14 July 12

Made an easier day so everyone could recover a bit. After a leisurely morning and lunch I took the crew to the Roman Bath house (Thermen) in Heerlen. It is a really nice exhibit of a Roman Bath house that operated there 1800 years ago. Heerlen was a Roman army garrison town located on the Roman supply route (via Belgica) that went from the coast of France to Cologne, Germany. After a north-south road was built, which crossed the via Belgica at Heerlen, it became a center of commerce and recreation. The whole region around where I live was Roman farmland with villas and temples. You have seen evidence of this in my prior postings.

On the way I stopped at the church in Klimmen. I have talked about this church before as well. The church tower was built on a former Roman watch tower that was used to overwatch the via Belgica, which ran across the valley floor to the immediate south. The inside of the church is designed to look like the interior of a Roman villa. It is a unique church in many ways.

The bath house was discovered in 1940 during the German occupation when residents were clearing fallow ground to plant crops. Scholars were brought in to study the site but they had only limited means to do so at this time so they reburied the site. It wasn't until 1970 that there was the time and funding (and recovery after the war) to do a full investigative dig. They then decided to build a structure over the ruins and create a museum. There is a 15 minute introductory film to orient you to what and where (in time and place) the bath house and the Roman occupation in general was all about. Then there is a walk-thru museum with items found mostly in the immediate area. Everything in the museum is authentic unless the placard says otherwise.

Set your GPS to:

Coriovallumstraat 9
6411 CA Heerlen
Nederland

• Opening hours
Tuesday to Friday: 10:00 - 17:00 hours Saturday, Sunday and holidays: 12:00 - 17:00 hour Closed on Monday Closed on the following dates: January 1st, carnival, 24th, 25th and the 31st December

This is the fourth time I have been here; once with my oldest son in 2001, my youngest son in 2010, and my wife in 2011. The museum has been different every time. Truthfully, I think it was far better and more complete in 2001 but it is still a nice museum. I forgot my Dutch - English dictionary in the car so there were a few things I couldn't translate but I knew most of what was there. We spent about 90 minutes there. You can still enjoy the museum even if you don't read Dutch but it certainly makes it more interesting if you do. For the introductory film make sure you ask the front desk to play the English version. Also, the description of the bath house itself can be done in several languages so ask for what is easiest for you. Take a Dutch-English dictionary if you have one. Most of the item descriptions are very short.

There is no parking right at the museum but plenty of paid parking in the vicinity. Where I parked it was €1.80 an hour. They have a cloak room and lockers if you want to get rid of a few items. I don't think you are allowed to take packs or bags into the museum. They often have special exhibits there as well. When I took my wife they were exhibiting the via Belgica and Roman road building in general. That was really interesting. There are vending machines but otherwise no food or drink there.

It is a good way to start your exploration of the Roman occupation if you have an interest in this part of the local history. There are many other places to go to see and study the Roman period.