Of the 19 towers of Cologne's Roman city wall, only the north-western corner tower has survived. Known today as the Roman Tower, it was used for a long time by the adjacent Franciscan convent as a privy. In a curious way, this circumstance also led to the preservation of the building, which today serves us as the most vivid example of the Roman city wall.
The ornamental work of white limestone and grey trachyte embedded in the red sandstone shows that the city wall not only had a defensive function, but also served as a representative building. With four known exceptions, the Roman towers of the city wall were all built according to a standard. This provided for a strong foundation on which the approx. 7.80 m high tower was built.
It is clear from the Roman tower as we see it today that changes took place over time. The tower was considerably truncated in height over the course of time and then raised again. As a result, the upper pattern differs from the lower one. Likewise, the battlement crown is not original or authentic. Despite these supposed flaws, the Roman Tower is one of the most important testimonies to Roman history in Cologne and perhaps it is precisely because of these flaws that it is truly Kölsch.
The ornamental work of white limestone and grey trachyte embedded in the red sandstone shows that the city wall not only had a defensive function, but also served as a representative building. With four known exceptions, the Roman towers of the city wall were all built according to a standard. This provided for a strong foundation on which the approx. 7.80 m high tower was built.
It is clear from the Roman tower as we see it today that changes took place over time. The tower was considerably truncated in height over the course of time and then raised again. As a result, the upper pattern differs from the lower one. Likewise, the battlement crown is not original or authentic. Despite these supposed flaws, the Roman Tower is one of the most important testimonies to Roman history in Cologne and perhaps it is precisely because of these flaws that it is truly Kölsch.
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The Roman Tower in Zeughausstraße is 1 km away from Cologne main station and thus within walking distance. The stops Appellhofplatz and Friesenplatz, which can be reached by lines 3, 4, 5, 12, 15, 16, 18 depending on the route, are also close by.
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