Nearly two thousand years ago – probably between 80 and 90 a.m. – the Romans built their great Eifel aqueduct to supply their Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium, today's Cologne, with 20 million liters of pure spring water every day. Since the sources of this aqueduct were beautifully distributed in the northern Eifel area of the Sötenicher limestone trough, they correspondingly provided calcareous water. This, in turn, led to deposits formed by the precipitation of lime during the transport of the water – a process very similar to the calcification in a household coffee machine. Over the nearly two hundred years of operation, up to 30 cm thick layers of calcification formed in the Eifel aqueduct, which did not hinder the flow of water as the Romans had built it with a large cross-section – that is, with "growth" in mind.

In the high Middle Ages, this rare stone was quarried, as stonemasons could create marble-like columns, altar slabs, etc. from it. Because of its beautiful play of colors and fine marbling, aqueduct marble became a sought-after decorative stone of Romanesque architecture. Pieces made from this material can be found in almost all Romanesque churches in the Rhineland and far beyond. Even churches in the Netherlands, England, and Denmark have been adorned with aqueduct marble from the Eifel.

Time: 6.00 p.m.
Cost: free
Location: Euskirchen, Casino, Kaplan-Kellermann-Str. 1
Info-Tel.:
E-Mail: L.B.Euskirchen@web.de