Just 60 kilometres North of Düsseldorf (DE) and a bit to the east of Nijmegen (NL), the city Xanten is situated. This city used to be known as Colonia Ulpia Traiana and existed as Roman Town since 98/99 AD. Now there is a large archaeological park (60 hectares) with ongoing excavations, a museum and (partly) reconstructed buildings.
It was started by the Landschaftsverband Rheinland because the original remains of the only Roman town north of the Alps that hasn´t been built over in post-roman times were in danger to get lost by becoming an industrial area in the late 1960s. Goal was and remains to protect, explore and present the Colonia Ulpia Traiana to a wide public.
It is an extensive and popular archaeological open-air museum. The most famous reconstructed buildings are the amphitheatre and the temple, parts of which are more than 20 metres tall. Some reconstructed houses are furnished.
The reconstructions are the results of years of excavations exactly at the place they are rebuilt, standing on the original Roman foundations. So it is the specific site, added by general knowledge about Roman times and results from the Mediterranean area.
The heart of the Park is the LVR-RömerMuseum, a unique combination of an archaeological protective building and modern architecture. Since 2014, Roman ships have been reconstructed in the Park's shipyard in front of the public. The biannual large Roman Festival is a must-see.
