LVR-Archäologischer Park Xanten

The Archaeological Park Xanten (APX) is one of Germany's largest open-air museums, occupying the site of Colonia Ulpia Traiana, a Roman city founded under Emperor Trajan in the early 2nd century AD and home to as many as 15,000 inhabitants at its peak. The city was gradually abandoned during the 3rd and 4th centuries, and its stonework was systematically quarried to build medieval Xanten nearby — making the modern park as much about what was taken away as what survived. Since opening in 1977 under the Landschaftsverband Rheinland, the park has uncovered and partially reconstructed a remarkable range of Roman urban fabric: a fully usable amphitheatre, a harbour temple, bath buildings, and stretches of the original city wall. Open daily year-round (9 am from March through October, shorter hours in winter), fully wheelchair accessible, and offering hands-on archaeological programmes for families and school groups.