Temple of Apollo Grannus, Roman temple archaeological site in Faimingen, Bavaria, Germany
The Temple of Apollo Grannus in Faimingen, ancient Phoebiana, is a Roman temple complex of about 1,000 m² within a settlement of roughly 40 ha. A medieval well stands at the south entrance; steps lead to the inner portico, then the temenos, pronaos and cella. Eight of the original 14 columns are preserved or reconstructed, and a taberna lies behind the temple.
The temple stood in the Roman settlement of Phoebiana, at Faimingen near Lauingen, and was one of the largest Roman temple buildings north of the Alps. Emperor Caracalla sought healing there from Apollo Grannus in 212; an inscription from Ephesos records a legation reaching the sanctuary of the "Grannian Apollo". Milestones found in 1981 at Gundelfingen and in 2002 at Sontheim name Phoebiana and record road and bridge works ordered by Caracalla in 212/213.
The temple's name joins Apollo, the Roman god of healing, with Grannus, a Celtic god of springs and baths. The clear spring water made Phoebiana a destination for cult baths and drinking cures, and the site lies in Faimingen near Lauingen, the Roman Phoebiana.
The open-air museum created in 1987 is entered from the south, where a medieval well stands; steps lead up to the inner portico and on to the temple court. Eight of the fourteen columns of the inner portico survive or are rebuilt, three of them roofed on the west side. The line of the outer portico is marked in white paint on the ground, and the column positions are also marked along Tempelweg street.
The site lies in Faimingen, part of Lauingen in Bavaria, not in the Andes. The temple's identification rests on three Roman milestones: two found in 1981 beneath the Protestant church at Gundelfingen an der Donau and a third in 2002 at Sontheim an der Brenz. Their inscriptions of 212/213 name Phoebiana and record road and bridge works ordered by Caracalla.
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