Säbener Berg
| Säbener Berg | ||
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 Klausen around 1900, with Branzoll Castle and the monastery above. |
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| height | 673 m slm | |
| location | South Tyrol , Italy | |
| Mountains | Sarntal Alps | |
| Coordinates | 46 ° 38 '39 " N , 11 ° 34' 3" E | |
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The Säbener Berg ( Ladin Jevun ) is a hill towering in the Eisack Valley above Klausen in South Tyrol . It has been in effect since the 4th millennium BC. BC as populated, as its repellent form offered the population, among other things, a place of refuge from impending dangers. This is evidenced by archaeological finds made between 1929 and 1982. In late antiquity and in the early Middle Ages , the settlement of Säben on the south-west facing sloping terrace was an important Christian center and bishopric. Today, among other things, the Holy Cross Church , the Säben monastery with the monastery church and the Church of Our Lady with the attached Marienkapelle are located on the hill; Branzoll Castle guards the ascent from Klausen .
Säben as a settlement
The location and orientation of the Säbener Berg at the confluence of the Tinnetal and Eisack valley is geomorphologically favorable. Both to the Tinnebach and the Eisack it breaks off largely steeply. The settlement terraces on the hill are easily accessible from the southwest alone. To the northeast, only a relatively narrow, rocky ridge connects to the adjoining low mountain range terraces.
The Säbener Berg was an attractive settlement location for various arable crops that came to the Alps along the river valleys . From the 5th century BC The Brenner Pass gained importance as a north-south connection. The neighboring ore mining on the Pfunderer Berg also increased the importance of Säben.
The settlement epochs
Neolithic (about 5500 to 3300 BC)
A stone ax found in 1894 caused a sensation in professional circles. Several smaller finds followed ( arrowheads , a stone ball and spindle whorl ). The discovery of a small flint device can be dated to the Neo- or Mesolithic period.
Roman times (about 15 BC to 476 AD)
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Coin finds :
- Coin finds from the middle of the 18th century testified to the presence of early settlement on the Säbener Berg. During the renovation of the Stations of the Cross chapels, dozens of ancient Roman coins were found. Further coin finds can be dated to the time of Faustina , Severus Alexander , Gallienus , Constantine the Great and Constans .
Late antiquity
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Barracks construction :
- Between 400 and 530 a Roman settlement including barracks was built in the area of today's Liebfrauenkirche. The barracks consisted of nine rooms, which were equipped with stone-surrounded herds. Clay floors were placed in all rooms. After a fire, the barracks was rebuilt, the rooms were partially redistributed and the previously laid mortar walls were replaced by block buildings. After another destruction in the first half of the 6th century, the construction of the barracks was abandoned.
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Early Christian Church in the Vineyard :
- In 1981, excavations below the monastery uncovered a 27.70 meter long and 16.20 meter wide cruciform church. It had a main apse and two secondary absids, a priest's bench and a free-standing altar. It is a hall church with an apse , at least one sacristy-like side room, transept-like wing annexes and a vestibule. After several renovation phases as well as a devastating fire and a landslide, the church was abandoned.
- The building of the church was divided into three phases:
- Phase 1: Late Roman period (4th to 5th centuries)
- Phase 2: 5th to 6th centuries
- Phase 3: Germanic Era (7th century)
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Baptistery :
- At the southeast end of the barracks building, an early Christian baptistery was originally built. With the construction of the church group under the Holy Cross, the baptistery became superfluous and thus abandoned. Only the 1.20 meter wide, polygonal baptismal font remained of the chapel . It was laid out with sandstone slabs and had a line-decorated interior plaster.
Early middle ages
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The burial ground of novels :
- Säben was the central burial place of the local Romans and Teutons between 400 and 700 . So in the area of the church and the barracks building 234 graves and another 1000 in the area of the vineyards were located. The excavation of the Institute for Prehistory and Protohistory of the University of Innsbruck in 1976 brought 59 graves close to each other and facing east-west to light. Some of the dead were buried on death boards, lying on their backs. 21 graves contained finds such as items of equipment that the dead wore on their bodies or clothing. The lack of food and drink could mean that the buried belonged to a Christian religious community.
- The graves of men and women differed mainly in their grave goods . While the men mostly found large belt components, iron knives and entire sets of bronze and iron as well as iron bracelets, the women were mostly given pieces of jewelry. These included necklaces made of colored glass beads, earrings, belt buckles and bracelets made of silver or bronze. The majority of the buried are likely to be of Romanesque origin, with some pieces of jewelry found being of Bavarian origin.
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Germanic graves :
- From 600 on, Bavarian graves can also be made out on Säben. This is proven by typical features such as the addition of the entire costume , the entire armament and a multi-part belt attachment. In addition, jewelry items that were clearly of Bavarian origin were found in the graves of the upper class at the time. Since no further graves were found from the period from 700 onwards, one can assume that there were already enough private churches with cemeteries from this time, so that Säben became uninteresting as a burial site.
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Holy Cross Church :
- Around 600, the Holy Cross Church was built at the upper end of the Säbener Berg with the associated settlement, which was inhabited exclusively by the clergy . The almost square (about 13 × 13 meters) Holy Cross Church, designed as a double church, housed a brick tomb in the atrium of the northern part, which was probably that of Bishop Ingenuin . The south church had a porch built in the east with a baptismal font as well as a vestibule, a staircase and a walled barrier in the altar area. The discovery of a box-shaped reliquary container can be viewed as particularly valuable. It was originally walled in in the baroque high altar and is believed to have come from the church in the vineyard.
Säben Monastery
In 1686 a women's monastery "Zum Heiligen Kreuz" was founded on the Säbener Berg. The Benedictine monastery of Säben is now a member of the Beuron congregation .
literature
- Volker Bierbrauer , Hans Nothdurfter: The excavations in the late antique-early medieval episcopal seat of Sabiona-Säben . In: Der Schlern , Vol. 62, 1988, pp. 243-300.
- Volker Bierbrauer, Hans Nothdurfter: The excavations in the late antique-early medieval bishopric Sabiona-Säben in South Tyrol. Early Christian church and burial ground. 3 parts. Verlag CH Beck, Munich 2015. ISBN 978-3-406-10762-7 .
- Martin Bitschnau : Sawing . In: Oswald Trapp (ed.), Tiroler Burgenbuch. IV. Volume: Eisacktal . Publishing company Athesia, Bozen 1977, pp. 114–155.
- Reimo Lunz: Archaeological forays through South Tyrol . Volume 1, Athesia, Bozen 2005, ISBN 88-8266-258-6
- Sybille-Karin Moser, Marcellina Pustet, Volker Bierbrauer, Hans Nothdurfter, Josef Gelmi , Anja Rainer: Säben . Tappeiner Verlag, Bolzano 1992
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Josef Gelmi : Church history of Tyrol. Innsbruck 1986, ISBN 3-7022-1599-9 , p. 10ff
