Kastell Obernburg

The Kastell Obernburg stands in the heart of Obernburg’s old town on the western bank of the Main. Built as part of the Nassen Limes, it once guarded a narrow riverside terrace bounded by steep, wooded slopes. The Elsava and Mümling streams meet the Main nearby, and the site may have linked early to the Neckar-Odenwald Limes further south. Its fame comes from rich inscriptions found in the Benefiziarier station’s sanctuary. Wilhelm Conrady’s 1884 excavations under medieval layers revealed the four gates, the Principia, and later a Victoria relief and a Jupiter column fragment. Altars of the Roman road police, a well with two Jupiter-Gigant columns, and a graveyard with 1849 finds add to its story. Visitors walk streets that trace the old via praetoria, via principalis and via decumana. The Badgasse marks the main gate’s line, the Römerstraße follows the side roads, and the Obere Gasse marks the south front. A modern pavement inset shows the Porta praetoria’s spot, while nearby digs uncovered the police precinct and its shrine.