- Konz
From a terrace on the hillside, the villa at Konz overlooked the confluence of the Saar and the Mosel. It was an imperial summer palace built in the 2nd half of the 4th century. In his Mosella (verses 367-369), the late Roman poet Ausonius sings of the landscape "below the emperor’s walls" - sub Augustis muris. Several imperial edicts which give the date and location were published in the summer months here in Contionacum (today Konz).
The site was chosen at a place where earlier buildings had stood. The north façade faces the Mosel and rises above it on massive foundations and a high plinth. It consisted of three protruding pavilions joined by open galleries. Behind the central structure there was a heated apsidal hall (15 x 11.5 m) with a portal opening onto the Saar. Finely furnished rooms were aligned either side of the reception hall and the adjoining internal courtyards.
The highest standing remains are those of the baths at the south-east corner. The apse of the cold-water pool in the frigidarium still stands 4 m high.
A station on the Roads of the Romans.
