Roman city walls of Lugo

Roman city walls of Lugo
UNESCO world heritage
National territory:	Spain
Type:	Culture
Criteria :	(iv)
Surface:	1.68 ha
Buffer zone:	59.88 ha
Reference No .:	987
UNESCO region :	Europe and North America
History of enrollment
Enrollment:	2000  (session 24)

The Roman city wall of Lugo is the most completely preserved in the area of ​​the former Western Roman Empire . It now surrounds the historic center of the city of Lugo in Spain and is recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO .

Geographical location

The wall encloses the historic center of Lugo in the autonomous community of Galicia . The city is located on a hill surrounded by the Rio Miño to the west and the Rato , Paraday and Chanca streams to the east . While the wall left entire districts such as Recatelo outside, on the other hand it also included farmland and wasteland . The reasons for this are unclear.

history

Roman

Paullus Fabius Maximus had in 13 BC Founded the Roman city of Lucus Augusti in the name of Emperor Augustus . This meant that the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula should finally be incorporated into the Roman Empire . A first wall built at that time was replaced in the second half of the 3rd century by the one that still exists today. Since the empire was threatened by invasions from outside, the strategic location and importance of the city made the new building appear advisable. It took place without interruption and was completed towards the end of the 3rd or shortly after the beginning of the 4th century. While the population of other cities declined after a wall was built in late antiquity , that of Lugo continued to grow.

Post-Roman

Representation from 1850

Only under the rule of the Suebi and in Visigothic times did the city shrink. After the conquest of most of the Iberian Peninsula by Muslims, the trend reversed again. But until the beginning of the 19th century, the wall ring was still too big for Lugo and also enclosed undeveloped areas.

In the 8th century Mūsā ibn Nusair conquered the city. In 998 it was attacked by Almansor , who was unable to conquer it. The wall thus continued to fulfill its defensive function and was - limited and selectively - adapted to new military strategies and transport needs. Despite the necessary repairs and additions, it retained its original character. From the sixteenth century houses were also built between the towers on the outside of the wall.

In addition to serving as a defensive structure, the wall also served as a tax border towards the surrounding area. Here a tax (portazgo) was levied and people were checked. The wooden doors that made it possible to close the gates were used well into the 19th century, but were finally removed in 1877.

The Reducto Cristina was added in 1837 and five additional gates were broken into the wall between 1853 and 1921.

Monument, world heritage and legal position

Section in the west of the wall ring

On April 16, 1921, the wall was declared a cultural monument. From 1971 the administration set about removing everything that was attached to the outside of the monument. In 1973 the old town of Lugo was declared an area monument. In the same year ownership of the wall passed to the Spanish state. With the decree 2434/1982 of July 24th (1982), the responsibility for historical monuments was transferred from the Kingdom of Spain to the Autonomous Community of Galicia as part of the general federalization of the Spanish central state , and in 1994 ownership of the complex was also transferred. The monuments authority of the autonomous community, the Direción General de Patrimonio Cultural , is responsible for the preservation of monuments . Both the central government and the city of Lugo are involved in decision-making processes.

In 2000, UNESCO recognized the Wall as World Heritage. Since the expansion of the Jakobsweg World Heritage Site in 2015, it has also been part of the Camino Primitivo as an individual monument .

The construction

Technical parameters

The wall is about 2100 m long and covers an area of ​​34.4 hectares. The width is 4.20 m and in some sections reaches 7 m. The height of the wall varies - depending on the terrain - between eight and twelve meters. The course of the wall roughly forms an irregular square, with the corners being rounded. Towards the outside, mostly semicircular, are built in front of the building at relatively short intervals - they are between 6.30 m and 13.50 m.

Wall

For the construction of the outer wall shells were mainly granite and slates used. The space in between is filled with stones - including spoils from older buildings - and opus caementicium .

There was a ditch in front of the wall. It was about 5 m in front of the towers, was 20 m wide and 4 m deep. Only a few traces of this are visible. In 1987 the trench was documented by archaeological investigations. It has been proven that it is not a continuous trench, but that it consisted of different, independent sections.

Between the back of the wall and the adjoining buildings in the city, there was an interval , a building-free space , along its entire length . Over time, this space has been occupied by buildings. In the middle of the 20th century, more than 30 buildings were added to the wall in this area.

Towers

A Mosqueira tower that still supports a remnant of the structure.

The wall originally had 85 towers. Of these, 46 are still preserved, 39 have been demolished or dismantled over time. Most are semicircular, some rectangular. Their original arrangement avoided blind spots . The diameter of the towers varies between 9.80 m and 16.40 m. Originally they must have towered over the top of the wall with at least two storeys, as representations from the 19th century show. However, this structure is only preserved - and not completely and only at the height of one floor - in one tower, A Mosqueira . These projectiles had large openings through which larger guns could be shot.

Gates

1 San Fernando Gate
2 Porta Falsa
3 Station Gate (Porta de Estación)
4 San Pedro Gate
5 Puerta del Obispo Izquierdo (Bishop Izquierdo Gate)
6 Puerta del Obispo Aguirre
7 Porta de Santiago
8 Porta Miñá
9 Puerta del Obispo Odoario
10 Porta Nova

In Roman times there were five gates at which the main roads to the surrounding area left the city: The roads to Asturica Augusta , today's Astorga , and to Braccara Augusta , today's Braga in Portugal, used the gate of San Pedro . By Portanova was Brigantium ( Betanzos ) to achieve and the road through the Porta Miñá combined with Iria Flavia ( Padrón ), the road through the Porta Falsa led to the seafront and the harbor Lucus Asturum ( Lugo de Llanera ).

The Porta Miñá and possibly the Porta Falsa are structurally largely identical to the Roman original; the other three Roman city gates were later heavily rebuilt. The main gate, the Porta Castelli , was at the Reducto de María Cristina .

Between 1853 and 1921 five more gates were broken through the wall to meet the demands of the growing traffic. Six of the ten existing gates are now used exclusively for pedestrian traffic. Only four gates are used by roads that can be used by motor vehicles.

San Fernando Gate

San Fernando Gate

The gate was installed in 1853/54. In 1962 it was widened and got its current appearance. It is 12.5 m wide and 7.50 m high. It runs through the wall at an oblique angle. The road through it is one of the main entrances to the old town and connects the most densely populated areas of the city. It is used both for motor vehicle traffic and by pedestrians.

Porta Falsa

The gate is one of those dating from Roman times. It was walled up in the Middle Ages , but reopened in 1602. In the 17th and 18th centuries it was known as the Puerta del Boquete . The gate was rebuilt in 1798. It is 3.45 m wide and 5.65 m high.

Train station gate (Porta de Estación)

The opening of the railway and the location of the station required another gate. The design comes from Nemesio Cobreros Cuevillas and was completed in 1875, but it turned out to be too narrow. Just a year later, the two flanking towers were demolished and the passage widened. In 1921 this facility was demolished and a new one was built. It is 10 m wide and 8 m high.

San Pedro Gate

San Pedro Gate

Located on the site of a Roman gate, it was called Puerta de Sancti Petri and also Porta Toletana or Puerta Toledana in the Middle Ages . The road leading out here led to Toledo , that is, to Castile . For pilgrims on the Way of St. James , here the Camino Primitivo , this was the gate through which they entered the city. The pilgrims' hostel is still in the immediate vicinity. The gate is 3.70 m wide and 4.85 m high and has a barrel vault . It is flanked by two towers and has a guard house. A widening of the passage planned in 1865 failed due to a lack of financial resources. On the outside, the gate bears the city's coat of arms and the date of a redesign of 1781.

Puerta del Obispo Izquierdo (Bishop Izquierdo Gate)

The gate is also known as the prison gate because it was laid out in 1888 as a direct access to the then new prison. It is located immediately west of the María Cristina ski jump . It was named after Bishop Francisco Izquierdo y Tavira, OP (1748–1762). The gate is 4.32 m wide and 7.15 m high. It is equipped with a round arch and a barrel vault. The architect here was Nemesio Cobreros Cuevillas .

Puerta del Obispo Aguirre

Puerta del Obispo Aguirre

The Puerta del Obispo Aguirre (Bishop Aguirre Gate) was created in 1894 to provide direct access to the seminary built nearby in 1885 by Bishop Gregorio María Aguirre y García (1835–1913) and to the cemetery , consecrated in 1858 to accomplish. The gate is 10 m wide and 8.15 m high. Like the seminar, it was designed by the architect Nemesio Cobreros Cuevillas . Two Roman towers on the wall with ancient tombstones were demolished for its construction.

Porta de Santiago

Santiago Matamoros and coat of arms of Bishop Francisco Izquierdo y Tavira at the Porta de Santiago

The Porta de Santiago is the gate that opened to the road to Santiago de Compostela . It was traditional and is still the way the pilgrims leave the city today. It is located directly opposite the west facade of Lugo Cathedral . The gate already existed in Roman times. In the early modern period , until 1589, it was used exclusively by the canons to get into their orchards. Also, in times of epidemics, it was the only gate that remained open. There was a drawbridge in front of it. In 1759 it was rebuilt to allow carriages to pass through. The image of Santiago Matamoros and the coat of arms of Bishop Francisco Izquierdo y Tavira were placed in a niche on the inside . The dimensions of the gate are 4.15 m wide and 5.50 m to 6.90 m high.

Porta Miñá

The Porta Miñá (also: Puerta del Carmen ) is of Roman origin and has undergone the slightest structural changes of all the gates in the wall. It is located in a valley and its name (also Porta Minei or Porta Mineana ) is due to the fact that the Miño River is reached from here. It is 3.65 m wide, has a barrel vault and a corresponding portal with arch. It is flanked by two towers. The associated room for the guard later served as a chapel for some time . The demolition planned in 1870 failed because there was no money for it.

Puerta del Obispo Odoario

The Puerta del Obispo Odoario (Bishop Odoario Gate) was broken through the wall without permission in 1921 as part of the construction of the new Santa María Hospital . This led to the wall being declared a national monument that same year. The breakthrough was closed with a gate in 1928 by the architect Ramiro Sainz Martínez . It is 12 m wide and 9.10 m high. The gate is named after Bishop Odoario (approx. 750 to 780).

Porta Nova

The Roman gate at this point had a gate guard building that was later used as a chapel. The medieval gate was demolished in 1899 and a larger, more modern gate was built in its place. It is 4.60 m wide and 8 m high. The architect was Juan Alvarez de Mendoza . The gate was inaugurated in April 1900.

Accesses

Path on the top of the wall

Historically, access to the wall was via stairs built into the walls of the towers. The entrances to the stairs were so high in the wall of the tower that they could only be accessed with a ladder. All historical stairs have been buried. The first such finding was discovered in 1962. There are now 21. It is therefore assumed that every tower had such a staircase.

The top of the wall can be walked on completely. Today the walls can be climbed via six outer entrances, four stairs and two ramps.

Reducto de Maria Cristina

The Reducto de María Cristina ( María Cristina Schanze ) was inserted into the wall between the Puerta del Obispo Aguirre and the A Mosqueira tower as a defensive bastion for the artillery during the First Carlist War . The hill is triangular and the parapet has loopholes for the artillery. It replaced a medieval building complex that had been built in this section on the site of the Roman wall and served as a fortress .

literature

• Deputación de Lugo et al. (Ed.): Plano centro histórico de Lugo . Lugo 2015.
• Dietrich Höllhuber and Werner Schäfke: The Spanish Way of St. James. History and art on the way to Santiago de Compostela . DuMont, [Cologne] 1999. ISBN 3-7701-4862-2
• Werner Schäfke: Northwest Spain. Landscape, history and art on the way to Santiago de Compostela . DuMont, Cologne 1987. ISBN 3-7701-1589-9
• Walter Trillmich and Annette Nünnerich-Asmus (eds.): Hispania Antiqua - Monuments of the Roman Age. von Zabern, Mainz 1993, ISBN 3-8053-1547-3 , pp. 226-229.

Web links

Commons : Roman Walls of Lugo  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• UNESCO: Roman Walls of Lugo on the UNESCO site (in English ); accessed June 29, 2019.
• Video on the UNESCO homepage ; accessed June 29, 2019.
• Roman wall of Lugo on the Galicia Tourist Board website ; accessed June 29, 2019.
• The Doors of the Wall on the Galicia Tourist Board website; accessed June 29, 2019.

Remarks

1. ↑ * 1853: Prinz-Alfons-Tor
   * 1875: Bahnhofstor
   * 1888: Bischof-Izquierdo-Tor
   * 1894: Bischof-Aguirre-Tor
   * 1921: Bischof-Odoario-Tor.
2. ↑ Today called:
   * Porta Miñá
   * Porta Falsa
   * Porta de San Pedro
   * Porta Nova
   * Porta de Santiago
3. ↑ The gates are listed here - starting in the north - clockwise.
4. ↑ Porta de Santiago, Campo Castelo, Praza do Cantiño, Porta da Estación, Porta Falsa, Porta Nova and Porta Miñá.
5. ↑ Named after the queen widow Maria Christina of Naples-Sicily , who was regent for the underage Queen Isabella II until 1840 .

Individual evidence

1. ^ UNESCO: Roman Walls of Lugo .
2. ↑ Höllhuber: The Spanish Way of St. James , p. 189.
3. ↑ Schäfke: Nordwestspanien , p. 245.
4. ↑ Höllhuber: The Spanish Way of St. James , p. 189; UNESCO: Roman Walls of Lugo .
5. ↑ Schäfke: Nordwestspanien , p. 245; Entry no.RI - 51 - 0000191 - 00000 in the Spanish list of monuments .
6. ^ UNESCO: Roman Walls of Lugo .
7. ↑ Entry in the UNESCO World Heritage List; UNESCO press release on this.
8. ^ UNESCO: Roman Walls of Lugo .
9. ^ UNESCO: Roman Walls of Lugo .
10. ↑ UNESCO: Walled Cities & Open Societies. Managing Historic Walls in Urban World Heritage Properties. Lugo (Spain), Info Sheet , p. 7
11. ↑ Homepage of the tourism association: The Doors of the Wall .
12. ↑ Homepage of the tourism association: The Doors of the Wall .
13. ↑ Homepage of the tourism association: The Doors of the Wall .
14. ^ Deputación: Plano .
15. ↑ Homepage of the tourism association: The Doors of the Wall .
16. ↑ Homepage of the tourism association: The Doors of the Wall .
17. ↑ Homepage of the tourism association: The Doors of the Wall .
18. ↑ Höllhuber: The Spanish Way of St. James , p. 189; Deputación: Plano .
19. ↑ Homepage of the tourism association: The Doors of the Wall .
20. ↑ Homepage of the tourism association: The Doors of the Wall .
21. ↑ Homepage of the tourism association: The Doors of the Wall .
22. ↑ Homepage of the tourism association: The Doors of the Wall .
23. ^ UNESCO: Roman Walls of Lugo .
24. ^ UNESCO: Roman Walls of Lugo .