Alphen aan den Rijn is a town in the western Netherlands. The city is situated on the banks of the Old Rhine between Utrecht and Leiden. The area around Alphen aan den Rijn is inhabited since 2000 years. During the Roman Empire the Old Rhine has been the head branche of the Rhine. On the nowadays center of the city the Romans build a fortress . Remainings of the Romans has been found and can be seen in Leiden at the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden .