Tscheltschnigkogel
| Tscheltschnigkogel | ||
|---|---|---|
| height | 696 m above sea level A. | |
| location | Carinthia , Austria | |
| Coordinates | 46 ° 35 '33 " N , 13 ° 49' 1" E | |
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| particularities | Underground cave systems | |
The Tscheltschnigkogel or "Kadischen" with its subterranean cave systems (the most famous cave with an entrance among the Kadischen is the 709 meter long Eggerloch) is a mountain on the western edge of the Carinthian city of Villach and from an archaeological and historical point of view significant. It is also one of the local recreation areas for the Villach townspeople as well as a hiking and panoramic mountain.
Geography and topography
The Tscheltschnigkogel with an altitude of 696 meters above normal level is a nose-shaped, pre-built, steeply sloping Kogel at the east end of the Villacher Alpe above Warmbad Villach and the Villach district of Judendorf.
Origin of name
The derivation of the name “Chelzni- / Chelni-Hügel” is not clearly established and therefore controversial. There are a few variants that should be mentioned here: On the one hand, it could come from a hallway name. A reed "Schelzni Feld" near the "Chelznikogel" is known. On the other hand, it is also reminiscent of an owner, the Tscheltschnig family, who sat on the associated farm for centuries. It is also conceivable to reproduce the topographical appearance of the Kogel, which is reflected in the Slavonic form of "cekelj" = guard mountain or "celo" = mountain ledge.
The other name “Cadic” comes from the Celtic “cad”, “caddo”, which means something like steep drop, fall. The Latin “cadere” also means “to fall” or “to fall”. If you look at the steep slopes of the Tscheltschnigkogel, the Kadischen, and research the rock falls during countless earthquakes (see also Dobratschabsturz ), then the derivation of the word Kadischen from the Celtic and the following Latin during the Roman settlement period is easy to understand. This again indicates the Celtic use of the Tscheltschnigkogel.
Another word used by the Celts for a holy place resonates in “Cadic”: “cadi”, “cadius” = holy. Kadischen is therefore a sacred place.
historical overview
The beginning of the primeval settlement on the Tscheltschnigkogel, also popularly called "Kadischen", goes back to the Copper Age (around 4000 BC). At that time, the early farmers took over the land on well-fortified hilltops in the Eastern Alps . Neither for this period nor for the following centuries has a weir system been found on the Tscheltschnigkogel . It is also difficult to provide concrete information about the inner structure of the settlement, which during the older Hallstatt culture (around 900 to 550 BC) was probably of central importance. Possibly there was a rural settlement in the northern apron, in the area of the so-called “Wechselwiese”. Of the numerous caves on the Tscheltschnigkogel, only the "Heidenloch" on the south side, also known as the "Tauerloch", may have been included in the settlement at times. The finds show that this continued to exist after the Celts took over the land around 300 BC. There was settlement activity here even in early Roman times, but of less importance. It was not until late antiquity in the 5th and 6th centuries AD that the administration and the military returned to the hill , which was now more surrounded by a fortification wall.
Eggerloch
At the foot of the Kadische, the entrance to the Eggerloch opens up, currently one of the longest known karst caves in the Villacher Alpe area at 709 meters. Leave the sensational giant stalactite cave discovered by Oskar Hosse's team aside. Due to a tragic legal dispute, the entrance to the latter cave was never disclosed and so the discoverers took their knowledge with them to the grave. The Eggerloch can be walked on without problems and is well secured. The cave was first mentioned in 1576, but it should have been known as early as Celtic and Roman times. In 1927 Hosse was able to discover the continuation of the cave from the end chamber. In 1975 the Subterra group managed to descend from the bone cavity into the Eggerloch. In 1993 further parts (judges course) were discovered. The cave overcomes an altitude difference of 122 meters. Traces suggest that the cave could have been in the water before the Dobratsch landslide in the earthquake of 1348 . By cavers could be clarified that the cave is the bone cavity on Tscheltschnigkogel in conjunction.
It once had many different names: bat grotto, Napoleon grotto, Hosse stalactite cave.
After the destruction of historical scratches by visitors, it was decided in 2012 to close the Eggerloch to the public.
Early Christian Church
On a narrow slope terrace in 1936 and 1937 the remains of a Roman building were exposed and interpreted by the excavators at the time as the remains of a villa-like residential building from the Roman imperial period (2nd / 3rd century AD), in the eastern part of which in late antique times (5th / 3rd century AD) 6th century AD) an early Christian sacred space with an east-facing apse was built. The latter walls were visibly preserved through conservation. More recent considerations, however, interpret the entire complex as an early Christian church building with a rectangular floor plan, semicircular priest's bench and this in front of a presbytery in the east of a vestibule in the west as well as the sacristy and two ancillary rooms in the north-east and in the north of the actual 15.6 × 7.5 meter nave .
The discovery of fragments of two marble columns - one with a capital - and a fragment of a marble slab , which can be assigned to an early Christian table altar, as well as individual burials in the area of the adjoining rooms, underscore the connection between the structural remains and early Christianity and represent this in close connection with the somewhat higher late antique fortifications on the Tscheltschnigkogel.
Fortification
On the hilltop of the Tscheltschnigkogel, which slopes steeply and rocky towards the east, there was a fortified hillside settlement from late antiquity, the structural remains of which were explored from 1932 to 1935 and partially preserved through conservation . The exposed walls reveal an extensive west and east complex, which were secured on the mountain side by defensive walls and in places with bastions . A gate construction on the east side, which appears to be additionally attached to a tower-like building, led the way into the inner areas of the entire complex. There, among other things, a building constructed using masonry technology with hypocaust or underfloor heating rose on a rock terrace , the pillars of which can still be seen; this building was presumably reserved for the commandant of the defenders. Most of the rest of the construction will have been made of wood.
The relatively extensive find material allows this fortification to be included in the 5th / 6th centuries. Century after Christ and in this castrum shows a refuge for the population probably also from Santicum - the Roman settlement in the area of today's Villach - during the uncertain times of late antiquity .
literature
- Harald Krainer: Warmbad Villach. A historical and natural history guide. Verlag des Kärntner Landesarchiv, Klagenfurt 2017. ISBN 978-3-9503973-0-7
References
- Hiking trails on the Tscheltschnigkogel with description boards.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Local inspection in "Eggerloch" , kleinezeitung.at, accessed on January 8, 2012