Every where you turn around in the Hessian town of Lützelbach you’re reminded of Romans. That must seem like an exaggeration, but it lies along the Odenwald Limes, so maybe not.
The Odenwald Limes (or, the Neckar-Odenwald Limes as it’s sometimes called) is a 70km stretch, that once had 80 watchtowers and forts along the way. In the village of Lützel-Wiebelbach (one of the five that make up Lützelbach), you can see what remains of a Roman fortress that was put here around 159 A.D. This one even had Roman baths.
Close to Lützel-Wiebelbach is Burg Breuberg (in nearby Breuberg), thought to be one of the best preserved castles of its kind in Germany.
Preserved or not, German castles are great. And you can see why when you get a look at this one’s 25-meter high keep, and its Gothic and Renaissance style architecture. Even better, it’s got a museum and youth hostel.
The village of Seckmauern had a Roman fort, too. Unfortunately, this one from 138 A.D. you can’t hardly see — but it was there. So too was the Roman watchtower in (the) Haingrund (another one of Lützelbach’s villages).
Breitenbrunn, a village of around 800 people, has a Roman fort — all the better to protect the Roman legion from the invading Germanic Tribes. Today it’s a fun loving town with a huge Carnival celebration, and an 18th century church built over an older one.
Seem to be a recurring theme, because when villagers renovated the Evangelical Church in Rimhorn they found a 10th or 11th century church underneath it.
Rimhorn doesn’t just have an old church, it’s quite proud of the Pretlack’sches Palais. Yeah, not easy to say — and not a palace in the traditional sense. It’s a Baroque mansion (built 1733) that the town spent over a million Euro to renovate, eventually to become the town’s community center.
Don’t worry. now that it’s completed they won’t let in the Roman legion. They got plenty of their own places in Lützelbach. ;-)
