Zülpich

The Roman thermal baths in Zülpich, dating from the 2nd century, are considered the "best preserved of their kind north of the Alps". During sewer construction work in 1929, workers in the town centre came across the bathing complex, which soon turned out to be the discovery of the century. Although archaeologists had long since uncovered much larger complexes in other places, such as Trier, these were much more badly damaged. In Zülpich, the ancient Tolbiacum on the Via Agrippa, the floor and wall heating, the ingenious sewage system and rising masonry are still largely intact.

The baths owe their good condition to St. Peter's Church, which was built in the Middle Ages on the Mühlenberg hill next to the now dilapidated site. A cemetery directly above the former Roman baths protected the ruins from destructive influences for centuries.

Since the protective structure over the excavation site from the 1930s had been in acute danger of collapsing since the end of the 1990s, the town of Zülpich began demolition and reconstruction work in 2004. The new building, completed in 2008, now houses the "Römerthermen Zülpich – Museum der Badekultur" (Zülpich Roman Baths – Museum of Bathing Culture). At its centre is the Roman thermal bath complex, which represents the pinnacle of Roman engineering and ancient quality of life in the province: sport, fitness, wellness – Roman style. The museum also explains why people shunned bathing in the Middle Ages, who wore what in the baths and when, and the importance of personal hygiene and cosmetics throughout the ages up to the present day.