Ingelheim
Research – Preserve – Communicate
Welcome to the Kaiserpfalz of the city of Ingelheim am Rhein!
Charlemagne had a palace built in today’s Nieder-Ingelheim district around the year 800, the impressive ruins of which can be visited in the Archaeological Zone Kaiserpfalz (AZK). The Kaiserpfalz Research Centre, headed by medieval archaeologist Holger Grewe, is responsible for researching and preserving this unique early medieval monument.
In 1993, work began on gradually uncovering and preserving the remains of the palace buildings, which had been buried over the centuries and had almost disappeared under modern buildings, and making them accessible to the public. Today, the Kaiserpfalz of Ingelheim is the town’s most important monument and is one of the best-preserved early medieval palaces in Europe. Its preservation for future generations is therefore one of the most important tasks of the Kaiserpfalz Research Centre.
At the same time, with exhibitions such as The Charismatic Place in 2019, we want to arouse interest in an era that still harbours many secrets. Based on the results of our research, we also develop digital educational content such as virtual tours or digital reconstructions of the Kaiserpfalz. In this way, we are constantly learning and gaining an idea of what Ingelheim might have looked like around 1200 years ago.
This website offers exciting insights into our research as well as all the important information for a visit to the Kaiserpfalz Archaeological Zone in Ingelheim.
You can also find lots more information on our Facebook page.
Have fun browsing and discovering!
Pillars of power: 360° tour of the monument
Discover all the monuments of the Archaeological Zone Kaiserpfalz, including the 2020 Pillars of Power presentation, on a virtual 360° tour:
Download now: The Kaiserpfalz app
The Kaiserpfalz app is the ideal companion for a visit to the medieval palace ruins in Ingelheim. As a digital guide, it supplements the information in the circular route booklet and the signposting in the Kaiserpfalz area with audio texts, picture galleries and digital reconstructions. The Kaiserpfalz app is available free of charge from the AppStore and Play Store .
The karolinger-route website also offers a wealth of additional information. For example, you can use overlays to compare the current state of the site with the reconstructions.
Current News
24 February 2026: The approximately 1200-year-old Hohenstaufen defensive wall in the Archaeological Zone of the Imperial Palace will be restored in 2026. Preparatory work is expected to begin in mid to late April and will also affect the monument area at the Bolander Tower at the entrance to the hall area. The monument areas of the warm air heating system and the Jewish cemetery in Karolingerstraße will remain closed for safety reasons until the restoration is completed. The work is expected to be finished by the end of 2026.
5 December 2025: Seats of power in the Middle Ages were far more than mere representative backdrops: They were political command centers, economic hubs, and places of cultural exchange. A book presented during the interdisciplinary symposium in Ingelheim (November 19–21) is dedicated to these central sites of power and offers new perspectives on their roles from Late Antiquity to the High Middle Ages.
27 November 2025: From November 19 to 21, scholars from various historical disciplines gathered in Ingelheim at the Continuing Education Center (WBZ) to exchange insights into the latest research on Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. As part of the interdisciplinary conference "Early Medieval Royal Residences and the South: Transregional Contacts and Diverse Influences," the Kaiserpfalz Research Center of the City of Ingelheim and the Leibniz Center for Archaeology (LEIZA) in Mainz signed a cooperation agreement at the WBZ.