Roman Rottenburg

The first evidence of Rottenberg’s Roman past was discovered as long ago as the 16th century but it was not until the early 19th century that more thorough excavation was undertaken. Since that time, a whole range of important Roman buildings and structures have been found including a seven kilometre- long water conduit that supplied the town with drinking water from Rommelstal, a 32 metre-long set of clearly luxurious latrines, and a Roman bathhouse.

“Sumelocenna”, the Roman name for Rottenburg, was the largest Roman settlement in Wurttemberg and one of the most important in the area east of the Rhine. It was established around 85 AD during the reign of Emperor Domitian as the administrative centre for the imperial domain and by the middle of the 2nd century was the capital of Civitas Sumelocennensis, the entire area around the River Neckar which reached as far as the Black Forest.