Castra of Kumpfmühl

Kastell Kumpfmühl stands on a raised terrace above the Danube floodplain, 354 metres above sea level, on the northern slope of the Königsberg hill in southern Regensburg. The fort was built around 80 AD as a wooden-earth enclosure and later rebuilt in stone, expanding from 2.1 to 2.8 hectares in the 130s AD. Two defensive ditches surrounded the stone walls, and the western corner tower still leaves traces in the ground. The site commanded clear views over the Danube’s confluence with the Regen and the old south road from Augsburg. A pure spring-fed brook ran along the western rampart, supplying both drinking water and the adjoining bath-house. In 1989 a hoard of Roman coins was unearthed here, confirming the garrison’s presence. Excavations led by A. Langsdorff in the 1920s first identified the western gateway and the double ditch system. Today the outlines are marked in the pavement near St. Wolfgang’s church. The hilltop offers long views across the river valley and towards the medieval town. A small information board explains the 1989 coin find and the spring line that once fed the fort. Walkers can follow the gentle slope down to the Vitusbach, still flowing beneath allotments and gardens, linking the ancient waterworks with the modern landscape.