Porta Praetoria — Attraction in Regensburg

One of the many interesting historical attractions to see in Regensburg is Porta Praetoria just to the north of St. Peter's Cathedral. This is the fragment remains of a gateway of the Roman legionary camp called Castra Regina, which was built here in 179 A.D.

The camp and this gateway faced the Danube River and the Roman enemy territories of Germania. Given its position facing the river, it was known as Porta Aquarum (Water Gate) until at leat 932 according to records at that time.

In later centuries, much of the walls of the old Roman camp were demolished or incorporated into building structures, including what you find with Porta Praetoria. Today the old Roman city gate is exposed and visible for those who walk along Unter den Schwibbögen.

Note: There is a helpful information panel next to Porta Praetoria with German and English text. It is worth spending a few minutes to read if you want to learn about the history of this heritage attraction before or...

When in Regensburg, you must go see the Porta Praetoria. It is a gate preserved from Roman times. From what I understand, this was the Northernmost gate to the Danube River. It is only partially preserved but it is still such a cool sight to see when you are walking down the street and you see it. For me, it's always as great to see it as it was the very first time that I came across it, purely by chance. There is so much Roman history here. This city is so cool.

It is located right behind the Regensburg Cathedral ( The Regensburg Dom). So, you make sure that you are on Domplatz then keep on walking, following the curve of Domplatz, it will curve to the right. Follow it, and the street becomes Krautermarktstraße. When you reach the end, turn right and you will be on Goliathstraße. Stay on it and it becomes Unter den Schwibbögen. You will immediately see the big Porta Praetoria ...

If you are expecting to see very much Roman-era building works here in Germany, you're probably going to be disappointed. Yes, they should be properly preserved and documented. But you will only see a very few stones in the outline of a gateway that look exactly like the photos. Cool, but not particularly destination-worthy on their own. I heard a guide tell someone that Pope Benedict used to live there. Not sure where they got that gem from (he didn't). Certainly worth a quick look-see if you're...