{"id":23406,"date":"2026-04-07T15:18:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T13:18:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/?post_type=plek&p=23406"},"modified":"2026-04-07T15:18:46","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T13:18:46","slug":"rur-crossing-bridgehead-in-julich","status":"publish","type":"plek","link":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/plek\/rur-crossing-bridgehead-in-julich\/","title":{"rendered":"Rur Crossing Bridgehead in J\u00fclich"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"template":"","plek_types":[79,82],"class_list":["post-23406","plek","type-plek","status-publish","hentry","plek_types-archaeological-site","plek_types-education"],"acf":{"tekstkleur":false,"nummer":611,"kleur":"#000000","adres":{"address":"Gro\u00dfe Rurstra\u00dfe 152, 52428 J\u00fclich, Duitsland","lat":50.92084925070009,"lng":6.350079504655246,"zoom":14,"place_id":"ChIJAXU3cepfv0cRUsBVQlssZZY","street_number":152,"street_name":"Gro\u00dfe Rurstra\u00dfe","city":"J\u00fclich","state":"Nordrhein-Westfalen","state_short":"NRW","post_code":52428,"country":"Duitsland","country_short":"DE"},"straatnaam":"Gro\u00dfe Rurstra\u00dfe 152,","postcode":"52428","plaats":"J\u00fclich","website":"More information on the hotspot","website_url":"https:\/\/www.erlebnisraum-roemerstrasse.eu\/via-juelich-05.html","hotspot_naam":"Rur Crossing Bridgehead","afbeelding":23394,"contactpersonen":"","email":"sekretariat@erlebnisraum-roemerstrasse.eu","telefoon":"","videobox_contentblok":"","content":"Near this location, the Via Belgica crossed the River Rur. The river, named after the Roman goddess Rura, was a serious obstacle to traffic in antiquity due to its irregular water levels. In addition, the Rur did not flow in a fixed riverbed but repeatedly changed its course. As a result, it formed a wide, marshy barrier that was difficult to cross. Today, the Rur is regulated by dams.\r\n\r\nA favorable place to cross the river was the narrowing of the Rur valley in the area of present-day J\u00fclich. For this reason, the settlement of Iuliacum was founded on the Rur around the time of Christ\u2019s birth.\r\n\r\nThe exact location of the Roman bridge is not known. It is believed to have been situated between today\u2019s road bridge and the pedestrian bridge on Kirchberger Stra\u00dfe. On the opposite side of the Rur, a small vicus was established near Neubourheim\/Wackersm\u00fchle as a counterpart to the settlement of J\u00fclich.\r\n\r\nThe bridge was a critical point along the Via Belgica. Since late antiquity, it has therefore been particularly well protected: even at the beginning of the 19th century, under Napoleon, the \u201cbridgehead\u201d was constructed opposite the town\u2014an imposing fortification designed to secure the river crossing. This location was also fiercely contested during the Second World War.","slideshow":[23394,23398,23402],"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: Br\u00fcckenkopf. Photo: S. Peters","antwoord":""},{"vraag":"Second photo: J\u00fclich, depicted by Johann Christian Leopold in a copper engraving after a drawing by Friedrich Bernhard Werner, 1736. Image source: J\u00fclich City Archives","antwoord":""},{"vraag":"Third photo: plan of the intended maximum expansion of the J\u00fclich fortress under French rule in 1804. Image: Berlin State Library","antwoord":""}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/plek\/23406","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\/23402"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23398"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"plek_types","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/plek_types?post=23406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}