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Germany

North Rhine-Westphalia

Cologne District

Rhein-Sieg-Kreis

Alfter

Medieval Excavation Trench on the Römerkanal-Wanderweg (Station 40, Kottenforst)

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Places to see

Germany

North Rhine-Westphalia

Cologne District

Rhein-Sieg-Kreis

Alfter

Medieval Excavation Trench on the Römerkanal-Wanderweg (Station 40, Kottenforst)

Medieval Excavation Trench on the Römerkanal-Wanderweg (Station 40, Kottenforst)

Recommended by 46 hikers out of 51

This Highlight is in a protected area

Please check local regulations for: Naturpark Rheinland

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    Location: Alfter, Rhein-Sieg-Kreis, Cologne District, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

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    Tips

    May 2, 2023

    The following hiking guide can be recommended as accompanying literature on this path:

    “The Roman Canal Hiking Trail. How the water learned to run"

    by Klaus Grewe and Manfred Knauff,

    Publisher Eifelverein eV (ISBN 978-3-944620-27-5).

    "Around 120 km in 7 stages on the route of the Roman aqueduct from Nettersheim to Cologne. This hiking guide is indispensable for getting the right insight into the technology of ancient water pipe construction and into the variety of scenic and cultural treasures to the left and right of the Roman Canal hiking trail.”

    Translated by Google •

      July 1, 2022

      Information board no. 40 of the Roman Canal WW

      Translated by Google •

        April 13, 2024

        Protected by the forest, the ditch created by the medieval excavation of the masonry has been well preserved here in the Kottenforst. The Roman canal was exposed here in a huge excavation project so that the masonry could be broken out. In this section of the route, the travertine layers were thin and therefore no longer worth mining, but the masonry itself was well preserved and was broken out to be used to build churches, monasteries and castles in the area. The Witches' Tower and Wasemer Tower in Rheinbach and Münchhausen Castle in Wachtberg-Adendorf are clear examples of the recycling of Roman masonry in the Middle Ages. This type of extraction of building material can also be seen very clearly in the walls of Gut Capellen (formerly Schillingskapellen Monastery in Swisttal-Dünstekoven).

        After the exploitation of the "Roman Canal Quarry", an open ditch remained in the landscape, which even today runs through the Kottenforst as a striking archaeological monument. This ditch also marks an ancient municipal boundary in parts, which still exists today as the border between Swisttal and Alfter.Source: roemerkanal.de/bauwerk

        Translated by Google •

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          Elevation 160 m

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          Friday 19 September

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          Location: Alfter, Rhein-Sieg-Kreis, Cologne District, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

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