Have you ever wondered about the stories whispered within the walls of Bonn’s Malteserhof? This impressive apartment building stands before you a testament to Bonn’s rich history. The Malteserhof isn’t just a place to live. It’s a living piece of Bonn’s past. Its very existence reflects Bonn’s evolution from a Roman settlement to a modern city.
Bonn itself boasts a history stretching back to Roman times. Around 12 BC a small Roman unit was stationed near what is now Bonn’s historic center. Even before that the Roman army resettled members of the Ubii a Germanic tribe allied with Rome in Bonn. The name Bonna may even derive from the Eburoni an earlier population of the region. The Eburoni were part of a large tribal coalition destroyed during Caesar’s Gallic Wars. After decades the Roman army abandoned its small camp linked to the Ubii settlement. However in the 1st century AD the army chose a site north of the growing town to build Castra Bonnensis literally “Fort Bonn”. Originally constructed of wood the fort was later rebuilt in stone. It remained in use until the late Roman Empire possibly the mid-5th century. Its remnants stood into the Middle Ages known then as the Bonnburg. Frankish kings used the Bonnburg before it fell into disuse. Remarkably much of its building material was reused in Bonn’s 13th-century city wall. The Sterntor the star gate in Bonn’s city center is a reconstruction using the last pieces of that wall.
Bonn’s Roman fort is now known as the largest of its kind from the ancient world. It could hold an entire Imperial Legion and its auxiliaries. It covered 250000 square meters. Inside its walls lay streets and buildings from headquarters and officers’ quarters to barracks stables and a military jail. The Prima Legio Minervia appears to have been stationed there the longest. Units from this legion fought in wars ranging from modern-day Algeria to Chechnya.
The main Roman road linking Cologne and Mainz ran through the fort. It connected to the fort’s main road now Römerstraße. Beyond the South Gate the road continued along what are now Belderberg and Adenauerallee. The settlement of Bonna grew into a sizable Roman town beside this road. Bonna is even shown on the 4th-century Peutinger Map a Roman road map.
In late antiquity invaders destroyed much of the town. The surviving civilian population and remaining troops took refuge in the fort. In the final decades of Roman rule Franci chieftains employed by the Roman administration supplied the troops. When the Roman Empire fell these troops shifted their allegiance to the Frankish kingdom. From the Bonnburg and a new medieval settlement to the south near the future minster the medieval city of Bonn grew.
The Malteserhof in its own way reflects this long and dynamic history. It stands as a silent observer of Bonn’s transformation. It represents the continuity and change that define this fascinating city. It is a place where history lives not just in museums but in the bricks and mortar of daily life.