ROMAN MONUMENT PROJECT

On this page you will find further information about the Roman Monument from the Denkmal- und Geschichtsverein Bonn-Rechtsrheinisch e.V. (Monument and History Society Bonn-Rhine).

Roman monument on the Rhine dam

The "Roman Monument" on the Rhine embankment near Gensem/Schwarzrheindorf was erected by the association in 1989 for the 2000th anniversary of Bonn and Beuel.

The Bonn stonemasons' guild was also involved. It stands opposite Bonn's Roman camp, on the spot where Rhine crossings took place from prehistoric times until the late Middle Ages.

The statue shows the Roman general Gaius Julius Caesar, who extended the Roman Empire to the Rhine. It is intended to commemorate the founding of Bonn around 11 BC by the Romans and their subsequent 400-year presence on both sides of the Rhine.

At the same time, it symbolizes the disputes about the truthfulness of the news of bridge constructions handed down since that time; first by Caesar, then around 11 B.C. by the Roman commander Drusus "between Bonn/BONNA and Gensem/GESONIA".

FURTHER INFORMATION

Roman monument on the Rhine dam near Schwarzrheindorf / Gensem

On the occasion of the unveiling on 21 May 1989

I. Occasion
The city of Bonn traces its 2000th anniversary, which it celebrates in 1989, back to its Roman past. Specifically, it links it to the Roman general N. C. Drusus, who is said to have set up camp in Bonn around 11 BC and also built a bridge across the Rhine, from BONNA (Bonn) to GESONIA (Gensem, district of Schwarzrheindorf).

This, at least, was reported around 115 AD by the Roman writer A. L. Florus, whose historiographical works, of course, do not find undivided applause everywhere. However, Bonn's Roman past goes back further. For already around 53 BC the famous G. J. Caesar traced the borders of the Roman Empire to the Rhine; since then, the right bank of the Rhine has also belonged to the secured Roman military area. Today's Bonn-Beuel area remains Roman until the Franks take possession of it 450 to 500 years later.

Information board with detailed presentation of all historical aspects

The statue shows Caesar, looking east towards Germania, which is still to be conquered, as a general who is busy with construction plans for a bridge. He is said to have been the first to ever build a solid bridge over the Rhine. This is also written in Latin on the back, carved into the back of the military chair:

C. . IVL. . CAESAR
FLVMINI . PONTEM . PRIMVS
IMPOSVIT
A . A . CHR . N . LV .
G. Iul. Caesar / has built a bridge over the river as the first / in the year before Chr. Geb. 55.

According to today's knowledge, this probably took place in the Neuwied area. In 1898, however, when the first modern Bonn-Beuel bridge was built, it was still believed to have happened here with us.