Past

The Saalburg – in retrospect

In Roman times, the Saalburg fort kept watch over a section of the Limes in the Taunus hills. From the end of the 1st century AD, for approximately the next 160 years, the Limes marked the frontier between Rome’s Empire and the Germanic tribal territories.

The fort’s garrison was made up of 500 to 600 soldiers – both infantry and cavalry. A bath house and guest house were located just outside the main gate. A village housing craftsmen, traders and tavern keepers adjoined the fort. The Roman road to Nida (today, Frankfurt-Heddernheim) was lined with graves and small shrines. It is likely that as many as 2,000 people lived here at one time.

The fort and village fell into disrepair when, due to increasingly strong Germanic incursions, the Limes was abandoned around AD 260. Today, the remains of the 550 km long frontier complex, which extend from the Rhine to the River Danube, comprise Europe’s largest ancient monument.

After initial archaeological investigation in the mid-19th century, thanks to an initiative led by Kaiser Wilhelm II, the fort was rebuild between 1897 and 1907 to serve as open-air museum and research institute. In 2003, with the reconstruction of additional buildings, the first steps were taken toward the creation of an archaeological Park. In July 2005, the Limes (an with it, the Saalburg) joined the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Present

Take a Voyage of Discovery into Bygone Times

The visitor who makes the rounds of the fort and its grounds gains a lively and vivid picture of the Roman way of life. Within the fortifications, which include defensive walls, rampart walk and four gateways, many original buildings have been reconstructed in stone and timber.

The horreum (granary) is now an exhibition room. The praetorium (commander's quarters) houses the Museum Administration Unit as well as the Saalburg Research Institute. The centrally-located principia (headquarters building) impresses the visitor with its monumental assembly hall and colonnaded courtyard, around which museum rooms are grouped. In Roman times, these were orderly rooms, offices and armouries. The common soldiers lived in the nearby centuriae (barrack blocks).

Archaeological finds, reconstructions, displays and models tell the story of the soldiers and show the daily life of the civilians from the fort’s village. Especially eye-catching are the reconstructed contubernium (barracks room), home to a squad of eight soldiers who lived in close quarters, and the richly decorated triclinium (officer’s dining room). The aedes (regimental shrine) is particularly impressive: it was once the spiritual and religious centre of the fort. In the re-built ovens along the rampart walk, fresh Roman bread is still baked several times a year.

Visitors can enjoy the atmosphere of a Roman restaurant at the Museum Café Taberna. There, the cook-stove, sideboard and shelves replicate Roman originals. Guests choose food and drink from the culinary offerings and specialties typical of ancient Rome.

Outside the fort’s main gate, where the civilian settlement was located, the visitor finds the remains of a bath house and guest house as well as the cellars and wells of the private homes.

The „Saalburg Circuit Trail“ leads to a well-preserved part of the Limes, not far from the fort, where a section has been reconstructed at an ancient border crossing. The trail passes additional ruins, copies and reconstructions of archaeological monuments such as the Jupiter column and the Temple of Mithras.

Finds

Countless archaeological finds illustrate widely varied aspects of daily life: eating and drinking, construction and crafts, weapons and military equipment, dress and ornament, medicine and body care, finance and religion.

In addition to bronze, iron, glass and pottery objects, the leather and wooden finds are a special attraction of the Museum. While such organic materials rarely survive, these articles were found in unusually good condition at the Saalburg, preserved by moisture at the bottom of the fort’s many wells.