The Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes (german: Obergermanisch-Raetischer Limes), or ORL, is a 550-kilometre-long section of the former external frontier of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

between the rivers

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

and

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

. It runs from

Rheinbrohl Rheinbrohl is a municipality in the district of Neuwied, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after ...

to Eining on the Danube. The Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes is an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology a ...

and, since 2005, a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

. Together with the Lower Germanic Limes it forms part of the ''

Limes Germanicus The (Latin for ''Germanic frontier'') is the name given in modern times to a line of frontier () fortifications that bounded the ancient Roman provinces of Germania Inferior, Germania Superior and Raetia, dividing the Roman Empire and the unsubd ...

''. The Limes used either a natural boundary such as a river or typically an earth bank and ditch with a wooden palisade and watchtowers at intervals. A system of linked forts was built behind the Limes.

Terminology

The term ''

limes Limes may refer to: * the plural form of lime (disambiguation) Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a ...

'' (plural: ''limites'') originally meant "border path" or "swathe" in Latin. In Germany, "Limes" usually refers to the Rhaetian Limes and Upper Germanic Limes, collectively referred to as the ''

''. Both sections of ''limes'' are named after the adjacent

Roman provinces The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was ruled ...

of ''

Raetia Raetia ( ; ; also spelled Rhaetia) was a province of the Roman Empire, named after the Rhaetian people. It bordered on the west with the country of the Helvetii, on the east with Noricum, on the north with Vindelicia, on the south-west ...

'' (Rhaetia) and '' Germania Superior'' (Upper Germania). In the Roman ''limites'' we have, for the first time in European history, clearly defined territorial borders of a sovereign state that were visible on the ground to friend and foe alike. Most of the Upper German-Rhaetian Limes did not follow rivers or mountain ranges, which would have formed natural boundaries for the Roman Empire. It includes the longest land border in the European section of the ''limes'', interrupted for only a few kilometres, by a section that follows the

River Main The Main () is the longest tributary of the Rhine. It rises as the White Main in the Fichtel Mountains of northeastern Bavaria and flows west through central Germany for to meet the Rhine below Rüsselsheim, Hesse. The cities of Mainz and Wiesb ...

between

Großkrotzenburg Großkrotzenburg is a municipality in the Main-Kinzig district, in Hesse, Germany. It has a population of around 7,500. The town is mainly known for its swimming lake and its coal-fired power station. Geography Location Großkrotzenburg is loc ...

and

Miltenberg Miltenberg () is a town in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named district and has a population of over 9,000. Geography Location The old town lies on the Mai ...

. By contrast, elsewhere in Europe, the ''limes'' is largely defined by the rivers Rhine ( Lower Germanic Limes) and Danube (

Danube Limes The Danubian Limes (german: Donaulimes), or Danube Limes, refers to the Roman military frontier or ''limes'' which lies along the River Danube in the present-day German state of Bavaria, in Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and ...

Function

The function of the Roman military frontiers has been increasingly discussed for some time. The latest research tends to view at least the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes not as a primarily military demarcation line, but rather a monitored economic boundary for the non-Roman lands. The ''limes'', it is argued, was not really suitable for fending off systematic external attacks. Thanks to a skillful economic policy, the Roman Empire extended its influence far to the northeast, beyond the frontier. Evidence of this are the many

border crossing Border control refers to measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it a ...

s which, although guarded by Roman soldiers, would have enabled a brisk trade, and the numerous Roman finds in "Free Germania" (as far as

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

and

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

). Attempts were occasionally also made, to settle

Roman legion The Roman legion ( la, legiō, ) was the largest military unit of the Roman army, composed of 5,200 infantry and 300 equites (cavalry) in the period of the Roman Republic (509 BC–27 BC) and of 5,600 infantry and 200 auxilia in the period o ...

s beyond the ''limes'' or, more often, to recruit

auxiliaries Auxiliaries are support personnel that assist the military or police but are organised differently from regular forces. Auxiliary may be military volunteers undertaking support functions or performing certain duties such as garrison troops, ...

. As a result, the Romanization of the population extended beyond the ''limes''. Limestor Dalkingen WP 12-81

Research history

Interest in the ''limes'' as the remains of a site dating to the Roman period was rekindled in Germany at the time of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

and

Renaissance humanism Renaissance humanism was a revival in the study of classical antiquity, at first in Italy and then spreading across Western Europe in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. During the period, the term ''humanist'' ( it, umanista) referred to teache ...

. This was bolstered by the rediscovery of the '' Germania'' and ''

Annales Annals are a concise form of historical writing which record events chronologically, year by year. The equivalent word in Latin and French is ''annales'', which is used untranslated in English in various contexts. List of works with titles contai ...

'' of

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...

in monastic libraries in the 15th and early 16th centuries. Scholars like Simon Studion (1543-1605) researched inscriptions and discovered forts. Studion led archaeological excavations of the Roman camp of Benningen am Neckar on the Neckar section of the

Neckar-Odenwald Limes The Neckar-Odenwald Limes (german: Neckar-Odenwald-Limes) is a collective term for two, very different early sections of the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes, a Roman defensive frontier line that may have been utilised during slightly different perio ...

. Local ''limes'' commissions were established but were confined to small areas, for example, in the Grand Duchy of Hesse or Grand Duchy of Baden, due to the political situation. Johann Alexander Döderlein was the first person to record the course of the ''limes'' in the

Eichstätt Eichstätt () is a town in the federal state of Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the district of Eichstätt. It is located on the Altmühl river and has a population of around 13,000. Eichstätt is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese ...

region. In 1723, he was the first to interpret the meaning of the ''limes'' correctly''Weißenburg stiftet eigenen Kulturpreis''
published in 1986, retrieved 22 June 2016Bernhard Overbeck: ''Johann Alexander Döderlein (1675–1745) und die „vaterländische“ Numismatik'', Brunswick, 2012, pp.147-165 and published the first scholarly treatise about it in 1731.

Imperial Limes Commission

Only after the foundation of the German Empire could archaeologists begin to study more precisely the route of the ''limes'', about which there had previously only been a rudimentary knowledge. As a result, they were able to make the first systematic excavations in the second half of the 19th century. In 1892, the Imperial Limes Commission (RLK) was established for this purpose in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, under the direction of the ancient historian,

Theodor Mommsen Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (; 30 November 1817 – 1 November 1903) was a German classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician and archaeologist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest classicists of the 19th centu ...

. The work of this commission is considered pioneering for reworking of Roman provincial history. Especially productive were the first ten years of research, which worked out the course of the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes and named the camps along the border. The research reports on the excavations were published from 1894 to the dissolution of the Commission in 1937. The individual reports went under the title of ''The Upper Rhaetian Limes of the Roman Empire'' (ORL), which was published in fifteen volumes, of which seven cover the route of the ''limes'' and eight cover the various camps and forts. The documents of the Imperial Limes Commission are now in the custody of the Roman-Germanic Commission of the

German Archaeological Institute The German Archaeological Institute (german: Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, ''DAI'') is a research institute in the field of archaeology (and other related fields). The DAI is a "federal agency" under the Federal Foreign Office of Germany ...

. The RLK numbered the sections of the route, the forts and the watchtowers (Wp) on the individual sections.

Sections

In the course of this work the 550-kilometre-long route of the ''limes'' was surveyed, divided into sections and described. This division followed the administrative boundaries in 19th-century Germany and not that of ancient Rome: * Section 1:

–

Bad Ems Bad Ems () is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Rhein-Lahn rural district and is well known as a spa on the river Lahn. Bad Ems is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' (administrative community) Ba ...

* Section 2: Bad Ems – Adolfseck near Bad Schwalbach * Section 3: Adolfseck near Bad Schwalbach –

Taunus The Taunus is a mountain range in Hesse, Germany, located north of Frankfurt. The tallest peak in the range is '' Großer Feldberg'' at 878 m; other notable peaks are ''Kleiner Feldberg'' (825 m) and '' Altkönig'' (798 m). The Taunus range span ...

– Köpperner Tal * Section 4: Köpperner Tal –

Wetterau The Wetterau is a fertile undulating tract, watered by the Wetter, a tributary of the Nidda River, in the western German state of Hesse, between the hilly province Oberhessen and the north-western Taunus mountains. Bettina von Arnim writes of ...

– Marköbel * Section 5: Marköbel – Großkrotzenburg am Main ** Section 6a: Hainstadt – Wörth am Main ( older Main Line) ** Section 6b: Trennfurt –

* Section 7: Miltenberg –

Walldürn Walldürn is a town in the Neckar-Odenwald district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 23 km southwest of Wertheim. The town of Walldürn consists of the ten districts Walldürn-Stadt, Altheim, Gerolzahn, Glashofen, Gottersdor ...

– Buchen-Hettingen (Rehberg) * Section 8: Buchen-Hettingen (Rehberg) –

Osterburken Osterburken () is a town in the Neckar-Odenwald district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 28 km southwest of Tauberbischofsheim, 50 km northeast of Heilbronn, 90 km east of Heidelberg, 60 km southwest of Wür ...

–

Jagsthausen Jagsthausen is a town in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Roman Herzog Roman Herzog (; 5 April 1934 – 10 January 2017) was a German politician, judge and legal scholar, who served as the president of Germany from ...

(more recent Odenwald Line) * Section 9: Jagsthausen –

Öhringen Öhringen ( East Franconian: ''Ähringe'') is the largest town in Hohenlohe (district) in the state of Baden-Württemberg, in southwest Germany, near Heilbronn. Öhringen is on the railline to Schwäbisch Hall and Crailsheim. With a population o ...

–

Mainhardt Mainhardt is a municipality in the district of Schwäbisch Hall in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. See also * Mainhardt Forest The Mainhardt Forest is a hill range up to {{GeoQuelle, DE, BFN-Karten in the counties of Schwäbisch Hall and Heil ...

–

Welzheim Welzheim is a town in the Rems-Murr district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located 35 km east of Stuttgart, and 15 km northwest of Schwäbisch Gmünd. Welzheim has 11,239 (2005) inhabitants and is located in the 'Welzheimer Wa ...

– Alfdorf-Pfahlbronn (Haghof) * Section 10: Wörth am Main –

Bad Wimpfen Bad Wimpfen () is a historic spa town in the district of Heilbronn in the Baden-Württemberg region of southern Germany. It lies north of the city of Heilbronn, on the river Neckar. Geography Bad Wimpfen is located on the west bank of the River ...

(older Odenwald Line/

) * Section 11: Bad Wimpfen –

Köngen Köngen is a municipality in the district of Esslingen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. About nine kilometers from the district city Esslingen am Neckar and about six kilometers away from Nürtingen. It is part of the Stuttgart Region and the ...

(Neckar Line) * Section 12: Alfdorf-Pfahlbronn (Haghof) – Lorch – Rotenbachtal near

Schwäbisch Gmünd Schwäbisch Gmünd (, until 1934: Gmünd; Swabian: ''Gmẽẽd'' or ''Gmend'') is a city in the eastern part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. With a population of around 60,000, the city is the second largest in the Ostalb district and ...

(end of the Upper Germanic Limes, start of the Rhaetian Limes) – Aalen – Stödtlen * Section 13: Mönchsroth – Weiltingen-Ruffenhofen -

Gunzenhausen Gunzenhausen (; bar, Gunzenhausn, link=no) is a town in the Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Altmühl, northwest of Weißenburg in Bayern, and southwest of Nuremberg. Gunzenhausen is a nation ...

* Section 14: Gunzenhausen – Weißenburg –

Kipfenberg Kipfenberg is a town and municipality in the district of Eichstätt in Bavaria, Germany. It is known for its hillside castle and fortress, and for being the geographical centre of Bavaria. The river Altmühl flows through the municipality and its ...

* Section 15: Kipfenberg – Eining

Literature

Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes in general * Dietwulf Baatz: ''Der römische Limes. Archäologische Ausflüge zwischen Rhein und Donau.'' 4th edn. Gebrüder Mann, Berlin, 2000, . * Thomas Becker, Stephan Bender, Martin Kemkes, Andreas Thiel: ''Der Limes zwischen Rhein und Donau. Ein Bodendenkmal auf dem Weg zum UNESCO-Weltkulturerbe.'' (= Archaeological information from Baden-Württemberg. Issue 44). Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart, 2001, . *

Ernst Fabricius Ernst Christian Andreas Martin Fabricius (Darmstadt, 6 September 1857 – Freiburg im Breisgau, 22 March 1942) was a German historian, archaeologist and classical scholar. Between 1882 and 1888 he participated in excavations in Greece and Asia Mino ...

, Friedrich Leonhard, Felix Hettner, Oscar von Sarwey et al.: ''Der obergermanisch-raetische Limes des Roemerreiches.'' publ. by the Reichs-Limeskommission in at least 15 volumes. O. Petters, Heidelberg/Berlin/Leipzig, 1894–1937 (partial reprint: Codex-Verlag, Böblingen, 1973; full reprint: Greiner, Remshalden, 2005ff., , ). * Anne Johnson: ''Römische Kastelle des 1. und 2. Jahrhunderts n. Chr. in Britannien und in den germanischen Provinzen des Römerreiches.'' (= Kulturgeschichte der antiken Welt. Vol. 37). Zabern, Mainz, 1987, . * Martin Kemkes: ''Der Limes. Grenze Roms zu den Barbaren.'' 2nd, revised edition. Thorbecke, Ostfildern, 2006, . * Hans-Peter Kuhnen (ed.): ''Gestürmt – Geräumt – Vergessen? Der

Limesfall The Limesfall is the name given to the abandonment of the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes (built in 1st century) in the mid-3rd century AD by the Romans and the withdrawal of imperial troops from the provinces on the far side of the rivers Rhine and ...

und das Ende der Römerherrschaft in Südwestdeutschland.'' Württembergisches Landesmuseum, Stuttgart, 1992, . * Wolfgang Moschek: ''Der Limes. Grenze des Imperium Romanum.'' Primus, Darmstadt, 2014, . * Jürgen Oldenstein (ed.): ''Der obergermanisch-rätische Limes des Römerreiches. Fundindex Fundindex.'' Zabern, Mainz, 1982, . * Rudolf Pörtner: ''Mit dem Fahrstuhl in die Römerzeit.'' Econ, Düsseldorf 1959, 1965; Moewig, Rastatt, 1980, 2000 (divers further issues), . * Britta Rabold, Egon Schallmayer, Andreas Thiel (eds.): ''Der Limes. Die Deutsche Limes-Straße vom Rhein zur Donau.'' Theiss, Stuttgart, 2000, . * Marcus Reuter, Andreas Thiel: ''Der Limes. Auf den Spuren der Römer.'' Theiss, Stuttgart, 2015, . * Egon Schallmayer: ''Der Limes. Geschichte einer Grenze.'' C. H. Beck, Munich, 2006, (scarce, current introduction.) * Hans Schönberger: ''Die römischen Truppenlager der frühen und mittleren Kaiserzeit zwischen Nordsee und Inn.'' In: ''Bericht der Römisch-Germanischen Kommission.'' 66, 1985, pp. 321–495. * Andreas Thiel: ''Wege am Limes. 55 Ausflüge in die Römerzeit.'' Theiss, Stuttgart, 2005, . * Gerhard Waldherr: ''Der Limes. Kontaktzone zwischen den Kulturen.'' Reclam, Stuttgart, 2009, . Sections * Willi Beck, Dieter Planck: ''Der Limes in Südwestdeutschland.'' 2nd edn., Konrad Theiß Verlag, Stuttgart, 1987, . * Thomas Fischer, Erika Riedmeier-Fischer: ''Der römische Limes in Bayern. Geschichte und Schauplätze entlang des UNESCO-Welterbes''. Verlag Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg, 2008, . * Jörg Heiligmann: ''Der "Alb-Limes". Ein Beitrag zur Besetzungsgeschichte Südwestdeutschlands.'' Theiss, Stuttgart, 1990, . * Cliff Alexander Jost: ''Der römische Limes in Rheinland-Pfalz''. (= Archäologie an Mittelrhein und Mosel, Vol. 14). Landesamt für Denkmalpflege Rheinland-Pfalz, Koblenz, 2003, . * Margot Klee: ''Der Limes zwischen Rhein und Main''. Theiss, Stuttgart, 1989, . * Margot Klee: ''Der römische Limes in Hessen''. Verlag Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg, 2010, . * Egon Schallmayer: ''Der Odenwaldlimes. Entlang der römischen Grenze zwischen Main und Neckar.'' Theiss, Stuttgart, 2010, . * Bernd Steidl: ''Welterbe Limes: Roms Grenze am Main''. Logo Verlag, Obernburg am Main, 2008, .

Maps

* ''Der Limes. Rheinbrohl – Holzhausen an der Heide. Topographische Freizeitkarte 1:25000 mit Limes-Wanderweg, Limes-Radweg, Deutsche Limesstraße.'' Publ.: Rhineland-Palatinate State Office of Survey and Geobasis Information in cooperation with the Rhineland-Palatinate State Office for Monument Conservation, Archaeological monument conservation, Koblenz Office. – Koblenz: State Office of Survey and Geobasis Information in cooperation with the Rhineland-Palatinate State Office for Monument Conservation, Koblenz Office 2006, . * ''Offizielle Karte UNESCO-Weltkulturerbe obergermanisch-raetischer Limes in Rheinland-Pfalz von Rheinbrohl bis zur Saalburg (Hessen).'' Jointly published by the Deutsche Limeskommission, Generaldirektion Kulturelles Erbe – Direktion Archäologie, verein Deutsche Limes-Straße, Landesamt für Vermessung und Geobasisinformation Rheinland-Pfalz. – Koblenz: Landesamt für Vermessung und Geobasisinformation Rheinland-Pfalz 2007, .

External links

''Limesinformationszentrum Baden-Württemberg''
retrieved 16 July 2010
links and literature
on the subject of the Limes
The Limes in Hesse: multimedia dossier
(diploma work during studies for online journalism at Darmstadt College)
The Limes: then and now
– archaeologie-online.de

(the German website)
Frontiers of the Roman Empire
(English website)

* ttp://www.deutsche-limeskommission.de/ German Limes Commission
The German Limes Road

The Saalburg, an individually reconstructed Roman fort

The Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes
at the Hesse Cultural Portal
Taunus-Wetterau Limes: comprehensive site on the Limes in Hesse

(private website)
Limes pages – The Romans in Baden-Württemberg
(private website)
Impressions of a Border – the Limes in Germany.
A photo gallery of reconstructed limes sites

SPIEGEL article dated 27 January 2009.
AG Limes
Öhringen Agenda Gruppe Limes with the municipalities of Schöntal,

Forchtenberg Forchtenberg is a town in the district of Hohenlohekreis, northern Baden-Württemberg. It lies on the side of a partly fortified hill overlooking the Kocher valley where the Kupfer river flows into the Kocher. The name Forchtenberg is derived fr ...

, Zweiflingen,

Pfedelbach Pfedelbach is a town in the district of Hohenlohe in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. In 1472 the town and castle were bought by the counts of Hohenlohe The House of Hohenlohe () is a German princely dynasty. It ruled an immediate terri ...

and

LIMES Action of the European Commission

Virtual limes worlds

References

{{coord missing, Germany Ruins in Germany History of the Rhineland World Heritage Sites in Germany Heritage sites in Baden-Württemberg Roman frontiers Heritage sites in Rhineland-Palatinate Buildings and structures completed in the 1st century Heritage sites in Bavaria Roman fortifications in Germania Superior Roman fortifications in Raetia