Porta praetoria (Regensburg)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Porta Praetoria Regensburg 2007 before renovation. Viewing direction west -> east
Porta Praetoria Regensburg 2017 after the renovation. Viewing direction east -> west

The Porta praetoria is a Roman gate in Regensburg .

In addition to the larger Porta Nigra in Trier , the Porta praetoria is the only remaining Roman gate north of the Alps.

Term and ancient meaning

As Porta Praetoria designated Romans in their military camps the main gate (see gate ). It served as a sideline gate and was normally located on the side of the camp facing the enemy. As a building inscription on one of the gates of the Tripolitan Fort Gholaia from the year 222 testifies, the soldiers showed great willingness to work on the construction work, because military facilities were the "physical manifestation of Rome". The text from Gholaia describes the meaning of the towering gates as follows: "As the precious stone is set in gold, the gate adorns the camp." And Tacitus wrote: "The camp is the special pride of the soldiers."

history

Under Emperor Marcus Aurelius was on the southern bank of the Danube, opposite the rain mouth , in response to the Marcomannic wars the legion camp Castra Regina ( dt. Camp by the river rain) founded and the third Italic legion stationed here. The camp was completed in 179. Like most Roman legionary camps of this size, it had four gates. The main gate, the Porta praetoria , faced north towards the Danube .

The city of Regensburg emerged from the legionary camp. In 932 the gate was known as Porta Aquarum . The gate system lost its importance when the via praetoria was built over in the High Middle Ages and parts of the gate masonry came below street level. The existence of the gate was finally forgotten by the population when, in 1649, the gate system was incorporated into the new building during the construction of the episcopal brewery at the Bischofshof and disappeared from the street scene. During the overbuilding, parts of the gate system were also destroyed. Only about 240 years later, when the brewery was demolished in 1885, the remains of the Roman gate were surprisingly rediscovered. A discussion began among the population about the uncovering of the remains of the Roman wall, because medical professionals at the time feared the release of old typhus pathogens and the outbreak of an epidemic. The concerns were not taken into account and in 1887 the remains of the wall were exposed to the extent that is visible today.

In the period after 1950, the gate system was the subject of several research projects that led to the development of cleaning and conservation concepts. In 2017, a multi-year renovation measure was completed, during which the entrances and outdoor facilities were also redesigned. Since then, it has also been possible to enter an interior of the gate system as part of a guided tour.

literature

  • Tilmann Bechert: Roman camp gates and their building inscriptions. A contribution to the development and dating of camp gate floor plans from Claudius to Severus Alexander. In: Bonner Jahrbücher 171, 1971, p. 201 ff.
  • Thomas Aumüller: The Porta Praetoria and the fortification of the legion camp in Regensburg. Dissertation, Technical University of Munich 2002, urn : nbn: de: bvb: 91-diss2002122019021

Web links

Commons : Porta Praetoria in Regensburg  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Document Porta Praetoria website of the city of Regensburg. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  2. ^ 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. 93 .
  3. ↑ AE 1995, 01671 .
  4. ↑ Simon James: Rome and the Sword. How warriors and weapons shaped Roman history . WBG, Darmstadt 2013, ISBN 978-3-534-25598-6 , p. 161.
  5. ↑ Christof Flügel , Klaus Mühl, Jürgen Obmann and Ricarda Schmidt: “How the precious stone is set in gold, the gate adorns the warehouse.” On the reception of Roman fort gates in the Middle Imperial period . In: Report of the Bayerische Bodendenkmalpflege 56, 2015, pp. 395–407; here: p. 395.
  6. ↑ Histories 3.84
  7. ↑ Klemens Unger, Julia Weigl: Regensburg life in the 19 year hubdert . Klemens Unger, Cultural Department of the City of Regensburg, Regensburg 2000, ISBN 978-3-86646-300-4 , p. 77 .
  8. ↑ uni-regensburg.de: Porta Praetoria: Reconstruction models ( Memento from September 13, 2018 in the Internet Archive )
  9. ^ Karl Bauer: Regensburg Art, Culture and Everyday History . 6th edition. MZ-Buchverlag in H. Gietl Verlag & Publication Service GmbH, Regenstauf 2014, ISBN 3-935052-28-6 , p. 92-94 .

Coordinates: 49 ° 1 '12.4 "  N , 12 ° 5' 55.2"  E