Roman mine at Meurin

In the Roman mine at Meurin, visitors enter an underground world where Roman miners and soldiers worked.

The Roman mine is the biggest Roman underground tuff mining region north of the Alps. Vulcanised ash tuff, a mineral the region around Laacher See has a devastating volcanic eruption to thank for, was ideal for the large-scale building projects of the Roman Empire. Just think what was needed to build Cologne alone! And how laborious the mining would have been for the workers. This is easy to understand on site without having to climb down into cramped tunnels. The ancient mine has been developed for visitors using modern architecture and painstaking didactics, and has been awarded one of the most prestigious European culture prizes, the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Award, for its design and presentation, not once but twice.

At Meurin Roman Mine, however, it’s not just about underground mining. The interactive “Antiken Technikwelt” (Antique World of Technology) focuses on the astonishing technical know-how of the Romans – from stone mining to building.

The Roman mine is part of Vulkanpark Osteifel (East Eifel Volcano Park), which also includes Erlebniswelten Grubenfeld (Mining Site Experience World) in Mayen and Römerwarte Katzenberg (a Roman hill fort), all of which are interesting witnesses to an ancient industrial region.

A station on the Roman roads.