Rottweil is the oldest town in Baden-Württemberg, founded by the Romans in AD 73, and the place that gave the Rottweiler dog its name — the breed descends from the mastiffs that Roman legions used to drive cattle over the Alps. A fountain on the Hauptstrasse commemorates the connection.
The old town is remarkably well preserved, with painted Renaissance and baroque facades lining the Hauptstrasse and a pair of fortified gate towers — the Schwarzes Tor is the more striking — marking the old boundaries. The Heilig-Kreuz-Münster holds an excellent group of late-medieval altarpieces, and the Dominikanermuseum houses Roman mosaics excavated nearby and a fine collection of medieval Swabian wood sculpture. The Stadtmuseum on Hauptstrasse covers the town's two thousand years of history.
Rottweil is best known for its Fasnet, the Swabian carnival held in the week before Lent. The "Narrensprung" — a procession of masked figures in elaborate carved wooden masks — is one of the oldest and most dramatic carnival traditions in Germany, drawing thousands of spectators. If you are in the region in February, it is not to be missed.
The thyssenkrupp test tower, a 246-metre concrete cylinder on the outskirts, offers a viewing platform with panoramic views extending to the Alps on clear days.