
I visited the Lower German Limes WHS location of Remagen in Germany in October 2021 which was one of the only open sites during the pandemic. Basically this WHS is all about scattered Roman remains or ruins so I wasn't expecting much, even though it has to be said that Remagen has a good network of several types of Roman remains or ruins which make for a pleasant loop near the Rhine with 15 stops named Stadtrundgang with information boards in English and German at each stop. The Roman Museum only has information boards in German, but English translations are provided at the entrance.
The "highlight" of this location is the Roman Museum of Remagen with exhibits from the old Roman fort of Rigomagus displayed in the former chapel of St. Magdalena from the 15th century. The collection includes coins and grave contents from the 1st to the 4th centuries AD. Some tombstones with figures of Roman soldiers in full gear are noteworthy. The finds provide an insight into the life of the Roman soldiers based on the Rhine. In the basement of the former chapel you can visit the foundations of an arcade/portico from the 2nd century with 3 large column bases. This portico was the entrance to the "principia", the headquarters of a Roman fort.
The ancient author Ammianus Marcellinus mentions Remagen in his report on the invasion of the Franks in 356. The Roman army under Emperor Julian found the forts and towns between Koblenz and Cologne destroyed by the Germans except the "Rigomagum oppidum" and a tower near Cologne. On the "Tabula Peutingeriana" which is a copy of a Roman road map from the 4th century you can find "Rigomagus" between Bonn and Andernach.
When most people hear the word "Limes" today, the ditch and ramparts built by Roman soldiers between the Rhine and the Danube. This line was 300 miles long and consisted of a road, forts, watchtowers, ditch and ramparts, and a palisade or wall. This frontier was given up by the Roman army around 260 AD. In Lower Germany, the Limes or frontier was the Rhine. From the North Sea to Remagen which was the last fort in Lower Germany where about 35,000 to 42,000 Roman soldiers were stationed in the 1st century AD; in the 2nd and 3rd centuries there were 20,000 to 27,000 soldiers. Half of them were auxiliaries.
The Roman Museum is free of charge and opens March till end October Wednesday to Sunday 15:00-17:00 (closed on Mondays and Tuesdays). The museum forms part of what is known as the "historical triangle". Here the Roman fort Rigomagus stood from the 1st to the 4th centuries. Apart from the museum, preserved remains of the late Roman fortification wall, the Praetorium and the Principia can be visited also in the cellar of the former youth centre. The main advantage of going on a guided city tour of Remagen is that it is the only way to be able to visit the Roman hypocaust heater beneath the former youth centre of Remagen.
All in all a pleasant day trip visit to yet another Ancient Roman WHS but certainly not one of the most deserving not only on a national level but especially on a global level.
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