The Roman author Vitruvius wrote over 10 books on architecture. In his works, he emphasized the importance of a theatre for a Roman settlement. The theatre was the most important building after the forum.
A great deal of literature was consulted for the research (including Roman Theatres in the Province). Furthermore, small theatres were searched for in the vicinity of the developer in order to examine them on-site. A small stone theatre was found in Lenzburg.
My intention is to create at least four theatres. One made of wood, as it was common for the Romans in the early days. Then a smaller theatre based on the model in Lenzburg, then a larger theatre based on the one in Avenches, and finally a huge one, the model of which is in Orange (France).
Recherche
The small town of Lenzburg is known for its beautiful castle and rather less for its Roman history. To be fair, Lenzburg was a small vicus, of which not much is visible today.
On the 23rd of September 2019, photographs were taken on-site of the building to subsequently recreate it.
At the motorway exit (very noisy) is the Roman theatre (Google Maps link). It is a very small theatre and you can’t see much else.
A stroke of luck is Ruth Bauer’s diploma thesis at the University of the Arts. Her visualizations help me to reconstruct the theatre in Lenzburg. Even though the theatre was built into a small hill and this is technically impossible to do in the play, I will recreate the theatre as accurately as possible. However, it will be a free-standing theatre. It was extremely difficult to obtain floor plans and measurement details. The information sign on-site provided the only clues. Based on these clues and the visualizations of Ruth Bauer, I then started the reconstruction.
As there are not many visualizations of this theatre (3D visualization in particular), here are some render versions. Please note that the theatre was built into the hillside, but here it is a free-standing model and the arrangement of the columns is not exactly like the original, as the object was optimized for the game and not for a pure 3D visualization.
If you want to use the 3D theatre for a visualization, please contact me. I can render you an image from the perspective you need. You just have to refer that the image is from “the Game Pax Augusta (www.paxaugusta.ch)”. For commercial use, please send a request via e-mail.
The sun sails look a bit rigid on the render images. That’s because this is one of the buildings I designed at the beginning. In the meantime, I have much better modeling skills and was able to incorporate more realistic sun sails. You will be surprised! 🙂
Is it worth a visit?
The information board on-site is rather outdated and the noise of the street doesn’t really help to stay here too long.
But what many people don’t know: There are two “Roman stones” in the immediate vicinity.
| Location | Google Maps Link |
| Worth seeing | Yes |
| What you see | Remains of the wall and information boards |
| Dwell time | 5 minutes, very noisy because of the car road |
| Parking lots | Public, available in the surrounding area [Google Map Link] |
SMALL ROMAN STONE IN LENZBURG
The smaller Roman stone can be found first, depending on the parking situation (Google Maps link). It is a bit off the forest road. But there is a signpost to find it better. The stone probably had the function of a signpost, as it was originally painted.
LARGE ROMAN STONE IN LENZBURG
The large Roman stone is a little further away (Google Maps link). From the Roman Theatre, you have to go under the road and to a fireplace (well signposted).
This Roman Stone is very impressive. Two-thirds of it still are preserved. It too probably had the function of a signpost.
The Roman stones, especially the large one, are very impressive. The area around the stone is also ideal for a picnic. The theatre is not that spectacular. And the street noise is so loud that you just want to leave quickly. If you visit the castle on the same day, then a visit is certainly recommended.
