Villa rustica (Zofingen)

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Classicist protective structures

The Villa rustica von Zofingen (also known colloquially as the “Römerbad”) was a Roman estate in the area of ​​the city of Zofingen in Switzerland . It existed from the middle of the 1st to the 4th century and was the largest manor that has been discovered in the canton of Aargau to this day . In 1826, mosaic floors came to light, whereupon two classicist protective structures were erected to keep them permanently. The mosaics and the protective structures on the Hirschparkweg are a cultural asset of national importance .

history

View of the mosaic floor in the southern protective structure

During the Roman rule there was a small vicus in the area of ​​the old town of Zofingen , which had emerged from a Helvetic village; its Latin name has not been passed down. Due to repeated finds of objects, humanistic scholars of the early modern period wrongly assumed that Zofingen goes back to a Roman city called Tobinium .

In October 1826, clerk Samuel Rudolf Sutermeister dug a pit on his property, around 300 meters south of the old town at the foot of the Heiternhügel. He came across masonry, parts of a mosaic floor and a coin. The following excavations, financed by the city, lasted until the autumn of 1827. The name "Römerbad" prevailed among the population, especially since a mineral-containing spring and clay pipes had also been discovered. The inn opened by Sutermeister nearby, which still exists today, was also given this name. Exaggerated notions that the ruins were the Tobinium thermal baths soon gave way to the more realistic assessment that the remains of an estate had been found.

The mosaic floors were in remarkably good condition. In order to be able to keep them visible, protected from the weather, two classicist protective structures were built in 1830/31 . From 1938 to 1940, renovation work was carried out on the mosaics for the first time. The construction of a kindergarten on a neighboring property led to further exploratory excavations in 1949. In 1958, when a new dye works were built, the former gate to the estate and part of the surrounding wall were found. Between 1973 and 1975 the mosaics were extensively conserved and the protective structures were restored. Since then, the facility has been a listed building. In 1986/87 the Aargau Canton Archeology carried out further excavations in the southern part of the site.

Buildings

Mosaic in the northern protective structure

The two identical protective structures were built on behalf of the city of Zofingen. The Swiss Artists' Society took over the lead. Elements from three different projects were ultimately incorporated into the design by the local master builder Siegmund Hürsch and the master bricklayer Samuel Wullschleger. The two buildings, made of plastered half-timbering, appear compact and have the shape of an ancient prostyle temple, with a gable roof and columned portico .

Various small finds suggest that the Zofinger Gutshof was built around the middle of the 1st century. The main building was around 120 meters long and had three main rooms and several ancillary rooms; there were also separate economic buildings. The manor, along with numerous others in the area, was mainly used to supply the legionary camp in Vindonissa (today Windisch ) with food . Most of the coins found here date from the 3rd century, the last from the reign of Constantine the Great (between 306 and 337). After the plundering of the Alemanni around 260 of the farm may have been only temporarily inhabited until it was finally abandoned the 4th century in the first quarter.

With its axially symmetrical construction, the mansion belonged to the villas with an open pillared hall and projecting parts of the building. The protective structures stand over the central wing of the manor house, which included the living area. In the northern protective structure there is a mosaic with a size of 9.9 by 6.6 m; it is multicolored and shows diamond and floral patterns. The northern protective structure spans three rooms, two of which have mosaics. The first (7.3 × 5.6 m) shows colored floral motifs in the midst of diamonds and hexagons, the second (3 × 3.9 m) is black and white and has a checkerboard pattern.

literature

  • August Bickel: Zofingen from prehistoric times to the Middle Ages . Verlag Sauerländer, Aarau 1992, ISBN 3-906419-09-6 .
  • Martin Hartmann, Hans Weber: The Romans in Aargau . Verlag Sauerländer, Aarau 1985, ISBN 3-7941-2539-8 , p. 213-214 .

Web links

Commons : Villa rustica (Zofingen)  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Bickel: Zofingen from prehistoric times to the Middle Ages. P. 43.
  2. ^ Bickel: Zofingen from prehistoric times to the Middle Ages. Pp. 43-46.
  3. ^ Bickel: Zofingen from prehistoric times to the Middle Ages. Pp. 50-51.
  4. ^ Bickel: Zofingen from prehistoric times to the Middle Ages. Pp. 51-53.
  5. ^ Bickel: Zofingen from prehistoric times to the Middle Ages. Pp. 57-59.
  6. ^ Bickel: Zofingen from prehistoric times to the Middle Ages. Pp. 64-65.

Coordinates: 47 ° 16 '58.6 "  N , 7 ° 56' 59.2"  E ; CH1903:  six hundred thirty-eight thousand six hundred and seventy-one  /  237020