Römerhaus
How to find us:
- Street
- Römerstr 16
- Zip, City
- 74399 Walheim
- Country
- Germany
- Phone
- 07143/8041-0
- Fax
- 07143/8041-33
- Web
- https://www.roemerhaus.com/
- Tags
- #Historik #Römer
Description
In Walheim in the district of Ludwigsburg, the Römerhaus Walheim occupies a special position as a branch museum of the Archäologisches Landesmuseum Baden-Württemberg; it is operated by the municipality of Walheim together with a local support association. The museum was built directly above the well-preserved foundation walls of a Roman strip house and makes this archaeological site accessible to visitors.
The remains were discovered during a rescue excavation carried out from 1980 to 1988 because of the construction of a bypass. Numerous Roman structures came to light; in 1986 the strip house, built entirely of stone and featuring a cellar and a living room with underfloor heating, was uncovered. In the same year a support association was founded to secure the finds. A protective building was erected over the archaeological complex, which opened as a museum in 1991. Since 1994 the house has been a branch museum of the Archäologisches Landesmuseum Baden-Württemberg. Up to 2022 fourteen special exhibitions were held at the site; in 2018 the permanent exhibition underwent a complete content revision.
At the centre of the presentation are the completely preserved foundation walls of the Roman strip house, considered one of the best-preserved examples north of the Alps. The building measures 48 × 14 metres and was probably designed as a two-storey structure. At the front is a large hall facing the street, accessible through three wide gates, which likely served as a sales room or workshop. The rear contained living rooms, a kitchen, a stable and a particularly well-preserved cellar that was probably used for storing perishable goods and was reachable from the hall by a wooden staircase. An adjoining side room contained a fully preserved stone table, which has been reinstalled in its original position. The complex can be dated to around AD 160; its size, hypocaust heating and the find context suggest the house belonged to a wealthy owner. In the exhibition it is interpreted as the domicile of a prosperous merchant.