The Romans in Germany
Cologne - Xanten - Trier -
Mehring - Saalburg -
Frankfurt
Here are some results from two visits to Germany in 1994 and 2006.
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In 1994 I enjoyed an excellent holiday exploring the Romans in Germany. I travelled first to Cologne (by coach from London Victoria, as it happens), from where I made a day trip by train to Xanten. Then by train to Trier, and by a short bus ride to Mehring. After a pleasant stay in Mehring, I took the train to Frankfurt, and made an excursion to Saalburg.
I caught the coach in Frankfurt to return to London.
See my diary here.
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In 2006 I flew to Cologne and then by train to Bingen, to retrace the footsteps of Ausonius, author of Mosella, who writes that he visited Denzen and Tabernae on the way to Neumagen and the Moselle. Pictures will be used to illustrate a new presentation of my translation on this site. Thanks to digital photography there are now very many more pictures, and a few short videos. Other pictures illustrating Roman life taken on the trip are to be presented on separate pages, divided by subject matter.
Gladiators
Domestic life
The family
Theatre
Religion
Medicine
If you are looking for more solid and detailed facts about Roman Germany, try
here.
Each of these places is worth a visit. Here are a few notes on each, with some pictures. Click on the thumbnail to see the bigger picture.
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Cologne
Cologne, Latin Colonia, has some Roman ruins, but the Roman museum, in the square beside the Cathedral, was for me the greatest attraction. There's a bit about the museum (opening in a new window)
here.
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A huge monument stretching from ground floor to museum top is the most spectacular exhibit. I seem to remember a Roman organ. They sell some nice replicas. Here are three goddesses.
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On the back you can see the maker's details
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Xanten
Xanten is a Roman town, reconstructed in part on its original site. See my 15 minute video tour of the site here.
The chief attractions are:
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Town walls and gate
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Inn and bathhouse
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Amphitheatre and crane
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Games building
There used to be many virtual reality pictures of Xanten on the internet, but all have disappeared. Pity. The pics on this page are my own.
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The walls of Xanten
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Looking down from the walls
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The inn
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Another view of the inn
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The amphitheatre and crane
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The main gate
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Trier
Trier was the Emperor's headquarters at one stage. Apart from impressive ruins, it has a Roman bridge, and a basilica still in use as a church, where I enjoyed an organ recital. The most impressive building of all is the Porta Nigra, a city gate so huge that at one time it housed a church in its middle storey. The museum has some famous reliefs, like the boy arriving late to class, and also the big stone cargo boat pictured here.
Take a virtual tour
View a slide show of my photographs
here.
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This is the Porta Nigra, not my own photo
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The view from the former church in the Porta Nigra.
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The famous boat carving, general view.
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A closer view of the cargo of Moselle wine
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A less usual view, from the bows
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And a glimpse from behind.
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Mehring
I fell in love with the Moselle, and found a village by the river to stay in for a few days, while I walked the vine-covered hills and admired the views. By sheer chance I found that Mehring, the village I chose, has a partially reconstructed Roman villa.
Ausonius was also taken with the Moselle, and wrote a poem about it, which I have now translated. I could not find an English translation on the web, so my version is here.
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The front of the villa
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And this is round the back, only partially rebuilt
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A sideways view of the main facade
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Another view of the front, with its wonderful view.
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A really solid-looking bulding
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The lavatories are partly reconstructed
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The corridor gave good cover during a shower while I was visiting
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Finally, the local restaurant shows the villa as it may have been
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If you can cope with German, then this website gives a good idea of Mehring.
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Saalburg
The frontier of the Roman Empire in Germany, the Limes, is rather like Hadrian's Wall, or rather the Antonine Wall, not being built of stone. I visited it at the reconstructed fort, the Saalburg, not too far from Frankfurt. The Kaiser built it about 1900 for his wife's birthday present, I believe. Not the sort of present that royalty could pass on to a servant to dispose of.
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A high bank surrounds the Saalburg, surmounted by a stone wall.
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This small patch of the wall has been finished in gleaming white, as perhaps the whole wall once was.
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There are watch-towers at intervals round the fort.
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Another, larger patch of whitened wall.
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At some places the original ditch is clearly visible, like here by the main gate
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The main gate, even from the inside, is really imposing
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There is a lesser gate at another point in the fort walls
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Inside, you see the soldiers' quarters, the barrack blocks
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They faced each other across a narrow roadway
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They now house lavatories for ladies ...
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... and gentlemen, suitably labelled in Latin
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Other buildings - storehouses etc - are rebuilt on their original sites
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The granary houses a superb museum
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A Mithraeum is tucked away outside the fort
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The centre of the fort is the Principia
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I felt a strange sensation, being actually inside a 'Roman' building
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You look out onto a parade ground and a well. You are made aware of the importance of wells
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You can imagine a parade here in front of the centurion
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This is how the Principia looks from the outside
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In the very safest place in the Principia is the treasury
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Near the fort is the 'limes' itself, a short stretch of which has been reconstructed
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One can follow traces of the limes through the woods, but not much is left
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See more at the Saalburg site and the Limes in Hessen site.
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Frankfurt
By contrast, Frankfurt is disappointing for anyone seeking the Romans. There is a Roman museum, but I cannot recommend that you visit it.
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This statue of Minerva was about the best thing there. Here she is from every angle.
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