Digital ruin stories
Take a deep dive into the history of commercial buildings with the augmented reality audio story and an interactive tour.
MoreCommercial buildings – Business in a prime location
Today, the main road connecting Augst and Rheinfelden follows the same route laid out by the Romans as a long-distance highway 1800 years ago. Where once the turn-off lay to the neighbourhoods on the Rhine, you can now visit several exceptionally well-preserved ruins.
Archaeologists believe there was once an inn by the road that offered lodgings on the upper floor. The convenient location along the main highway would undoubtedly have been ideal for this. The arrangement of the basement rooms also suggest that they were used for this purpose. A sausage and meat smokehouse was discovered in the cellar, along with the remains of a cupboard filled with supplies and crockery.
There is a small courtyard at the rear surrounded by other parts of the building, including a living area with an underfloor heating system (hypocaust). This may have been where the innkeeper lived with their family. The building next door housed a storage area or workroom with a large stone trough and a drying room that could be heated.
See the sight in the geodata viewer (GeoView BL)
You will need a free ticket to access the commercial buildings.
You can get this from the museum ticket desk (10:00-17:00) or via the ticket shop.