Xanten: Roman Legionary Town on the Lower Rhine
Xanten lies in the Kreis Wesel of Nordrhein-Westfalen, with about 21,590 inhabitants. The LVR-Archaeologischer Park Xanten, built on the site of the Roman Colonia Ulpia Traiana, is Germany's largest open-air archaeological museum. Reconstructed Roman buildings including an amphitheatre, a harbour temple, and a bathhouse stand on the original foundations. The town's medieval Dom St. Viktor, a Gothic cathedral, dominates the old town centre.
Wesel is about 15 kilometres south. Kleve lies to the north. The Rhine floodplain stretches to the east, though the river itself has shifted its course since Roman times. Xanten's Sued- and Nordsee, former gravel pits filled with water, are now recreation lakes with camping and water sports facilities. The Nibelungenlied names Xanten as the birthplace of the hero Siegfried, though this connection is literary rather than historical.
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Xanten lies in the Kreis Wesel of Nordrhein-Westfalen, with about 21,590 inhabitants. The LVR-Archaeologischer Park Xanten, built on the site of the Roman Colonia Ulpia Traiana, is Germany's largest open-air archaeological museum. Reconstructed Roman buildings including an amphitheatre, a harbour temple, and a bathhouse stand on the original foundations. The town's medieval Dom St. Viktor, a Gothic cathedral, dominates the old town centre.
Wesel is about 15 kilometres south. Kleve lies to the north. The Rhine floodplain stretches to the east, though the river itself has shifted its course since Roman times. Xanten's Sued- and Nordsee, former gravel pits filled with water, are now recreation lakes with camping and water sports facilities. The Nibelungenlied names Xanten as the birthplace of the hero Siegfried, though this connection is literary rather than historical.
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