{"id":23372,"date":"2026-04-07T15:22:54","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T13:22:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/?post_type=plek&p=23372"},"modified":"2026-04-07T15:23:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T13:23:26","slug":"roman-road-and-vicus-iuliacum-in-julich","status":"publish","type":"plek","link":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/plek\/roman-road-and-vicus-iuliacum-in-julich\/","title":{"rendered":"Roman Road and Vicus Iuliacum in J\u00fclich"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"template":"","plek_types":[82],"class_list":["post-23372","plek","type-plek","status-publish","hentry","plek_types-education"],"acf":{"tekstkleur":false,"nummer":609,"kleur":"#000000","adres":null,"straatnaam":"","postcode":"","plaats":"","website":"More information on the hotspot","website_url":"https:\/\/www.erlebnisraum-roemerstrasse.eu\/via-juelich-02.html","hotspot_naam":"Roman Road and Vicus Iuliacum","afbeelding":23364,"contactpersonen":"","email":"sekretariat@erlebnisraum-roemerstrasse.eu","telefoon":"","videobox_contentblok":"","content":"On this perfectly straight section of the Via Belgica between J\u00fclich and Cologne, the Roman settlement of Iuliacum (J\u00fclich) developed in the marshy lowlands of the Rur. The civilian settlement, initially unfortified, covered about 13 hectares along the road. On both sides of the roadway, made of compacted gravel, so-called strip houses were built\u2014narrow buildings with their gable ends facing the street. Some rooms in these houses had underfloor heating (hypocaustum), and in some cases, the walls were decorated with paintings. At the fronts of the houses, there were partially covered sales areas.\r\n\r\nThe inhabitants of Iuliacum buried their dead along the road in front of the settlement. The \u201csarcophagus\u201d on the castle square is actually a Roman ash chest, a container for the remains of a cremation. It was found in Kirchberg and erected here in 1904.\r\n\r\nThe Via Belgica between Cologne and J\u00fclich was an important transport route, which continued to be heavily used as the B55 well into the last century. It made J\u00fclich a strategically significant location in the Rhineland. It is therefore no coincidence that the town looks back on a long tradition as a fortress city. The late Roman fort, the medieval town, and the early modern citadel are just three stages in a history of fortifications that extends into the 19th century.\r\n\r\nToday, the route of the Via Belgica east of J\u00fclich is interrupted by open-cast mining; only the last section follows the Roman road. There, it is called R\u00f6merstra\u00dfe\u2014its asphalt lies almost two meters above the gravel of the Via Belgica.","slideshow":[23364,23368],"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":"First photo: the narrow strip houses are typical buildings of a Roman roadside settlement (vicus) such as J\u00fclich (Iuliacum). Graphic design: M. Perse, drawing: M. Najdul","antwoord":""},{"vraag":"Second photo: landscape of the Roman road Via Belgica outside the settlements. Graphic design: M. Perse, drawing: M. Najdul","antwoord":""}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/plek\/23372","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\/23368"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"plek_types","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/plek_types?post=23372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}