Castra Regina

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The porta praetoria of Regensburg , the north gate of the former legionary camp from the 2nd century AD, which has largely been preserved in the whitewashed wall of the "Bishop's Court" to this day
Plan of the Roman Regensburg
Photo-realistic reconstruction of the legionary camp
Construction of the Porta Praetoria, model in the German Historical Museum (Berlin)
Photo-realistic replica of the crew barracks, 2nd century AD
South-east corner of the Roman fortification wall of the legionary camp with an upstream medieval kennel
Remains of the eastern fortification wall
North-east corner of the fortification wall
Roman composite capital, presumably. from the 3rd century, found during an excavation campaign on the Danube market

Castra Regina was founded as a Roman legion camp , developed into a city on the upper Danube and became the nucleus of the city of Regensburg . The headquarters of the 3rd Italian Legion was established here. Castra Regina consisted of the legionary camp itself, the civil town, a large cemetery and a few shrines and temples.

Surname

Different names have been handed down for the camp at different times. At first it was probably simply called legio (after a Roman milestone ). In the Itinerarium Antonini (3rd century) and in the Tabula Peutingeriana (middle of the 4th century) it is referred to as Regino or Reginum . Castra Regina is first found around 400 in the Notitia Dignitatum . The name is derived from the Regen river , which flows into the Danube about 1 kilometer northeast of the legionary camp. Regana is a Celtic name for water, river . The Romans had adopted the Celtic name slightly modified and named the river Reganum and Reganus .

The pre- and post-Roman name Radaspona is first found in Arbeo von Freising around 770.

precursor

Towards the end of the 1st century AD, a Roman military camp was built on a hill dominating the Danube lowland in what is now the Regensburg-Kumpfmühl district , approx. 2 km south of the Danube , where auxiliary troops were stationed. Although this Kumpfmühl fort was not of great military importance, an elongated civilian settlement developed in its direct vicinity. She accompanied a north-south road that came from Augsburg down the hill to the bank of the Danube, where a former Danube crossing is suspected at the church of St. Oswald . There in the plain on the Danube, another civilian settlement of considerable proportions emerged in the decades before the founding of the Castra Regina legionary camp , which extended northwards to beyond Bismarckplatz and also to the west and east to the vicinity of the The eastern gate of the great legionary camp Castra Regina, which was built there later. The Kumpfmühl fort and both civil settlements were destroyed when the Marcomanni invaded around 170. After Emperor Marc Aurel had stabilized the military situation on the Danube again, it was decided, in view of the changed threat situation, to secure the northern border of the Raetia province, which was previously only controlled by auxiliary troops, by stationing a full legion.

Legion camp

Construction concept

The new legionary camp was built in stone near the Danube from around 175 AD. From the fragment of a building inscription exhibited in the Historical Museum of the City of Regensburg , it is known that in AD 179 the walls, towers and gates were largely completed and the warehouse was moved into. The warehouse area was built in the usual rectangular scheme with rounded corners and comprised approx. 540 × 450 meters, which corresponds to 360 to 300 Roman passus (double steps). The warehouse thus covered a total area of ​​approx. 24.5 hectares. As was customary in the principate era, defensive considerations were not in the foreground when the camp was constructed; it was a barracks, not a fortress. In front of the approximately 8 to 10 m high wall, a pointed ditch was created that was six to seven meters wide and about two and a half to three meters deep. Besides 8 gate towers and 4 corner towers, the wall also had 18 wall towers with a height of 11 m and also a battlement.

Towers and gates

As in the 1st / 2nd Customary in the 19th century, four gates and intermediate towers built at regular intervals on the inside of the wall. The Porta Praetoria (the north gate) is still partially preserved and can be visited in the street Unter den Schwibbögen . Remains of the surrounding walls have been preserved and can be viewed along a signposted path. The path leads from the northeast corner of the camp - north of Ernst Reuter-Platz - to the southeast corner of the camp - St. Georgen Platz - and leads past a long section of the wall below the level of the Dachauplatz . At the end of this section was the location of the former east gate of the Roman camp, the Porta Principalis Dextra . This gate rose above the confluence of today's Drei-Kronen-Gasse in the Dachauplatz opposite the Minoritenkirche, which was later built there . The east gate of the Roman camp was converted into the so-called Black Castle Gate in the Middle Ages as part of the construction of the Arnulfini Wall . This gate was shot at by Napoleonic troops during the Battle of Regensburg in 1809 , badly damaged and demolished in 1812.

The east gate is interesting because in 1873 the foundations of the east gate from the Roman camp were found during excavation work for the construction of the Carmelite brewery, which belonged to the Hotel Karmeliten . There a 3 m long and 3 to heavy fragment of the famous building inscription of the Roman legion camp was found, which was over 8 m long. which is kept and shown in the Historical Museum .

Warehouse interior

From the Porta Principalis Dextra , the Via Principalis ran from east to west, roughly at the level of today's Neupfarrplatz and Gesänderstrasse to the Porta Principalis Sinistra opposite . The western gate and also essential parts of the western wall of the legionary camp were demolished between 917 and 919 as part of the construction of new fortifications during the city expansion under Duke Arnulf . The north-south connection through the camp ran from the Porta Prätoria (called the water gate in the Middle Ages ) via the Via Praetoria (at the level of the Cathedral Square ) and further via the Via Decumana (at the level of today's "Happy Turkish Street") to the southern Porta decumana ( called consecration of St. Peter's Gate in the Middle Ages ).

Excavations in the urban area of ​​today's Regensburg have also revealed various buildings within the camp, with a large-scale demolition (2012/13) in the area of ​​the baroque Carmelite Church of St. Josef (Regensburg) and the Roman Porta Principalis Dextra yielding interesting finds (e.g. B. a well-preserved bronze horse), because the wealthier officers of the Roman military apparently had their accommodations in this area.

The majority of the camp area was undoubtedly needed for the crew barracks, which each offered space for 100 men. A legion comprised about 6,000 soldiers in the 2nd century; This total number can also be formally assumed for Castra Regina. However, since the 3rd Italian Legion did not achieve this nominal strength for a long time and also repeatedly delegated numerous vexillations , questions arise about the actual state of development of the camp. The centurions' quarters were at the head of the barracks. In the center of the camp, the remains of various buildings important for the infrastructure could be observed. There were at least two bathing facilities, a praetorium and factory halls ( fabricae ), which in this case were also decorated with simple wall paintings .

Fight for the camp

During the archaeological investigations, several horizons of destruction could be detected. The first time it was burned down during a German invasion around 278, a second horizon of destruction can be dated to around 288 on the basis of coin finds. But shortly afterwards the camp seems to have been rebuilt, with the civil town outside the camp largely having to be abandoned and its residents being housed within the camp walls.

Around 357 the camp was burned down a third time, this time probably by plundering Juthungen . The new fort was now significantly smaller than its predecessor, which is mainly due to the fact that legions only comprised around 1000 men at that time. From now on, activities were almost entirely concentrated on the northeast corner of the previous warehouse area. It is not known how strong the troops will be from then on, because the Legion itself has been split up and downsized. The Notitia Dignitatum , which was last updated for Westrom around 420, lists a total of five different locations for the legio III Italica (Not. Dig. Occ. 35), including a unit in Castra Regina, but with the addition nunc Vallato , i.e. "Currently in Vallato " (Manching or Weltenburg ). The last regular soldiers were likely withdrawn in the later fifth century.

Civil city

A civil settlement ( canabae or vicus ) was built to the west of the camp , which was almost as big as the camp and for that reason alone certainly had an urban character. Various excavations have produced residential buildings, but the general appearance of the city is unclear. At today's Arnulfsplatz , a large Roman residential area was excavated. There were rooms with hypocausts , a garden in an inner courtyard and a bathroom. The bricks used in the construction come from the Legion stationed in Regensburg, so that it was assumed that the building represents an officer's city villa. Further residential buildings could be identified on today's Bismarckplatz . The remains of workshops were found, and the street there seems to have been provided with a porticus . The city apparently flourished mainly in the first half of the third century. The place seems to have suffered greatly under the Germanic invasions from around 250 AD, but there are indications that construction was still taking place here in the 4th century.

The former legal status of the civil town is unknown. On a consecration stone, an aedile named Aurelius Artissius is named. An aedile is a city government official. This may indicate that as a municipium , the place had the right to self-government. But so far only this one aedile is known, so that the interpretation of the inscription is uncertain.

graveyards

The Romans generally buried the dead outside the settlements, including in Castra Regina. A large cemetery was uncovered, especially south of the civil town. There were mainly urn burials. In addition, however, some labeled sarcophagi were found (mostly not found at the original installation site). Remnants of blocks decorated in relief show that there were also monumental tombs. There were further cemeteries east and south of the legionary camp, each on the arterial roads.

Sanctuaries

So far, no Roman temple has been found within the city proper . To the south, outside the city, there was a temple of Mercury , of which a 92 centimeter high cult statue of the god was found during excavations. A sanctuary of Liber Pater (Bacchus) west of the civil settlement is also documented by inscriptions . Both sanctuaries stood on streets that led into the city. Other deities mentioned above all on consecration stones or altars are Jupiter , Juno , Larunda and Vulcanus .

Großprüfening

At Großprüfening on the Danube , exactly opposite the mouth of the Naab, there was another smaller camp with an extensive civilian settlement at about the same time as the legionary camp. This place was destroyed in the 3rd century, probably during a raid by looting Alemanni . Individual coin finds show that it was still alive, but certainly on a small scale.

Christianity and survival

There is little evidence of Christianity in the ancient city. At least there is a Christian tombstone that is dated to the 4th century.

Little is known about the history of the city in the following period. The coin finds break off, as almost everywhere in the province of Raetia around 408. However, this does not have to mean that the place was abandoned by the Romans, it only indicates that the circulation of coins on the threatened border collapsed. Excavations under the Niedermünster produced the result that the place was further settled, but with an increasingly Germanic material culture. Raetia was still part of the Roman Empire at that time. The Teutons are therefore likely to have been mercenaries ( foederati ). When control of the Roman headquarters actually expired is unknown, but this will have been in the later 5th century. There is evidence of unknown construction work for the transition from the 5th to the 6th century. Around 600 a wooden palisade was built under the Niedermünster. The first medieval buildings can be documented around 700. Even if the evidence is poor, Castra Regina seems to have been inhabited throughout.

Arbeo von Freising describes the city around 770 as a strongly fortified metropolis. These fortifications are likely to have been the still intact Roman walls.

Findings, Terra Sigillata

Among other things, Terra Sigillata of a Dagodu (b) nus was found in Regensburg . Its production site is still unknown and could have been either in Lezoux near Clermont-Ferrand in Gaul or in Rheinzabern ( Tabernae ). Both were manufacturing centers for sigillata production. Goods from Dagodubnus can also be found in Fort Pfünz , in Fort Kösching and in Great Britain.

See also

List of forts in the Danube-Iller-Rhein-Limes

literature

  • Thomas Aumüller: The height development of the fortification of the legion camp Regensburg from 179 AD. In: Römische Wehrbauten. Findings and reconstruction. Colloquium volume, (=  publication series of the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation 7), Volk, Munich 2013, ISBN 978-3-86222-131-8 , pp. 108–111.
  • Karlheinz Dietz , Udo Osterhaus, Sabine Rickhoff-Pauli, Konrad Spindler: Regensburg in Roman times. Regensburg 1979, ISBN 3-7917-0599-7 .
  • Thomas Fischer : The area around the Roman Regensburg. Beck, Munich 1990, ISBN 3-406-33450-4 .
  • Siegmar von Schnurbein : The Roman burial ground of Regensburg. (= Material booklets z. Bayer. Vor. Series A Volume 31 ). Laßleben, Kallmünz 1977, ISBN 3-7847-5031-1 .
  • Gerhard Waldherr : In the footsteps of the Romans - a city guide through Regensburg. Regensburg 2001, ISBN 3-7917-1748-0 .
  • Gerhard H. Waldherr: Roman Regensburg. A historical city guide (Archeology in Bavaria Travel Guide), Pustet, Regensburg 2015, ISBN 9783791727387 .

Web links

Commons : Castra Regina  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ The inscription says that Emperor Marc Aurel (161-180) had the wall with gates and towers built by the 3rd Italian Legion under the direction of the legion commander and provincial governor Marcus Helvitus Clemens Dextrianus.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Adolf Lippold: Regensburg 179 AD - The foundation of the camp of Legio III Italica. In: Dieter Albrecht (Ed.): Regensburg for two millennia. Series of publications by the University of Regensburg, Volume 1. Mittelbayerische Druckerei- und Verlagsgesellschaft, Regensburg 1979, ISBN 3-921114-50-0 , pp. 21–35.
  2. ^ Josef Hohl: Local historical texts: Regensburg. Lindauer, Munich 1982, ISBN 3-87488-904-1 .
  3. ^ Karlheinz Dietz , Udo Osterhaus, Sabine Riekhoff-Pauli , Konrad Spindler : Regensburg in Roman times. Pustet, Regensburg 1979, ISBN 3-7917-0599-7 , p. 59, p. 177-191.
  4. ^ Karlheinz Dietz, Udo Osterhaus, Sabine Riekhoff-Pauli, Konrad Spindler: Regensburg in Roman times. Pustet, Regensburg 1979, pp. 230-247.
  5. ↑ CIL 3, 11965 .
  6. ^ A b Karl Heinz Dietz, Udo Osterhaus, Sabine Riekhoff-Pauli, Konrad Spindler: Regensburg during Roman times , Verlag Friedrich Pustet Regensburg (1979), ISBN 3-7917-0599-7 , pp. 192-200
  7. ↑ To the reconstruction of the gate ( Memento of the original of September 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.uni-regensburg.de
  8. ↑ Silvia Codreanu – Windauer: Archeology to touch . In: Josef Memminger (Ed.): History everywhere! World Heritage as a place of learning - facets of Regensburg's historical culture. Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 2014, ISBN 978-3-7917-2556-7 , pp. 119 - 121 .
  9. ^ Karl Bauer: Regensburg Art, Culture and Everyday History . 6th edition. MZ-Buchverlag in H. Gietl Verlag & Publication Service GmbH, Regenstauf 2014, ISBN 978-3-86646-300-4 , p. 45 .
  10. ↑ See also: Claudia Böken: Castra Regina is one facet richer. In: Mittelbayerische Zeitung. February 22, 2013, p. 30.
  11. ↑ W. Störmer: The Bajuwaren. CH Beck, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-406-47981-2 , p. 47.
  12. ↑ Andrea Faber: The Roman auxiliary fort and the vicus of Regensburg-Kumpfmühl. C. H. Beck Verlag, Munich 1994, ISBN 3-406-35642-7 , p. 372, marginal note.

Coordinates: 49 ° 1 '  N , 12 ° 6'  E