What have the Romans ever done for us? The Eifel Aqueduct

Once upon a time in ancient Germany (long before it actually became Germany) the Romans came and brought along their culture and art, their food and wine, their way of life and architecture.

Relics of a Roman sanctuary & temple (4th century)

They favoured their table water (today better known as Apollinaris, Gerolsteiner and the likes) coming from the Eifel mountain range. So they decided to build a canal in order to transport water from its source in Nettersheim to Cologne, thereby crossing countless hills and valleys. 

The spring "Grüner Pütz"

There is still water flowing

The Eifel gravity aqueduct was one of the longest of its kind in the Roman Empire. Constructed in the first century in only six years it carried spring water 96 km from the low mountain range into the ancient City of Cologne. To protect it from damage and freezing most of it was buried underground.

Only relics are left these days but they still show the geniality of Roman architecture and craftsmanship. A 110 km long hiking trail leads along the former canal, connecting said relics, and tells the story of of the Eifel Aqueduct. It took me six days to complete this journey.

The Römerkanal Museum in Rheinbach

As the trail transforms into road and rural scenery becomes urban the relics of the aqueduct vanish, destroyed by what we call civilisation, and buried under the city that is known as Cologne. It was however an interesting journey into the past... Oh, these Romans!

Flatland castles - moated or silted up

One of our road trips we discovered that the region is literally plastered with moated castles. Some of them are in ruins, some of them nicely restored, some of them are still surrounded by water, others are drained.

Castle Gudenau (13th century)

Castle Adendorf (14th century)

Castle Lüftelberg (13th century)

Castle Heimerzheim (13th century)

Castle Efferen (14th century)

Castle Hemmerich (13th century)

Castle Rösberg (18th century)

Castle Ringsheim (13th century)

Castle Niederkastenholz (12th century)

Castle Hardtburg (11th century)

Many of those castles are in private hands, and sometimes even lived in, so access was very limited. However, they are impressive to look at.