News From Germania Inferior

Posted by MadScientist (Düsseldorf, Germany) on 31 January 2008 in Architecture and Portfolio.

The lovely city of Xanten is located in Germany's lower rhine area, the former Roman Germania Inferior. Though the city itself has been founded in the Middle Ages, its ancestor is a Roman town, Colonia Ulpia Traiana. Inhabitants of Xanten are proud of this heritage and have rebuilt some facilities of the Roman city. This archway is part of the amphitheatre that has been reconstructed to a great extent.

Comments (13)

Michael Skorulski from Cigel, Slovakia

Great story, MS. It reminded me of the film, Gladiator, which has a battle scene in Germania. I love arches and you have captured an excellent shot of them.

31 Jan 2008 1:00am

@Michael Skorulski: Thank you very much! Though this little town has been at the very frontier of the Roman Empire, life there must have been quite tranquil.

Ina from Krugersdorp, South Africa

Great capture, like your angle and the repitition of the arches.
Well done

31 Jan 2008 1:46am

@Ina: Actually, there are many shots like this one to be found on the Internet - exactly from the same place ;-)

Steven from Montreal, Canada

I like the warmth and composition!

31 Jan 2008 4:38am

@Steven: "Warmth" in every respect: this was shot on a very hot summer day :-)

Scott Collins from Ontario, California, United States

Very nice shot. I like the repeating patter of archways as they recede.

31 Jan 2008 9:28am

@Scott Collins: It's a circular building, thus there are many interesting 'angles'. :)

Porcsin from Debrecen, Hungary

Superb repeating composition! Thanks!

31 Jan 2008 5:26pm

@Porcsin: Thank you! People in Xanten use this amphitheater quite often, especially in summer. :)

Brites from Lisboa, Portugal

Superb image.

31 Jan 2008 6:15pm

@Brites: Thank you! The sun was very bright that day, some clouds would have been helpful for this photo! :-)

gene from United States

the amazing thing about this photo is that it looks just like it could have been Fort Point in San Francisco CA

31 Jan 2008 7:34pm

@gene: Indeed, this is amazing! These patterns outlasted millenia. You might have a look at these tiles I found somewhere at the Forum, that also have still popular patterns.

TravBoy from West/Wet Coast, United States

Twisted repetition..... I like it.

31 Jan 2008 10:04pm

@TravBoy: So do I :-) Thank you very much!

Laurent from Lyon, France

Very nice perspective!

1 Feb 2008 3:36pm

@Laurent: Thank you - it was kind of obvious ;-)

gandz from Kharkiv, Ukraine

what a lovely perspective! makes one wanna look around the corner, walk on and on...

1 Feb 2008 3:39pm

@gandz: ...until you get to the stage :-)
Inhabitants there use it for their summer festivals.

Michael from Wuppertal, Germany

Mhmhm... ich habe Xanten irgendwie nicht so Erinnerung. Muss wohl noch mal hin...

2 Feb 2008 3:44pm

@Michael: Lohnt sich! Sehr hübsches mittelalterliches Kleinstädtchen mit schönem Dom, der "APX" (Archäologischer Park Xanten) hat zwar keine Highlights wie Trier seine Porta Nigra, aber die Rekonstruktionen sind wirklich sehenswert. Ist ein schöner Tagesausflug.