In the footsteps of the ancient Romans
The Romans
Roman soldiers and their families once lived in the area of today's Rottweil historic town centre. Remains of the former settlement of Arae Flaviae have been preserved to this day.
In 73 and 74 AD, the Roman emperor Vespasian was planning a major project: A road was to be built from the Rhine through the Kinzigtal, crossing the Black Forest up to the Danube near Tuttlingen. This created a connection between the major cities Augsburg and Strasbourg. The commander ordered the construction of a number of military bases, for example in Rottweil and Offenburg. In Rottweil, five forts were erected.
The soldiers garrisoned there brought their families, followed by tradesmen and craftspeople who settled in the town near the military base between the rivers Neckar and Prim. Even after the military left in the 2nd century AD, the town known as Arae Flaviae (= Flavian altars) continued to thrive. It was the only civilians’ settlement in the region of today’s Baden-Württemberg that had the position of a “municipium”. The award of the Roman town privileges is proved by its name on a wooden writing board dated 4th of August 186 AD, which was only discovered in the late 1950s during excavations in the Flavierstrasse in the historic town centre of Rottweil.
To this day, fascinating traces of Roman lifestyle are visible in the historic centre of Rottweil, such as the well-preserved remains of Roman baths. Information columns along the Roman Route provide explanations about the main locations of the former Roman town, and guided tours are offered as well.
