When you look at the Roman fort in Boppard, you should not be surprised if Roman legionaries in tunics, leather sandals, splint armor and cheek flap helmets suddenly appear in your mind’s eye. After all, the imposing stone remnants of the ancient military camp still evoke associations with soldiers and generals of the Roman Empire more than a millennium and a half after they were built.

The fortress was probably built in the middle of the 4th century to protect the Roman Empire, which extended as far as the Rhine, from the Germanic tribes. There was already a Roman settlement just a few hundred meters away. But the Celts also once settled in this place, which they called Baudobriga. The Romans named their fort Bodobrica after it. The result was a rectangular military camp measuring an impressive 308 by 154 meters. The approximately 4.7-hectare area, which could accommodate around 600 soldiers, was surrounded by walls nine meters high and up to three meters wide. There were 28 round towers integrated into these walls.

From fort to city fortification

The fort is not only a testimony to Roman history. It also had an influence on the creation and development of the town of Boppard. After the decline of the Western Roman Empire and the withdrawal of the soldiers in the 5th century, the Germanic population settled in the fort. In the Middle Ages, a town developed there, which used the stone fortress as a city wall and grew continuously. Little by little, Bodobrica became Boppard.

As space became scarce in the 12th century, the town fortifications were extended. In the course of this, part of the fort wall had to be destroyed. Further expansion took place in the 14th century. After that, demolitions were necessary again and again. However, some remains of walls and towers were uncovered during excavations in the 20th century.

Today, the remains of the fort are among the best-preserved Roman buildings in Germany. As they still characterize the townscape, a breath of Roman history still wafts through Boppard’s alleyways.