Windisch amphitheater
The amphitheater in Windisch in the canton of Aargau is an amphitheater that was built in the first half of the 1st century AD in the immediate vicinity of the Roman legionary camp Vindonissa . With an area of 111 × 99 meters, it is the largest facility of its kind in Switzerland . It is classified as a cultural asset of national importance . The first systematic excavations took place in 1897, and a year later the facility became the property of the federal government.
Construction and use
During the reign of Emperor Tiberius (14 to 37 AD), when the Legio XIII Gemina was stationed in Vindonissa, the first wooden amphitheater was built. The oval floor plan was 95 × 80 meters, with the arena area itself being 73 × 58 meters. This results in a maximum capacity of 9,000 spectators. The north half of the auditorium was designed as a wooden structure, the south half included a sloping slope. Around 45 AD, the complex was destroyed by fire.
After the Legio XXI Rapax had moved into the camp, the stone complex with three concentric elliptical walls was built around 50 AD, which has been preserved to this day. The outer wall was 111 × 99 meters, the arena 64 × 52 meters. There was space for around 11,000 spectators, with the rows of seats at least in the upper tiers being made of wood. The spectators reached the upper seats via the stairs of the outer wall and a crown wall in the middle. The middle tiers could be reached via the entrances in the west, east and north, and the lower tiers via the north entrance. The two entrances to the arena (each with two-winged gates) were in the longitudinal axis of the oval, and there were eight small gates for the targeted driving in of animals. Coin finds suggest that the amphitheater was used until the second half of the 3rd century.
Tradition and first dig
The amphitheater fell into disrepair in late antiquity. A document dated August 5, 1457 named fields in the "Berlisgruob"; this designation can also be found in the town chronicle of Brugg from 1530. This is a derivation from the Middle High German Berolass-Gruoba (Bärenzwinger-Grube) - probably a vague memory of the animal fights that took place in the amphitheater . In 1577 the Bernese chronicler Thomas Schöpf wrote of "bearlinsgruoben amphitheatri", the first cartographic representation as "rudera amphitheatri" can be found in 1660 in a work by Hans Conrad Gyger . According to Franz Ludwig Haller , the ruins of the eastern gate are said to have stood upright in 1770, but then the walls were used as a quarry.
From May 1897, the student Otto Hauser from Wädenswil carried out the first systematic excavation on his own . In order to be able to finance the day laborers and lease contracts, he founded the company «Pro Vindonissa» in August of the same year. Further excavations followed by December 1897, during which the first walls came to light. Hauser immediately sold finds to collectors, which is why he soon met resistance from local historians, who sparked polemics in the press. Finally, in January 1898, the federal government bought the entire property for 23,000 francs and entrusted the excavations to the “Antiquarian Society of Brugg and Surroundings”. Hauser was no longer allowed to enter the site and in 1906 had to accept another offense when the Antiquarian Society renamed itself "Gesellschaft Pro Vindonissa".
Exposure and conservation
With the purchase of the excavation site, the federal government undertook to preserve the ruins and to expose and secure the walls. Further excavations took place in stages until 1930, during which various objects came to light. These were initially exhibited in the Landesmuseum Zurich , and from 1912 in the Vindonissa Museum in Brugg. Parallel to the excavations, the walls were conserved and the slopes were planted with grass. The first public event took place in 1907, a performance of Friedrich Schiller's drama Bride of Messina . Repeatedly damaged parts of the wall had to be repaired. A major restoration took place between 1950 and 1958.
Towards the end of the 20th century, a comprehensive renovation of the amphitheater was necessary, as many parts of the wall showed considerable damage. In 2005 the Federal Office for Buildings and Logistics took on responsibility for planning and implementing the overall renovation. These were carried out in five stages between 2006 and 2010. In particular, the system had to be drained, for which a seepage pipe ring and four seepage systems were built. In addition, repairs were made to the damaged wall crowns and shells. Since 2009 the amphitheater has been one of the stations along the Vindonissa Legionnaires' Path .
literature
- Georg Matter, Ivo Zemp, Jürg Hänggi, Jürgen Trumm, Regula Frei-Stolba , René Hänggi, Walter Tschudin: The Vindonissa Brugg-Windisch Amphitheater (= Swiss Art Guide. Volume 885, Series 89 ). Society for Swiss Art History, Bern 2011, ISBN 978-3-85782-885-0 .
Web links
- Windisch amphitheater in the inventory of the canton of Aargau
- Society Pro Vindonissa
- Vindonissa, Windisch (Germania Superior). In: Amphi-Theatrum .
Individual evidence
- ^ Matter et al .: The Amphitheater Vindonissa Brugg-Windisch. Pp. 8-10.
- ^ Matter et al .: The Amphitheater Vindonissa Brugg-Windisch. Pp. 10-13.
- ^ Matter et al .: The Amphitheater Vindonissa Brugg-Windisch. Pp. 2-4.
- ^ Matter et al .: The Amphitheater Vindonissa Brugg-Windisch. Pp. 4-6.
- ^ Matter et al .: The Amphitheater Vindonissa Brugg-Windisch. Pp. 20-23.
- ^ Matter et al .: The Amphitheater Vindonissa Brugg-Windisch. Pp. 26-28.
Coordinates: 47 ° 28 '34.7 " N , 8 ° 12' 49" E ; CH1903: 658418 / 258680