Walter Drack

Walter Drack (born August 19, 1917 in Obersiggenthal ; † May 7, 2000 in Zurich ) was a Swiss archaeologist and monument conservator .

Live and act

From 1936 Walter Drack studied prehistory , philosophy, history and art history in Innsbruck, Zurich and Basel. 1943–1945 he was an assistant at the Institute for Pre- and Protohistory at the University of Basel , and in 1945 he received his doctorate.

From 1945 to 1949 he made the first inventory of Roman wall paintings in Switzerland. Study trips to Italy, France, England and Austria followed, and from 1946 he was in charge of various excavations throughout Switzerland, and in 1953 he received a prize from the Swiss National Fund for the promotion of scientific research. From 1949 to 1956 he was also the curator of the Bührle art collection in Zurich. In 1957 he worked for the Lucerne Art Guild, and in the same year he was appointed to Zurich as the first cantonal conservationist.

He held this position from 1958 in half-time, from 1960 until retirement in 1982 in full-time. His inventory of culturally and historically significant objects in the canton of Zurich led to a comprehensive inventory of cultural assets. Again and again he succeeded in saving buildings from demolition, which today are a permanent part of Zurich's cultural assets. His concern to open up archaeological sites was always linked to the endeavor to make them accessible to the public.

From 1968 to 1995 Drack was a member of the Federal Commission for Monument Preservation , from 1972 a member of the Board of Trustees at the Institute for Monument Preservation at ETH Zurich , the Fondation Pro Aventico and the Fondation Pro Octoduro . In 1977 he became an honorary member of Pro Vindonissa and the Swiss Society for Prehistory and Protohistory . In 1989 he received the STEO Prize from the Zurich Government Council .

With his retirement in 1982, Drack was able to intensify his scientific work and its publications, such as those on the Üetliberg , the late Roman border weir on the Upper Rhine or his meticulous refutations of myths such as those about the history of the horseshoe or that of the tap . They all show how Drack understood archeology: as part of cultural history, which can contribute to a more precise picture of the past from the often inconspicuous material remains.

Fonts (selection)

• The Helvetian terra sigillata imitation of the 1st century AD (= writings of the Institute for Pre- and Protohistory of Switzerland. 2, ZDB -ID 1361698-5 ). Institute for Prehistory and Protohistory in Switzerland, Basel 1945 (at the same time: Basel, university, dissertation, 1945).
• The Roman pottery finds from Baden-Aquae Helveticae (= writings of the Institute for Pre- and Protohistory of Switzerland. 6). Institute for Prehistory and Protohistory in Switzerland, Basel 1949.
• The Roman wall painting of Switzerland (= monographs on the prehistory and early history of Switzerland. 8, ISSN  1012-6295 ). Birkhäuser, Basel 1950.
• Older Iron Age of Switzerland. Birkhäuser, Basel 1958–1964;
  • 1: Canton of Bern (= material booklets on the prehistory and early history of Switzerland. 1, ZDB -ID 1137194-8 ). Part 1. 1958;
  • 2: Canton Bern (= material booklets on the prehistory and early history of Switzerland. 2). Part 2. 1959;
  • 3: Canton of Bern (= material booklets on the prehistory and early history of Switzerland. 3). Part 3. 1960;
  • 4: Western Switzerland. Cantons of Friborg, Geneva, Neuchâtel, Vaud and Valais (= material booklets on the prehistory and early history of Switzerland. 4). 1964.
• with Karl Schib : Prehistory, Roman times and the Middle Ages (= Illustrated History of Switzerland. Vol. 1). Benziger, Einsiedeln et al. 1958.
• The Roman estate near Seeb . Provisional guide. Directorate of Public Buildings of the Canton of Zurich, Zurich 1964.
• Grüningen (= Swiss Art Guide. 62, ISSN  2235-0632 ). Society for Swiss Art History, Bern 1964.
• Eglisau (= Swiss art guide. 75). Society for Swiss Art History, Bern 1967.
• The Roman manor near Seeb (= Archaeological Guide of Switzerland. 1, ZDB -ID 2293187-9 ). Historical Museum, Bern 1969.
• with Hans Rutishauser: The Lazariterkirche Gfenn near Dübendorf (= Swiss art guide. 125). Society for Swiss Art History, Basel 1973.
• with Hans Martin Gubler: Elgg (= Swiss Art Guide. 141). Society for Swiss Art History, Bern 1974.
• with Thea Vignau-Wilberg: Chapel Uhwiesen ZH (= Swiss Art Guide. 170). Society for Swiss Art History, Basel 1974.
• as editor et al .: Think! Preservation of monuments in the canton of Zurich shown on 100 examples of archaeological, art and cultural historical importance as well as the preservation of the site and heritage - for the European Year for Preservation and Heritage Protection 1975. Lehrmittelverlag des Kantons Zürich, Zürich 1975.
• as editor: Settlement and architectural monuments in the canton of Zurich. A cultural and historical guide. Good, Stäfa 1975.
• The Roman cryptoporticus of Buchs, ZH its wall painting (= Archaeological Guide of Switzerland. 7). Swiss Society for Prehistory and Protohistory, Basel 1976.
• with Hugo Schneider: The Üetliberg. The archaeological monuments (= Archaeological Guide of Switzerland. 10). Swiss Society for Prehistory and Protohistory, Zurich 1977.
• with Thea Vignau-Wilberg: Chapels Breite (Nürensdorf) and Rikon (Illnau-Effretikon) (= Swiss Art Guide. 226). Society for Swiss Art History, Basel 1977.
• The late Roman border weir on the Upper Rhine (= Archaeological Guide of Switzerland. 13). Swiss Society for Prehistory and Protohistory, Basel 1980.
• Glanzenberg. Castle and city. Report on the uncovering and securing work of 1975 and 1980/81. Local council of Unterengstringen, Unterengstringen 1983.
• with Karl Keller, Albert Knoepfli : The Reformed Church of St. Arbogast in Oberwinterthur (= Swiss Art Guide. 354). Society for Swiss Art History, Bern 1984, ISBN 3-85782-354-2 .
• The archaeological investigations on the Üetliberg in 1979–1983. An accountability report. Foundation for exploring the Üetliberg, Zurich 1985.
• Roman wall painting. With the collaboration of Oskar Emmenegger, Jürg Ewald, Rudolf Fellmann, Michael Fuchs and Denis Weidmann. Raggi, Feldmeilen 1986, (catalog for the exhibition shown in Liestal, Bregenz, Chur and Freiburg).
• with Frank R. Zwalen, Paul Guyer, Hugo Schneider: The Üetliberg. Orell Füssli, Zurich et al. 1986, ISBN 3-280-01656-8 .
• The archaeological investigations on the Üetliberg in 1979–1984. An accountability report. Foundation for exploring the Üetliberg, Zurich 1988.
• with Rudolf Fellmann : The Romans in Switzerland. Theiss et al., Stuttgart et al. 1988, ISBN 3-8062-0420-9 .
• The Roman estate near Seeb, Gem. Winkel. Excavations 1958–1969 (= reports of the Zurich Monument Preservation. Monographs. 8, ZDB -ID 806911-6 ). Orell Füssli, Zurich 1990, ISBN 3-280-02013-1 .
• Horseshoes - discovered in, on and above the Roman road in Oberwinterthur (Vitudurum). In: Bavarian history sheets. 55, 1990, ISSN  0341-3918 , pp. 191-239.
• with Rudolf Fellmann: Switzerland in Roman times. Guide to the monuments. Artemis & Winkler, Zurich et al. 1991, ISBN 3-7608-1045-4 .
• with Alfred Lüthi: Obersiggenthal. History of the community. Baden-Verlag, Baden (Switzerland) 1994, ISBN 3-85545-085-4 .
• On the history of the tap. The Roman water fittings and medieval taps from Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein (= communications from the Antiquarian Society in Zurich. 64). Rohr, Zurich 1997, ISBN 3-85865-513-9 .
• with Andreas Pflegehard and Christian Renfer: A monument preservation under construction. 1958-1998. On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the cantonal preservation of monuments in Zurich 1958–1998 (= Small writings on the preservation of monuments in Zurich. 1). Building Directorate Canton Zurich - Building Department for Monument Preservation, Zurich et al. 1999, ISBN 3-905647-90-7 .

Literature (selection)

• Rudolf Fellmann: In memory of Walter Drack. In: Yearbook of the Swiss Society for Prehistory and Protohistory. 85, 2002, pp. 370-371.
• gd .: Various excavations were under his direction. Died: Dr. phil. Walter Drack, co-author of the history of the Obersiggenthal community and honorary member of the «Pro Vindonissa». In: Aargauer Zeitung , May 18, 2000.
• Hanspeter Rebsamen: In memory of Walter Drack. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung, May 10, 2000.
• rib .: Preserve and develop. Walter Drack is eighty . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung , August 19, 1997.
• Karl Stüber, Andreas Zürcher (ed.): Festschrift Walter Drack on his 60th birthday. Contributions to archeology and monument preservation. Gut, Zurich 1977, (therein p. 307-310 list of publications by Walter Drack).
• Andreas Zürcher: On the resignation of Dr. Walter Drack. In: Zurich Monument Preservation. 1986, pp. 1-4.
• Andreas Zürcher: In memory of Walter Drack (1917–2000). In: Archeology in the Canton of Zurich. 16, 1999/2000, ZDB -ID 1406195-8 , p. 317.
• Andreas Zürcher: Drack, Walter. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .

Web links

• Literature by and about Walter Drack in the catalog of the German National Library