The Saalburg: A Roman Fort on the German Frontier

A brief tour of the principal buildings in the Saalburg, Germany's most completely reconstructed Roman fort.
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[@maplesystems]

Seriously so cool. Glad that you got to visit! Thanks for sharing

[@maxasaurus3008]

So not only a military fortress/outpost but also administrative for locals and Romans alike. Larger than say a fort on the Hadrian wall, Damn cool Dr. Ryan! ❤

[@DonariaRegia]

Occupation and taxation went hand-in-hand, so the collection of taxes was backed by imperial force.

[@jonathanjochem7289]

More about Germania and Helvetia please! Very interesting

[@khalidalali186]

Perfect timing. I’m in Frankfurt for business, all the way from Eastern Arabia, Abu Dhabi to be precise, and though I pride myself as a History-buff, I’ve never heard of the place, before watching this awesome video of yours. Thanks Ryan! Will be checking it out first thing tomorrow!

[@khalidalali186]

Update: Thank you again. Definitely worth the visit. I spent three hours taking every minuscule detail in. The perfect ending to my business trip, and all thanks to you Dr. Ryan 🫡 Highly recommended everyone, and try imagining you’re a Centurion, or better yet, a legionnaire on the verge of completing his 25 years of service in a few months’ time. I did that, and was like “Alright, a few months, and I’m back to Arabia Petraea, Jupiter willing.” 😛

[@CarthagoMike]

@@khalidalali186 Thank you for the elaborate recommendation, I will be sure to check it out as well when I visit the region next month!

[@A.G.798]

A legionnaire go 20 years, and a Auxiliar gos 25 years in service of the Army.

[@generalflix]

Its close to where I live! Its absolutely great and worth a visit :) Thanks for showing it to the world!

[@timomonochrom115]

I grew up nearby (in "bike distance") :D

[@UteHempel]

Lovely Kastel/fort I love to come back to every now and then. Interesting reconstructions and exhibition pieces. On Pentecost weekends (next weekend!) they usually do little events like "show baking and cooking", all around roman eating culture. They also have a restaurant that serves roman food and drink. And you can take a stroll along the Limes, the ancient demarkation line / border wall.

[@hamiljohn]

This was amazing, thanks for sharing!

[@TheBigHambi]

Great! Have been there several times! If you need some advice for other Roman monuments and museums in the region ;)

[@ReplyToMeIfUrRetarded]

Roman Fortresses in foreign lands are my favorite.

[@Psychol-Snooper]

That strongly reminds me of the Roman fort reproductions in Assassin's Creed: Origins. Even if you hate video games you can walk through the world in "tour mode."

[@khalidalali186]

Touché.

[@dylanlloyd349]

origins was an incredible way to view what life may have looked like

[@Psychol-Snooper]

@@dylanlloyd349 It is! And incredibly photo realistic! The deserts are amazing, and the structures look like the old water colors made by early researchers from Europe including Napoleon's "savants." Someone told me it looked better than Odyssey before I bought it, and they were so right.

[@psel2501]

Thank you for this video. Really enjoying your historic building tours

[@thislittlelightofmine8776]

Well done, thank you for that tour Doc!

[@strigoi_guhlqueen8355]

As a student of roman provincial archeology at the university in Frankfurt I have been there many times. And it is amazing every single time. The attempted reconstructions of Roman war machines from the last century are both interesting and hilariously inaccurate. Ps: the Roman style food you can eat there is very good Would have loved to meet you

[@gulanhem9495]

What does the reconstructed Roman food consist of?

[@josephchandler8358]

That’s amazing.

[@LegionTacticoolCutlery]

Amazing!

[@matthiasgebhard3135]

Sehr schöner Film

[@larsrons7937]

Sallburg, near Frankfurt? Thanks, I'll stop there the next time I pass by.

[@catoelder4696]

AWESOME!

[@sfperalta]

It reminds me very much of a Catholic monastery from the middle ages. Great video!

[@guyfawkesuThe1]

Nice wish I had known about it when I lived over there. I notice not too many visitors either, sad to say. Visit Trier for a full Roman flavor! While in the military I was given a full guided tour of Trier, paid for by the US Air Force for some reason.

[@BarrySuridge]

An amazing reconstruction.

[@penihavir1777]

Did it have a small bathhouse and heated room for the commander as well? I visited a reconstructed Roman fort in Germany somewhere between 25-30 years ago, but can’t remember where anymore. They used their under-floor and wall heating methods to give the commander a (relatively small) warm room in which to work in the winter. My memory of that trip is a bit fuzzy… we saw several Roman bathhouse ruins during the trip, but I can’t recall whether the fort had one as well. I think the reconstruction was possibly newer than this one - they found the fort based on areal photography during a drought… I can see the enlarged photo reproductions in my mind’s eye, but can’t remember when they were taken.

[@petersumerauer]

Great to see a video in which you are walking us through the Saalburg. I am living nearby in Frankfurt and will take the next possible oportunity for a visit. This time walking in your foodsteps - a totally new perspective! 😄 In watching your video I realized the layout of buildings looks as a blueprint for cloisters in the times after the Romans in Europe for me.

[@larrywave]

This was great 😄👍

[@RandomGuy-qr5jw]

Oh awesome, thank you for reminding me this still exists. Been there a couple of times as a kid, will try and go there again soon :-) It is a great place, feeling a bit like a portal into another time btw dude, you might want to invest into a lavalier microphone. This would greatly improve your audio, as some sequences now are hard to understand due to the wind

[@cerberus6654]

Short, but sweet Dr. G!

[@romainvicta3076]

It’s hard in my head to say “Roman” simply because it looks so pristine as a reconstruction. We are so used to structures of the past being degraded with time

[@MatthewQuigley]

When have you been there? Why didn’t you tell us? So close and nobody knows!

[@johnspizziri1919]

I had no idea these fortresses were actually FORTRESSES.

[@paaatreeeck]

this was one of the larger forts on the limes, there were countless smaller kastels all along the frontier wall.

[@billmiller4972]

Some wind protection for the mic would be useful ...

[@golgumbazguide...4113]

Mashallah

[@LeoPlaw]

@senicroutestothepast did you make it to Carnuntum?

[@scenicroutestothepast]

I did, though unfortunately I didn't make an on-location video

[@bofpwet9500]

But why is there a panda face on the ground at 3:21? :P

[@obsidianjane4413]

It probably wouldn't have been quite that Bavarian originally. But its nice.

[@DiscothecaImperialis]

Is this a statue of Kaiser Wilhem II pose as Emperor of Rome? (0:28)

[@aka99]

No. It’s a remake of a statue of Roman emperor Antonius.

[@mikeleo5405]

:D

[@paulkoza8652]

The architecture looks so Germanic modern.

[@obsidianjane4413]

As usual its a reconstruction done by and for the contemporary culture of the time.