{"id":21282,"date":"2026-04-07T20:13:33","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T18:13:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/?post_type=plek&#038;p=21282"},"modified":"2026-04-07T20:13:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T18:13:33","slug":"ursulinerstrase-the-forum-of-roman-aachen","status":"publish","type":"plek","link":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/plek\/ursulinerstrase-the-forum-of-roman-aachen\/","title":{"rendered":"Ursulinerstra\u00dfe \u2013 The Forum of Roman Aachen"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"template":"","plek_types":[79,82],"class_list":["post-21282","plek","type-plek","status-publish","hentry","plek_types-archaeological-site","plek_types-education"],"acf":{"tekstkleur":false,"nummer":549,"kleur":"#000000","adres":{"address":"Ursulinerstra\u00dfe 5, 52062 Aachen, Duitsland","lat":50.7748276309093,"lng":6.086401753101042,"zoom":17,"place_id":"ChIJI2MuSWOZwEcRaxwRgl8SH6o","street_number":5,"street_name":"Ursulinerstra\u00dfe","city":"Aachen","city_short":"AC","state":"Nordrhein-Westfalen","state_short":"NRW","post_code":52062,"country":"Duitsland","country_short":"DE"},"straatnaam":"Ursulinerstra\u00dfe","postcode":"52062","plaats":"Aken","website":"Website of Centre Charlemagne","website_url":"https:\/\/centre-charlemagne.eu\/?lang=en","hotspot_naam":"Ursulinerstra\u00dfe, Aachen","afbeelding":null,"contactpersonen":"","email":" info@centre-charlemagne.eu","telefoon":"+49 241 4324931","videobox_contentblok":"","content":"The name Aquae Granni, the Roman precursor of modern-day Aachen, points to Roman Aachen\u2019s 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 earliest thermal baths date to around the turn of the millennium. From the outset, the Romans envisioned Aachen on a grand scale: even at its founding, the town had the air of a true city \u2013 30 hectares in size, with wooden houses, thermal baths, and even a stone bathhouse with tiled roofs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h3>A City Growing Around Its Baths<\/h3>\r\nIn the early second century, Aquae Granni underwent a complete urban renewal. Emperor Trajan may have intended to elevate the vicus to a regional capital \u2013 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.\r\n\r\nAquae Granni became one of the Roman Empire\u2019s leading wellness centres and the only major spa in Germania Inferior.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h3>The Forum at Ursulinerstra\u00dfe<\/h3>\r\nAt Ursulinerstra\u00dfe, the forum\u2014the civic and administrative centre of Roman Aachen\u2014can still be glimpsed through a glass panel in the floor. The panel reveals the southeastern perimeter wall of the central square, dating from the 2nd\u20133rd century, which forms part of the back of the reconstructed columned arcade in the courtyard. This view provides a tangible connection to the monumental urban redevelopment of Aquae Granni, showing how the forum once anchored the city\u2019s public, political, and social life.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h3>Discover Roman Aachen on the VIA VIA Route, 2027<\/h3>\r\nThe glass panel at Ursulinerstra\u00dfe is a highlight of the VIA VIA Roman City Walk route of Aachen, linking the museum\u2019s exhibit in Centre Charlemagne to the city\u2019s archaeological remains. Along this themed trail, visitors can explore how Aquae Granni was structured and governed, with the forum serving as a clear example of Roman urban planning. Other sites along the route\u2014such as Roman walls and floors in the Elisengarten or the M\u00fcnsterthermen inside Aachen Cathedral\u2014complement the view at Ursulinerstra\u00dfe, offering a vivid sense of daily life, administration, and civic culture in Roman Aachen.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAre you ready to take a walk?\r\n<h3>\u201c\u2018The city smells of rotten eggs,\u2019 Julia grimaces. My daughter is right. The thermal baths of Aquae Granni may be healing, but their sulphurous stench is unbearable. It doesn\u2019t 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. \u2018Most of it is for the baths,\u2019 says a dark-skinned man walking beside us. \u2018Every day, the thermae and the underfloor heating of the rich devour another piece of the forest. The baths heal the body, but not nature,\u2019 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\u2019m just looking forward to sliding into the warm water for a few hours \u2014 and talking with people from all corners of the Empire. Perhaps I\u2019ll overhear some news about the situation in Rome. They seem to change emperors every few months this year. Murder and decapitation \u2014 not even the most curative water can wash that away.\u201d \u2013 Ammulva Iucunda<\/h3>","slideshow":null,"ontdekken_video_box":{"ontdekken_video_titel":"","ontdekken_video_paragraaf":"","ontdekken_video_iframe":""},"ontdekken_360_box":{"ontdekken_360_titel":"","ontdekken_360_paragraaf":"","ontdekken_360_iframe":""},"doen":null,"weten":null},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/plek\/21282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/plek"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/plek"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"plek_types","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/plek_types?post=21282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}