Aquae Granni – Roman Aachen at the Centre Charlemagne

A visit to the City Museum at the Katschhof offers a vivid introduction to Aquae Granni, the Roman precursor of modern Aachen. The name alone reveals Roman Aachen’s greatest asset: its hot springs! The mineral waters were quickly believed to have healing powers. Granni refers to Grannus, a Gallic deity associated with health and recovery.

The Birth of a Roman Spa Town

From the outset, the Romans envisioned Aachen on a grand scale: even at its founding, the town had the air of a true city – 30 hectares in size, with wooden houses, thermal baths, and even a stone bathhouse with tiled roofs. Medical knowledge clustered around the springs, making the town both a spa and an early centre of therapeutic practice.

A City Transformed Under Trajan

In the early second century, Aquae Granni underwent a complete urban renewal. Emperor Trajan may have intended to elevate the vicus to a regional capital – a theory supported by stamped bricks and an inscription bearing his name. The original baths made way for a monumental square of more than 6,000 square metres, likely containing a forum and temple. Across the city, monumental new bath complexes were built.

A Cosmopolitan Centre of the Roman Empire

This expansion turned Aquae Granni into one of the most important wellness centres in the Roman world, and the only major spa in the province of Germania Inferior. Travellers came here from all corners of the Empire: a true melting pot of colours, languages, cultures, and religions. Even Phrygian and Egyptian gods such as Cybele, Isis, and Harpocrates had their devotees here.

Your Starting Point on the VIA VIA Roman City Route, 2027

From 2027 onward, the Centre Charlemagne serves as the starting point of the VIA VIA Roman City Walk route of Aachen. This themed trail guides visitors through the historic city centre, with viewing windows, reconstructions, and concise information points revealing traces of Roman baths, housing, and the city’s layout—linking the museum’s exhibit on the city in Centre Charlemagne with archaeological remains throughout Aachen.

Are you ready to take a walk?

“‘The city smells of rotten eggs,’ Julia grimaces. My daughter is right. The thermal baths of Aquae Granni may be healing, but their sulphurous stench is unbearable. It doesn’t seem to bother the bathers, though. Our cart moves forward at a crawl through a crowd of shuffling people and wagons piled high with wood. ‘Most of it is for the baths,’ says a dark-skinned man walking beside us. ‘Every day, the thermae and the underfloor heating of the rich devour another piece of the forest. The baths heal the body, but not nature,’ he sighs, before vanishing again into the throng. Quintus Iulius has come up with the idea of bottling the spring water and selling it at the markets of Germania Inferior. Personally, I’m just looking forward to sliding into the warm water for a few hours — and talking with people from all corners of the Empire. Perhaps I’ll overhear some news about the situation in Rome. They seem to change emperors every few months this year. Murder and decapitation — not even the most curative water can wash that away.” – Ammulva Iucunda