Dutch, Germans and Romans? Visitors to Herzogenrath are offered this special mix. Because where the Romans once settled, the European idea is now being lived: the town of Herzogenrath lies directly on the border with Kerkrade in the Netherlands. Over the centuries, both towns were repeatedly united as the "Land of s'Hertogenrode". Today, the two towns symbolically form the public corporation "Eurode".
Graves and settlement finds
Two millennia ago, more precisely from the first to the fourth century AD, the area of today's Herzogenrath was under Roman rule: graves and settlement finds prove the presence of the Romans in the border town. The Romans were already quarrying red sandstone at Nivelstein, where there is a sandstone quarry. But that's not all: wherever digging or construction takes place, new finds from Roman times are added. Just a few years ago, for example, a Roman estate near Merkstein was excavated in its entirety.
A living landmark in the heart of the town
Detached from the Roman history of Herzogenrath, but still well worth seeing, is the town's landmark: Burg Rode castle, located in the centre of town, which, like Herzogenrath itself, was first mentioned in a document in 1104. Events such as concerts, exhibitions and cabaret performances are regularly held in the hilltop castle. An information centre about Rode Castle, set up as part of the Roman Road Adventure project, opened here in the summer of 2014.
Visit the information centre
Rode Castle: Visitors can learn all sorts of interesting facts about the multifaceted history of Rode Castle in a specially developed exhibition.
