Castrum Tasgetium

Castrum Tasgetium in Stein am Rhein is a late Roman fort on the hill now called simply "Burg", in the Swiss canton of Schaffhausen. Its walls, gates and towers survive well enough that it counts among the best-preserved Roman fortifications in north-eastern Switzerland.

What was Tasgetium?

The name Tasgetium appears in Ptolemy's Geography around the middle of the 2nd century AD. The earlier Roman civil settlement (vicus) lay in neighbouring Eschenz. The fort went up about a kilometre to the west, around the year 300. A building inscription points to a date between 293 and 305, and historians favour roughly 294.

Why was it built?

After Rome gave up the Agri Decumates, Emperor Diocletian reinforced the Rhine frontier. This fort belonged to that effort, part of the Rhine–Iller–Danube limes. It served as a bridgehead, linked by a stone bridge to the unsettled northern bank. Which province it fell under in the 4th century is unclear: Raetia Prima and Maxima Sequanorum are both debated.

What can you see today?

The enclosure is roughly square, about 90 m on each side. Sections of curtain wall, gates and towers remain, along with traces of buildings inside. Excavators also found a 4th-century burial ground.

Within the walls stands St. John's church (Johanneskirche), with foundations from the 6th century and a first written mention in 799. The church's position inside the fort gave the district its name, "auf Burg". After the Romans left, the Alemanni took over the area.

How has it been researched?

Digs began in the 19th century, and for a long time the fort itself got most of the attention. Systematic work on the vicus at Eschenz and on the island of Werd started in the 1930s and resumed from 1975. Key studies are Drack (1980) and Höneisen (1993).

Frequently asked questions

Where is Castrum Tasgetium? On the Burg hill in Stein am Rhein, on the Rhine where it leaves Lake Untersee. Coordinates: 47.656 N, 8.858 E.

Is Tasgetium the same as Eschenz? Not quite. Eschenz was the early imperial civilian settlement, while the fort in Stein am Rhein was built later, about a kilometre west. The name Tasgetium covers both sites.

What period is the fort from? The turn of the 3rd to 4th century, under Diocletian. It was used through late antiquity, and a church was built inside its walls in the 6th century.

What else lies inside the walls? St. John's church, plus remains of Roman buildings and the 4th-century cemetery.