{"id":21345,"date":"2026-04-07T20:04:32","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T18:04:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/?post_type=plek&#038;p=21345"},"modified":"2026-04-07T20:04:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T18:04:32","slug":"rathaus-marienturm-late-roman-castrum-and-carolingian-remains","status":"publish","type":"plek","link":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/plek\/rathaus-marienturm-late-roman-castrum-and-carolingian-remains\/","title":{"rendered":"Rathaus-Marienturm \u2013 Late-Roman Castrum and Carolingian Remains"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"template":"","plek_types":[79,82],"class_list":["post-21345","plek","type-plek","status-publish","hentry","plek_types-archaeological-site","plek_types-education"],"acf":{"tekstkleur":false,"nummer":554,"kleur":"#000000","adres":{"address":"Rathaus Aachen, Markt, Aken, Duitsland","lat":50.77615170000001,"lng":6.0838046,"zoom":19,"place_id":"ChIJuYfUXXuZwEcR_owqYaWLWMQ","name":"Stadhuis van Aken","street_name":"Markt","city":"Aachen","city_short":"AC","state":"Nordrhein-Westfalen","state_short":"NRW","post_code":52062,"country":"Duitsland","country_short":"DE"},"straatnaam":"Markt","postcode":"52062","plaats":"Aken","website":"Website of Centre Charlemagne","website_url":"https:\/\/centre-charlemagne.eu\/?lang=en","hotspot_naam":"Rathaus-Marienturm, Aachen","afbeelding":21337,"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>Rathaus-Marienturm \u2013 Castrum and Carolingian Legacy<\/h3>\r\nAs the city grew around its baths and public spaces, defensive and administrative structures became increasingly important. The Rathaus-Marienturm offers a rare glimpse into the late-Roman castrum and its medieval evolution. In a side room of the town hall, parts of the castrum\u2019s defensive wall are visible in the foundation, including reused worked stones (spolia), such as fragments of a Roman milestone. Additionally, the masonry of the Carolingian apse of the aula regia and the remains of the castrum\u2019s interior buildings can be seen.\r\n\r\nAlthough the site is currently not accessible to the public, a digital presentation is planned to allow visitors to explore these remains on site. This location demonstrates the continuity of settlement in Aachen, linking the city\u2019s late-Roman fortifications to its medieval administrative and ceremonial structures.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h3>Discover Roman Aachen on the VIA VIA Route, 2027<\/h3>\r\nThe Rathaus-Marienturm is a key stop on the VIA VIA Roman City Walk route of Aachen, connecting the city\u2019s museum exhibit in Centre Charlemagne with its archaeological remains. Along the trail, you can explore other highlights\u2014from Roman walls and floors in the Elisengarten to the M\u00fcnsterthermen inside Aachen Cathedral. Informative panels, multimedia displays, and encounters with Roman \u201ccharacters\u201d provide context, illustrating Roman administration, urban development, bathing culture, and the late-Roman castrum. The Rathaus-Marienturm underscores how Aachen\u2019s Roman heritage continued to shape the city through the medieval period, linking public, civic, and defensive architecture across centuries.\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":[21337,21341],"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":[{"vraag":"Both images in the slideshow show the remains of the castellum's defensive wall, for which Roman spolia were used. The photo was taken by Stadtarch\u00e4ologie Aachen.","antwoord":""}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/plek\/21345","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"}],"acf:attachment":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21341"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"plek_types","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/plek_types?post=21345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}