Accessibility Statement

We (Rothenburg Tourismus Service, City of Rothenburg ob der Tauber), as the operator of these websites, are committed to making our websites accessible in accordance with the applicable accessibility legislation. The following legal provisions apply to us:

Bavarian Act on Equality, Integration and Participation of People with Disabilities (Bayerisches Behindertengleichstellungsgesetz – BayBGG) and the Bavarian Ordinance on Accessible Information Technology (Bayerische Barrierefreie Informationstechnik-Verordnung – BayBITV).

Websites

This accessibility statement applies to the websites

Both websites run on the same content management system and use the same technical components. The barriers described below therefore affect both sites equally.

Date of publication

These websites were published on 21.09.2026.

Date of last update

These websites were last substantially revised, both in content and technically, on 21.09.2026.

Compliance status

These websites are partially compliant with the requirements of the BayBITV in conjunction with the harmonised European standard EN 301 549 and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, conformance level AA. The non-compliances are listed in the section “Which areas are not accessible?”.

Further measures to improve accessibility

The websites were audited by Venus GmbH & Co. KG using the WCAG test method. The audit covered the criteria of WCAG 2.1 level AA as applicable at the time of testing. The CAAT auditing tool was used for the technical analysis, supplemented by manual testing (keyboard operation, screen reader, zoom, contrast).

Samples were taken from the following website services:

  1. The TYPO3 content management system, including page templates and forms
  2. The Venus Web Modules (V.6) used to output structured data
  3. The Feratel experience booking portal
  4. The Tomas accommodation booking system (embedded as an iframe)
  5. The EventX event calendar (embedded as an iframe)

The identified shortcomings are being addressed step by step. For third-party components we have informed the respective vendors of the barriers found and are working towards their removal. We have no direct influence over the source code of these applications.

Which areas are not accessible?

1. Barriers in the TYPO3 CMS

  • Decorative images are announced despite having empty alternative text (WCAG 2.1 AA: 1.1.1): Several images are marked as purely decorative (empty alternative text) but additionally carry a populated title. Screen readers fall back to reading out this title, so images that should be skipped are announced instead.
  • Identically labelled links lead to different destinations (WCAG 2.1 AA: 2.4.4): Several links share the same text (e.g. “Find out more”) but lead to different pages. Screen reader users working through a list of links cannot tell them apart.
  • Some videos lack a media alternative (WCAG 2.1 AA: 1.2.3, 1.2.5): Text shown within videos and content conveyed purely visually (e.g. a title or place name) is not consistently available as text outside the video. This information therefore does not reach people with visual impairments.

These findings are based on a sample audit of the TYPO3 content elements carried out on 16 September 2026. Of the WCAG 2.1 AA success criteria tested, one was not met; two further points were recorded as recommendations for improvement and are included above.

2. Barriers in the Venus Web Modules (V.6)

  • GPX, SVG and PDF download icons have insufficient contrast (WCAG 2.1 AA: 1.4.11): The download icons do not stand out clearly enough from the background. This makes them harder to identify, particularly for people with visual impairments or on mobile devices.
  • Not all informative images have alternative text (WCAG 2.1 AA: 1.1.1): Some images that convey information have no suitable alternative text. Screen readers are therefore unable to convey the information contained in the image.
  • Some alternative texts are too long (WCAG 2.1 AA: 1.1.1): Some alt texts are very long. This can make screen reader use more difficult because unnecessary detail is read out.
  • Text is partly cut off at 200 % zoom (WCAG 2.1 AA: 1.4.4): At high magnification (e.g. 200 %) text is not fully visible or is truncated. This makes reading more difficult, especially for people with visual impairments.
  • Redundant links occur in places (WCAG 2.1 AA: 2.4.4): The same content is linked more than once to the same target (e.g. image and title linked separately). This can unnecessarily lengthen navigation, particularly with a keyboard or screen reader.
  • Link purpose is not always recognisable or link text is empty (WCAG 2.1 AA: 2.4.4): Some links are too generic (“More”) or contain no meaningful text. Users cannot reliably tell where the link leads.
  • Heading structure is not consistent (H2 is sometimes skipped) (WCAG 2.1 AA: 1.3.1): In places, H3 follows directly after H1 without an intervening H2. This makes orientation more difficult, especially for screen reader users who navigate by headings.
  • Certain IDs are used more than once (WCAG 2.1 AA: 4.1.1): Some technical identifiers (IDs), e.g. from the web modules, appear more than once on a page. This can cause problems for assistive technologies and for the unambiguous identification of elements.

3. Barriers in the Feratel experience booking portal

  • Elements do not meet the minimum colour contrast requirements (WCAG 2.1 AA: 1.4.3 / 1.4.11): Text and/or controls do not stand out clearly enough from the background. This makes reading and recognition more difficult, particularly for people with visual impairments.
  • Minimum contrast is not met (WCAG 2.1 AA: 1.4.3): The contrast of normal text falls below the required minimum value, making text hard to read.
  • Line height and spacing are too small (WCAG 2.1 AA: 1.4.12): Insufficient line height and spacing make text harder to read, especially in longer paragraphs or when magnified.
  • No pause or stop function (WCAG 2.1 AA: 2.2.2): Moving, automatically updating or time-based content (e.g. sliders/carousels) cannot be paused or stopped. This can hinder or impair use.
  • Links with different targets: “Contact” appears several times (WCAG 2.1 AA: 2.4.4): Several links share the same label (“Contact”) but may lead to different destinations. Users cannot reliably tell where each link leads without opening it.
  • Experience tiles do not respond to focus (WCAG 2.1 AA: 2.4.7): When navigating by keyboard, it is not visible which tile is currently selected. This makes navigation without a mouse more difficult.

4. Third-party applications embedded as iframes

The following third-party applications are embedded in our websites as iframes. They are provided entirely by the respective vendor and are not accessible. We have no influence over their design, source code or interaction logic.

We have informed the vendors of the barriers identified and are in contact with them regarding their removal.

Accessible alternative

For as long as these areas are not accessible, we are happy to assist you personally. We can take accommodation and experience bookings, provide information on events, and supply information in a format that is accessible to you:

Phone: +49 9861 404-800
E-mail: info@rothenburg.de

Feedback and contact details

Have you noticed shortcomings in the accessibility of content on our websites, or do you have comments or questions about accessible access? Please get in touch with us:

Rothenburg Tourismus Service
Marktplatz 2
91541 Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Germany

Phone: +49 9861 404-800
Fax: +49 9861 404-529
E-mail: info@rothenburg.de

We endeavour to respond to your enquiry within one month.

Enforcement procedure

If you believe that you are disadvantaged by insufficient accessibility of our websites, you can contact the competent enforcement body:

Landesamt für Digitalisierung, Breitband und Vermessung
IT-Dienstleistungszentrum des Freistaats Bayern
Durchsetzungs- und Überwachungsstelle für barrierefreie Informationstechnik
St.-Martin-Straße 47
81541 München
Germany

E-mail: bitv@bayern.de

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was drawn up on 21.09.2026.
It was last revised on 21.09.2026.

Assessment method: self-assessment carried out by Venus GmbH & Co. KG on the basis of an audit using the CAAT tool, supplemented by manual testing against WCAG 2.1 AA.

This is a translation of the German original. In the event of any discrepancy, the German version of this accessibility statement shall prevail.