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Saturday, 04.06.2005 - Aquae Helveticae (Baden), Aargau

The vicus of Baden was presumably set up shortly after the foundation of the legion camp of Vindonissa (Windisch) around the year AD 17. This camp was about 10 km west of Baden. The vicus had a length of 550 meters and a with of 300 meters. At this place branched out the street from Vindonissa in two directions. One in the direction of Turicum (Zurich) and the other to Vitudurum (Winterthur) and continuing to Brigantium (Bregenz). The first ran on the left side of the Limmat. The latter crossed the river near the thermal springs and rand south of the Laegern (name of a mountain ridge).

Columns of the VicusThe houses were constructed in half-timbering technique. The village was destroyed in the turmoil of the 3-emperor year of AD 69 (the fire stratum from this year existed, but is differently interpreted). After that it was rebuilt in stone. In the 2nd century AD the village was enlarged.

Around the middle of the 3rd century it was destroyed.

Site of the thermal springsThe bath district kept on being used however later. In the 4th century AD was built a wall (for the remaining village?). In 1973 were discovered the foundations of a 3 meters strong wall. This section of the wall belonged presumably to a tower.

The bath district was presumably used by the legionnaires from Vindonissa, too. The dug up size was at least 55 by 37 meters. However, a roman basin was noticed in the year 1845 in the Verenabad. With that the surface is once again larger.

Since the year 1420 different finds of the vicus are known: statues, inscriptions (for example from an Isis temple), altar stones (for example for Mithras), coins, house rests, rests of the thermal springs, kilns, graves, and so forth.

In the present Baden I know 3 places with roman remains: columns of the vicus which are set up near the pond in the spa garden, an altar block from the thermal springs on the ground of the former Staadhof and columns from the farm of Schleinikon at the Römerstrasse. The columns in the spa garden are there. The altar block I couldn't find. I could still see the columns of the farm in the year 1995, today they are not anymore there.

Quick Info:

What yes/no Remark
Visible yes On the northern side of the pond in the spa garden are 5 or 6 columns of the vicus
Informative signum no  
- with detailed information -  
- with  sketch(es) -  
Signposts no  
Shelter no  
24 hours accessible yes  
Temporarily laid open / temporarily exhibition no  
Further -  

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