The Medieval Crime Museum is a pretty serious museum and apparently the only
law museum in Europe. That said many people refer to it as the Torture Museum as
it has a large display of torture devices and these invariably get more
attention than the old juridical scripts.
The museum is housed in a building dating from 1395 although it was redone in
1718 as the only building in Rothenburg in the Baroque style. Although it is
spread out over four floors many people seem to rush through in half an hour
focusing on the aforementioned torture instruments.
Personally I found the old documents and illustrated legal guides of even
more interest and to study them to any extend you should set aside at least an
hour and a half to two hours. All displays are explained in both English and
German. Of particular interest is the illustrated Sachsenspiegel, the
oldest and most influential German code of law of the middle ages. It was
compiled from 1220 to 1235 and records the customary law of the Saxons including
court proceedings, property transfers, punishments, due dates and liability.
Also of interest are the woodcuts explaining penalties of shame and honor,
including facemasks of shame, neck violins for feuding people and the baker’s
baptism.
The highlight for many is the display with torture and punishment instruments
including leg irons, stocks, spiked-chairs, finger screws, chastity belts and
neck-violins. There is also a "drunk barrel" that was to be worn by
drunkards and an iron maiden for women of ill repute. Execution seems to have
been a particular favorite of medieval justice and torture was thrown in for
good measure too. Even on the way to the gallows hot pincers could be applied to
the body of the condemned. Degrading public punishments such as being tied up
with a facemask of a pig or dragon or in neck violins for quarrelsome people
also seem to have played an important role in keeping the peace and order in
medieval society.
The museum can get very busy, especially with school groups although they
tend to rush through at great speed except for the gruesome exhibits. I would
strongly recommend getting there as close as possible to opening time.
Outside the museum is a set of stocks with queues of patrons lining up to
have their photos taken. You can access these stocks at all times so you can
come back outside museum hours to take a picture without having to jostle for
position. Also outside is a baker’s baptism, a cage used to dunk bakers into
the river if they were found to bake underweight bread. Similar systems for
bakers were used in many countries and is the origin of a baker’s dozen being
13, just to be safe.
Entrance is Euro 3,20. The museum is open daily but during November, January
to March only in the afternoon.