Roman fort

The history of the area around Bergkamen stretches back to the ancient Romans. Many finds from the Roman fort at Bergkamen-Oberaden can be seen in the city museum.

The fort, covering 56 ha, was built on the “Burghügel” [Castle Hill] in the city district of Oberaden in the late summer of 11. B.C.E. by Roman legions led by general Drusus, a stepson of Caesar Augustus, and was abandoned around 8 or 7 B.C.E. as a result of new strategic planning. Two legions were stationed here, numbering at least 15,000 people. This was the largest Roman fort in Germany as well as the oldest fort from the Roman campaign from the Rhine to the Elbe, which met its end in 9 B.C.E. amid great losses in the bloody defeat at the Battle of the Teutoburg forest.