Aardenburg

Oldest city of Zeeland
In 174 AD, the Romans built the Castellum Romanum, a fortified military base, in Aardenburg [Aereburg]. The West Zeeuws-Vlaamse Aardenburg is thus the oldest city in Zeeland. The village attracted many traders and farmers as a garrison town at that time. The Sint-Baafskerk is the oldest building in Aardenburg. In the oldest part of the church, you can find building materials that likely originated from the Roman Castellum! The Cultural Forum Aardenburg brings the Roman era and the Middle Ages to life.

People have lived in Aardenburg for much longer. However, it was only during the Roman period that impressive buildings first appeared in this place. We can still see many traces of those Roman centuries in our culture, such as our calendar or our alphabet. And archaeologists are still discovering traces from the Roman period in the soil of Aardenburg today. Approximately 500 coins have been found, mainly from the 2nd and 3rd centuries, but toilet articles, jewelry, pots, figurines of gods, and parts of horse harnesses have also been excavated.

Roman defensive line

Aardenburg was located by the sea and on a sandy ridge, the highest point in the area. Around 170 AD, the Roman army built a fort (castellum) here as part of the Roman defensive line along the coast. A camp village (vicus) likely named Rodanum developed around the fort. Around 300 AD, the Romans left again due to invasions from Germans and flooding.

Gastvrij Zeeuws-Vlaanderen