Bavaria’s Roman heritage is to be showcased in a major state exhibition in several cities in five years’ time. On Tuesday, the committee for science and art in the state parliament decided on a corresponding application from the government factions of the CSU and Free Voters. In it they call on the state government to examine the implementation of the exhibition concept under the title “Römerland Bayern”.
“This could be an archaeological state exhibition for all of Bavaria,” said Minister of Art Markus Blume (CSU). A concept must now be developed from the idea. “Half a millennium of Roman rule shaped large parts of today’s Bavaria (especially Old Bavaria and Bavarian Swabia) and left a rich archaeological legacy,” the application says.
The aim of the exhibition is to commemorate the Roman heritage of Bavaria in several places and to make it visible. The state exhibition should primarily use two large exhibition locations, namely Kempten (formerly Campodunum) as the city of the Celts and Romans and Augsburg (formerly Augusta Vindelicum), the capital of the Roman province of Raetia, it is said. At the same time, however, a network should also be established with other sites in the former Roman state of Bavaria, such as Straubing as a town on the Limes Road (Sorviodurum), which played an important role in the conquest of the province of Raetia and in securing the northern border of the Roman Empire.
“Our goal is that the state exhibition “Römerland Bayern” also brings lasting added value for the municipalities involved and for tourism,” said the budget spokesman for the CSU parliamentary group, Josef Zellmeier. The exhibitions and the buildings should be designed in such a way that they could continue to be used permanently in a different form. Presentations of the latest research approaches in archeology and ancient history as well as current social issues are planned. In addition, a rich accompanying tourist program should be created, which should strengthen the former Roman towns in the long term.
The Swabian cities of Kempten and Augsburg recently announced that they would like to present their Roman past together in the future. They now want to have a study carried out in Great Britain for the implementation. Both cities, about 100 kilometers apart, are among the oldest in Germany because they were settled by Romans 2000 years ago. They were of great importance in the Roman province of Raetia. At first Kempten was the center, later Augsburg became the provincial capital.
Important finds from Roman times have been made during excavations in Augsburg in recent years, including a silver treasure. It is repeatedly criticized that the city has not had a large Roman museum for many years, despite its special Roman past. Straubing in Lower Bavaria was an important Roman military base in the Danube region. The city is internationally known for the Roman treasure discovered more than 70 years ago. The Roman parade suits of armor found at that time form the outstanding exhibits of the city’s Gäubodenmuseum.