Reconstruction of the Roman fort in Taunus begins
After abandoning their attempts to conquer all of Germania, the Romans focused on securing their provinces against incursions from Germanic tribes in what is now western and southern Germany. Whilst the areas along the mighty rivers Rhine and Danube were easy to defend, Roman engineers were commissioned to build a 550 km border fortification known as the Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes. Consisting of a rampart protected by a ditch, palisades or a stone wall, along with watchtowers and garrisoned fortresses, this structure developed into a formidable obstacle. Following the fall of the Roman Empire, the installations were stripped of their building materials and gradually fell into disrepair. One such example is a large walled camp for almost 500 Roman legionaries built around 135 AD to protect a road close to the Taunus ridge near Frankfurt am Main.
Known by the 18th century as the Saalburg, the former fort came to be seen as an important artefact from the Roman past. Purchased by the Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg in 1820, it was put under protection and then subject to intense research and archaeological excavation. Growing public enthusiasm for reconstructing the ruin won over Emperor William II to the idea. Work commenced on 11 October 1900, and the reconstructed building that emerged gives a good impression of what the Limes fortress would have looked like. The Saalburg Museum, located on the site, provides additional information and continues to conduct research.
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