Villa Otrang

Panoramic view of the Roman Villa Otrang

Roman camp at Villa Otrang

Hollow brick of the warm air heating behind the wall plaster

The Roman villa Otrang is an ancient villa rustica near Fließem in the Eifel district of Bitburg-Prüm in Rhineland-Palatinate . With an area of more than 3,600 square meters, it is one of the largest and best-preserved Roman villa complexes north of the Alps.

Location and structure

Its location in a hilly area about 5 km north of Bitburg , which was formerly known as Atrangskamp or Oterang, gave the Roman villa Otrang its name. Their lands stretched from the old Roman road Trier-Cologne to the east of the Kylltal . The estate had 66 rooms, including an impressive manor house, several baths, a heating system, a temple district and a burial ground. In the immediate vicinity, a courtyard area and smaller farm buildings have been identified, which suggest agricultural use. The Villa Otrang is known nationwide for its magnificent mosaic floors, with which 14 of the 66 rooms were formerly equipped. 4 of these floors have remained almost intact to this day. Particularly impressive are the mosaics of the apsidic hall used as living and dining room, in which hunting scenes with lion, panther, crane and snake are depicted. The hypocaust heating, which distributed the warm air under the floor slabs from the boiler room to the complex's luxurious thermal baths and baths , was also carefully restored .

history

The construction of the Roman estate is dated to the 1st century AD. The building complex included a mansion in the characteristic shape of a risalit villa, which, however, was probably flanked by four risalits from the start. A columned hall with side porches was built on both the front and the rear of the main complex. Along with the increasing prosperity in the region there was a comprehensive expansion of the villa complex in the middle of the 2nd century, to which the construction of the large bath, the enlargement of the southwestern risalit and the creation of two mosaics can be assigned. A second expansion phase is assumed at the beginning of the 3rd century. All other mosaic floors as well as the representative expansion of the west and south fronts originate from it. The two southern risalits experienced a generous expansion and were connected with a long columned hall. To preserve the symmetry, a risalit with a semicircular pavilion was also built to the northwest, creating a new entrance courtyard in front of the existing one. The building complex now had an extension of approx. 379 meters in length and approx. 132 meters in width. Villa Otrang was probably inhabited until the 4th century, after which it was partially destroyed during the Franconian conquest. The rubble served the local population as a quarry for centuries, but has been forgotten over time.

Rediscovery

At the beginning of the 19th century, remnants of the mosaic floor were found during field work, which is why the Prussian government acquired the site and erected temporary protective structures over the remaining mosaics. The Prussian Crown Prince and later King Friedrich Wilhelm IV visited the site in 1838, which presumably meant that renovation measures were carried out and new shelters built in the years to come. Through the archaeological protection and research of the finds, the Villa Otrang became an early example of the conservation of monuments . In 1984 the protective structures themselves were placed under monument protection. Today the Villa Otrang is one of the most important Roman sights of the Eifel and attracts many visitors every year. The museum can be visited from February to November and is a member of the EU project Roads of the Romans . There is also a restaurant on the premises that offers food and drinks in Roman style.

literature

Heinz Cüppers: Roman Villa Otrang . Guide booklet 5. Mainz 1997
Peter Hoffmann, Villa Otrang , guide booklet 5, Edition Burgen, Schlösser, Antiquities Rhineland-Palatinate, Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2004 ISBN 3-7954-1465-2

Sabine Faust: Manor house of the Roman Villa Otrang. In: Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier (ed.): Guide to archaeological monuments of the Trier region. Trier 2008, ISBN 978-3-923319-73-2 ( series of publications of the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier 35 ) p. 106f.

Walter Pippke, Ida Pallhuber: The Eifel . Cologne [1984] 2nd edition 1984. (DuMont Art Travel Guide), p. 300, fig. 100

Web links

Commons : Villa Otrang - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

50.013888888889 6.5463888888889 337Coordinates: 50 ° 0 ′ 50 ″ N , 6 ° 32 ′ 47 ″ E