Saalburg Roman Fort

The Saalburg was a cohort fort on the Upper German Limes, holding around five hundred men with a civilian settlement outside. Excavation began in the nineteenth century, and from 1898 Wilhelm II funded a full reconstruction on the original foundations, rebuilding the gates, walls, headquarters building, granaries and barracks; it is the only fort on the entire Limes to be rebuilt in this way and became a model for how Roman military sites were understood. The Limes itself, running five hundred and fifty kilometres from the Rhine to the Danube, was UNESCO-listed in 2005 as part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire.

History

The Saalburg was a cohort fort of the Limes Germanicus on the main ridge of the Taunus. The Nassau Antiquarian Society first examined it in 1853-1862 under Friedrich Gustav Habel, and after the Imperial Limes Commission, chaired by Theodor Mommsen, began to survey the whole frontier in 1892, the archaeologists Louis Jacobi and his son Heinrich explored the fort intensively. In 1897, at Louis Jacobi's suggestion, Kaiser Wilhelm II ordered the fort reconstructed according to the excavation results, which made it the most completely reconstructed fort on the entire Limes, now home to the Saalburg Museum, and since 2005 it has been part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site (Wikipedia, Saalburg).

What to look for

• The rebuilt fort - gates, walls and buildings reconstructed on original foundations.
• The headquarters - the principia rebuilt with a museum inside.
• The 1898 project - an early and influential archaeological reconstruction.
• The Limes line - the frontier earthwork traceable through the woods nearby.

When to go

April to October; the site closes Mondays in winter. Roman festival days with reenactors run several times a year. The Taunus woods around it are good for walking.

What to expect

Everything standing is reconstruction, though on genuine foundations. Some of the 1900s rebuilding reflects the understanding of that period rather than current research.

Nearby

Bad Homburg lies south; the Limes runs through the Taunus.

Key facts