorns the Hotel's Main Entrance. In 1540 the future Emperor Ferdinand I. stayed in this building and in 1546 Emperor Charles V.