Römerhaus Walheim

The Römerhaus Walheim stands in the village of Walheim in the Ludwigsburg district of Baden-Württemberg. It was built over the well-preserved foundations of a Roman strip house discovered during rescue excavations from 1980 to 1988. The site includes a protective structure erected in 1991 to preserve the remains, which form the core of the museum. The Förderverein Römerhaus Walheim e. V. helped establish the museum after the discovery of the stone building in 1986. Since 1994 it has operated as a branch museum of the Archäologisches Landesmuseum Baden-Württemberg. Fourteen special exhibitions were held there until 2022.

The museum displays the fully intact foundations of the Roman strip house, considered the best-preserved example of its type north of the Alps. The building measured 48 by 14 metres and is thought to have had two storeys. A large hall at the front, accessed through three wide gates, probably served as a shop or workshop. Living quarters, a kitchen, a stable and a remarkably intact cellar lay to the rear, where perishable goods were likely stored. The cellar, reached by a wooden staircase from the hall, included a small adjoining room that still holds a complete stone table restored to its original position.

The house dates from about AD 160. Its size, hypocaust heating and other finds suggest it belonged to an affluent owner, presented in the exhibition as a prosperous merchant. Visitors walk over the original foundations and see the restored cellar, stone table and surrounding displays of artefacts recovered from the site. The small outdoor area also features further items uncovered during excavations.