West Gate (Porta Principalis)

Vindonissa Museum

Roman Garden of Vindonissa

https://www.museumaargau.ch/en/vindonissa-museum/event/roman-garden-of-vindonissa

Price: Included in the museum admission fee 0 Reconstructed Ornamental Garden of the Legion Commander The Roman garden at the Vindonissa Museum is an oasis of tranquility and sensory delight. A colorful array of plants flourishes in the flower beds, while water splashes in the fountains and basins. A colonnade frames the 450-square-meter complex, which is unique in Switzerland in terms of its size. The garden features around 40 plant species for which there is archaeobotanical evidence locally. The design, with its ornate bed borders and water features, is modeled after ancient examples and exudes

Vindonissa Museum

Quiz Tour

https://www.museumaargau.ch/en/vindonissa-museum/event/quiz-tour

Interactive tour for children Suitable for Ages 7 and over Price Included in the museum admission fee Duration 45 minutes Booking Not required 0 Trough the museum with the treasure map Our archaeologist on duty, Walter Scatterbrain, has been dreaming of grand palaces and glittering treasure again. He forgot where he stowed his latest finds from the last excavation. Help him find his objects and fill in the gaps in his diary. An exciting quiz for big and small. Join the quiz tour at the Vindonissa Museum! Help archaeologist Walter Schussel find his artifacts. A thrilling adventure for children aged

Vindonissa Museum

AKTUELL display

https://www.museumaargau.ch/en/vindonissa-museum/event/aktuell-display

Admission: Museum entrance fee Highlights from the Cantonal Archaeology Department The AKTUELL display presents special treasures from the former legionary camp at Vindonissa. A new display is installed by the Cantonal Archaeology Department every year. Themes include current excavations, unusual finds and research results from throughout the canton of Aargau. The vernissage takes place every November.

Vindonissa Museum

Permanent exhibition on Vindonissa

https://www.museumaargau.ch/en/vindonissa-museum/event/permanent-exhibition-on-vindonissa

Admission: Museum entrance fee Discover original objects from excavations! How did the Romans live 2,000 years ago on the territory of present-day Switzerland? What did they eat? What weapons and clothes did they wear? For more than 100 years, archaeologists in the Brugg/Windisch area have been researching the site where the only legionary camp on the territory of present-day Switzerland once stood. Largest collection of Roman writing tablets The Vindonissa Museum shows original objects from these excavations in its permanent exhibition. It presents life and everyday routines in the legionary camp

Hallwyl Castle

Permanent exhibition

https://www.museumaargau.ch/en/hallwyl-castle/event/domestic-life-museum

Permanent exhibition Admission Museum entrance fee Permanent exhibition on the family and construction history Who lived at Hallwyl Castle? When was it built? How did the lords of Hallwyl ensure law and order? And how did the servants live and work? The permanent exhibition in the castle provides an insight into the construction and family history and numerous aspects of the life of the nobility and their subjects. The topics range from agriculture and fishing to medieval medicine and the prevailing religion-based world view. Audiovisual shows, an audio guide, castle models to touch as well as

IndustriekulTour Aabach

IndustriekulTour Aabach – Histoire industrielle virtuelle

https://www.museumaargau.ch/en/industriekultour-aabach

Experience the industrial culture on the Aabach with your smartphone: the IndustriekulTOUR Aabach is the first virtual museum space in the canton of Aargau. The digital offering is available in German. Start an exciting tour along the Aabach in Lenzburg, Wildegg and Niederlenz with your smartphone and experience the industrial history of the canton of Aargau at the original locations. Download the app now App Store (iPhone, iPad und iPod Google Play Store (Android) A cooperative project IndustriekulTOUR Aabach is a cooperation between Museum Aargau, the Museum Burghalde and the Verein Industriekultur

Wildegg Castle

Museum forest

https://www.museumaargau.ch/en/wildegg-castle/event/museum-forest

Museum forest Price Entrance free Location The museum forest is located above the playground near Wildegg Castle. 0 Forest use in the 18th and early 19th centuries The museum forest at Wildegg Castle shows how forests were used in the 18th and early 19th centuries: as a larder, source of wood, grazing land and hunting ground. At the heart of the museum forest is the wood pasture. In early and late summer, goats graze here, just as they did 200 years ago. Guided tours and workshops bring this historical use of the forest to life and shed light on the highly topical issues of biodiversity and

Wettingen Abbey

Parlatorium

https://www.museumaargau.ch/en/wettingen-abbey/event/parlatorium

Discussion Lab Admission Museum entrance fee Registration Not required (recommended for schools) Hundreds of questions in one room Built around 1600, the Parlatorium was one of the few rooms in the abbey where speaking was once permitted. Today, Museum Aargau invites visitors here to engage in conversation about faith, power and knowledge – and poses hundreds of questions on these topics. Choose one of them and embark on a journey of discovery through the Parlatorium: through conversation, play, or via interactive text, image and film installations. The exhibition was developed in collaboration

Wettingen Abbey

Cloister

https://www.museumaargau.ch/en/wettingen-abbey/event/cloister

Permanent exhibition Admission Museum entrance fee 0 A place of meditation with a significant series of stained-glass windows The well-preserved cloister, with its Romanesque and Gothic tracery, evokes the tranquillity that once characterised life within these walls. Small gravestones of monks buried here are set into the flagstone floor. At the heart of the cloister lies the idyllic cloister garden. The cycle of stained-glass windows in the cloister is particularly valuable. Private donors, friendly abbeys and the Swiss cantons have all donated these significant cabinet windows to Wettingen Abbey

Wettingen Abbey

Monks' church

https://www.museumaargau.ch/en/wettingen-abbey/event/monks-church

Permanent exhibition Admission Museum entrance fee 0 Renowned for its richly carved choir stalls The monks' church forms part of the abbey church and was once accessible only to monks and clergy. It is renowned for its richly carved choir stalls: their clean, angular design is in keeping with the Renaissance style. If you look closely, you will discover some surprising motifs – such as a dog playing the flute, or a cat covering its ears. Objects from the abbey's history In the monks' church, Museum Aargau is exhibiting selected items from its collection, supplemented by significant loans from the

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A legionary camp had four camp gates (portae), through which the two main roads led into the camp: the front gate (porta praetoria), the rear gate (porta decumana) and the two side gates (portae principales). The West Gate at Vindonissa was much more elaborately designed than the North and South Gate, featuring two large polygonal side towers. This was due to its position: it was here that the main roads from Gaul, Italy and Germania led into the camp.

The two towers, whose foundation walls still survive, were octagonal in shape and would probably have extended to a height of some 20 metres. Beside the main entrance for carriages there was also a passageway on each side for pedestrians.

Inside the West Gate (porta principalis dextra) began the main road running from west to east (via principalis), one of camp's the two main traffic arteries. This ran to the East Gate (porta principalis sinistra), crossing the main road that went from south to north (via praetoria). The Roman road running from the West Gate passed directly underneath Königsfeld Monastery - built later by the Habsburgs - and also under the start/finish point of the Legionary Path.

Outside the West Gate, the road led on into the Swiss midland region to Aventicum, the capital of the Helvetii, and over Bözberg to Augusta Raurica. The civil settlement was also situated in front of the West Gate: this had developed next to legionary camp over the years and continued to exist after the troops were withdrawn from Vindonissa in 101 AD. The settlement was home to merchants and craftsmen of both local and Roman origin as well as the soldiers' family members. The multi-storey car park at Northwestern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences and Arts (Brugg-Windisch campus) has a kiln showroom where well-preserved pottery kilns and a potter's dwelling can be visited free of charge.

The West Gate can be visited without museum admission.

Roman Garden of Vindonissa

Quiz Tour

AKTUELL display

Permanent exhibition on Vindonissa

Permanent exhibition

IndustriekulTour Aabach – Histoire industrielle virtuelle

Museum forest

Parlatorium

Cloister

Monks' church

Roman Sites

West Gate (Porta Principalis)

The heavily fortified West Gate was the most important at Vindonissa because it linked the camp to the major highways. The civil settlement was situated in front of this gate and was home to craftsmen, merchants and relatives of the legionaries. The West Gate can be visited without museum admission.