In front of the main portal of St Jakob, Rothenburg's main church, stands a contemporary bronze figure of St James the Greater (Jakobus in German), the patron saint of pilgrims. He is there to greet the walkers who arrive on the Way of St James: Rothenburg is a junction where pilgrim routes from Nuremberg, Würzburg and Bamberg meet. Take a close look at his hand, because a local custom says that rubbing his outstretched finger brings luck.
The St James statue at a glance
- Where: in front of the main portal of St Jakob (St James's Church), a couple of minutes' walk from the Market Square.
- Created: a contemporary work, far younger than the Gothic church behind it.
- What it is today: a welcome figure for pilgrims on the Way of St James and a favourite photo spot outside the church.
- Time needed: 5 minutes for the statue, 30–45 minutes if you also go into St Jakob.
Why St James stands here
St James the Greater, one of the twelve apostles, is said to be buried in Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, in north-west Spain, the goal of the Way of St James since the Middle Ages. Rothenburg lay on one of the medieval pilgrim routes, and its parish church is dedicated to him. St Jakob took 173 years to build and was completed in 1485. It began as a Catholic church, became Protestant with the Reformation and is still the town's main church.
In 1992 Paul Geißendörfer, then the pastor of Heilsbronn, revived the Middle Franconian Way of St James (Mittelfränkischer Jakobsweg), a route linking the churches of St James between Nuremberg and Rothenburg. Three years later it was waymarked with a white shell on a blue background. Today routes from Nuremberg, Würzburg and Bamberg all end in Rothenburg, and pilgrims can collect a stamp for their pilgrim passport at the church. The bronze St James at the door is the first to welcome them.
What to look for
- The scallop shell in the saint's left hand: the badge of pilgrims to Santiago, and the symbol you will see on the waymarks of the route.
- The outstretched index finger of that same hand, the one people rub for luck.
- The pilgrim's outfit: in art St James usually wears a wide cloak and a hat and carries a staff. Compare the bronze with the older images of the saint inside the church.
- The church above the street: walk round to the west end of St Jakob, where the lane Klingengasse passes right under the west choir through an arched tunnel.
- Inside, the Holy Blood Altar by the Würzburg sculptor Tilman Riemenschneider, carved around 1500–1505, in the west choir, and the Twelve Apostles Altar by Friedrich Herlin in the east choir.
The drop of holy blood
The west choir that bridges Klingengasse was built to house a relic: a small rock-crystal capsule said to contain drops of Christ's blood. In the Middle Ages this relic drew pilgrims of its own to Rothenburg, and Riemenschneider's altar was made to display it; you can see the capsule in the cross at the centre of the altar. Whether the blood is real is a matter of faith, but the relic is the reason this part of the church exists.
Tips for your visit
- Come early in the morning or in the evening, when the day-trip crowds have thinned, to photograph the statue without people around it.
- If you are walking the Way of St James, ask inside the church for the pilgrim stamp.
- After the statue, walk round to Klingengasse to see the street pass beneath the church, then carry on north to the Klingentor gate.
Nearby
- Market Square and Town Hall: a couple of minutes' walk away; the Town Hall tower can be climbed for a view over the red roofs.
- Klingentor and St Wolfgang's Church: the town gate at the end of Klingengasse, with a fortified church built into the town wall around 1500, complete with loopholes.
- The town museum: housed in a former Dominican convent beside St Jakob, with exhibits on Rothenburg's history.
- Medieval Crime Museum: a short walk south of the Market Square, with instruments of punishment and the legal history of the Middle Ages.
See Rothenburg with World City Trail
Our Rothenburg scavenger hunt turns the old town into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops and takes around 2 hours, with about 21 minutes of walking. St Jakob, right behind the statue, is one of the stops, along with St Wolfgang's Church and the Town Hall.
If you prefer a different format, there is also a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game in Rothenburg.
Play the Rothenburg ob der Tauber scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Rothenburg ob der Tauber →
Play the outdoor escape game in Rothenburg ob der Tauber →
Facts checked in October 2026.