Short history of Xanten
- About 2000 B.C. First settlement of farmers in the Xanten area
- 12 B.C. Arrival of the Roman legions and foundation of military Camp Castra Vetera I
- 9 A.D. Varus legions beaten by Arminius in the Teutoburger Forest
- 105 A.D. The settlement of Colonia Ulpia Traiana has granted the status of Colony by Emperor Trajan
- About 275 First destruction of the Colony by the Francs, construction of a smaller town on the same place
- 362-363 Persecution of the Christians. Execution of St.Victor and his companions in Birten
- End 5th Century End of the Roman occupation in the Xanten area.
- 6th Century Foundation of a chapter, a congregation of clerics supplied with a basic capital from wealthy donors
- 1228 Xanten receives the city charter
- 1263 Start of today's cathedral. (Franco-Gothic style).
- After 1535 Economic decline of Xanten due to the changing course of the Rhine
- 1794-1814 French occupation. Dissolution of the foundation during the Secularisation
- 1819-1844 Intensive excavations on the C.U.T. area
- 1944/45 Almost complete destruction of Xanten and its cathedral
- 1969 Restructuring of the town's bounderies: adjacent villages integrated
- 1977 Opening of the archaeological park Xanten.
- 1982 Opening of the Leisure Centre with two lakes
- 1988 Xanten becomes :"State-approved leisure destination"
- 2003 775th anniversary of the foundation of Xanten
- 2005 Start of the construction of the Chapter-museum
- 2008 August: opening of the new Roman museum
- 2010 opening of the Chapter-museum
- 2010 opening of the Nibelungen(h)ort museum,
since 2012 Siegfried Museum
