ROMAN VILLA RUSTICA – BORG
Reconstructed Roman House and Archeology Park in the Saarland
The
Roman Legions spread far and wide from their home on the Tiber to rule
half the European continent. They left behind little but the name
of the many places they founded settlements, but more and more ruins
and bits of stone foundations of the great houses and town they once
enjoyed with the comfortable lifestyles in far away lands. Roman museums
and the bits of uncovered rubble can be found along the Germania empire
limits (see German
Roman Limes), or under the great cities which replaced the
early towns, but increasingly, recreating Roman Life in tangible form
has become an experience for families to rediscover in reconstructed
activity sites. The Roman emperors particularly liked the mountains and
rivers of the Saarland for their retreats and the Roman Villa at Borg
near Mettlach at the three corners of Germany, France and Luxembourg
brings back the Roman way.
Ruins of a grand Roman country house were discovered by a local schoolteacher
at the end of the 19th Century outside the village of Borg in Perl, Germany,
near where the Saar River runs into the Moselle and the common boundaries
of the European Union were codified in a ceremony at Shengen. The historic
find was mostly ingored and forgotten through two world wars but finally
excavation and cataloguing of the site was begun in 1987. The remote
site was largely undisturbed by time and the outline of an agricultural
villa rustica, farming outpost and great house were revealed. A plan
to reconstruct an authentic representation of the buildings of one of
the largest Roman villa complexes in the Mosel-Saar region as they originally
appeared in the 2nd and 3rd Centuries AD, was begun in the 1994 and completed
in 2008.
Roman Days Life
The Roman Villa at Borg get s 50,000 visitors a year to its Roman Days
recreations of life in the former days of the legions and explore the
buildings comprising the main manor hall, bedrooms, three baths, cold,
hot and temperate, dressing room and relaxation solarium, a Roman kitchen
and latrines, along with outbuildings, gate and gardens. . The villa
rose garden and the inner courtyard garden present an idea of Roman garden
architecture with their footpaths and fountains. A tavern in one wing
of the Villa Borg is a modern addition with serves food and drink in
a Roman menu theme. Roman dining specialities atre served based on recipes
drawn up by gourmet Marcus Gavius Apicius, along with a variety of regional
dishes. For the total Roman emrsion experience, dining in Roman costume
is also possible for a modest additional charge.
The Roman Villa Borg offers a year-round variety of program events and festivals for families and the culturally minded. A film in the media room delves into the history of the site and life in Roman times, then experiences from “Roman Wine Tasting” to “Bathing Evenings” and “Cooking Like a Roman” are offered. The annual Roman Days feature craftsmen, merchants, soldiers and gladiators, taking visitors back 2,000 years.
Visiting Roman Villa Borg
The
villa is open 11 am to 6 pm April to October and 11 am to 4 pm November
to March, closed on Mondays and from Christmas Eve through January. Admission
is €5 for adults, €3 for students and seniors, €2 for
children 6 to 14, with a family ticket for €10. The tavern restaurant
is open the same hours as the villa. Guided tours are offered for groups
of 20 or more. Nearby the Roman Villa Borg are two medieval castles on
the France side of the border (see Chateau
Sierck - Dukes of Lorraine),
and the Saarschlief Saar River Loop view point at Mettlach (see Saar
Loop Lookout),
the cliffside Hermitage (see Hermitage
Kastel) and the Luxembourg
Wine Trail. © Bargain
Travel Europe
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Villa Borg
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See Also:
MAINZ
MUSEUMS - ROMAN GALLEONS
COCHEM’S REICHSBURG IMPERIAL CASTLE
KD FLEET - RHINE AND MOSEL RIVER CRUISES
KLOSTER MACHERN - MONASTERY WINE -BERNKASTEL-KUES
AUGUSTA RAURICA ROMAN TOWN - BASEL
