Tourist News: open shops and open heritage
What began in 1984 with the initiative Journées Portes ouvertes monuments historiques of the French culture minister, Jack Lang was adopted by the Council of Europe, who then launched the European Heritage Days in 1991. Two years later the German Foundation for Memorial Conservation established the Open Heritage Day in Germany. Since 1999 the Open Heritage Day has been under a guiding theme each year. This year the 14th of September will be totally dedicated to archaeology. The year’s theme is: Uncovering the past – archaeology and building research. However, the Regensburg program, which wants to give insight into buildings and historical sites that are usually hard to access in special guided tours, will also include the city´s annual theme for 2008, which is Water and Wine this year.
Open Heritage Sites
Usually, archaeology deals with excavations and believe us, this topic gives a lot to discover in Regensburg. The cultural layers which give information about the life of our ancestors and sometimes reach way back to Roman times are many meters thick in the city. And records of Roman times surely dominate the excavation discoveries. For example, you can very well see, how deep the walls of the encampment of the Roman Legion is buried in the cultural rubble, at the construction site of the Dachauplatz car park. There the eastern boundaries of the camp can be found.
But it is not only Roman archaeological excavations that come to light in Regensburg. A few years ago, during the course of the construction of a city housing project in Minoritenstraße street, historic graves which reach back to Celtic times where discovered. Estimated age of the discovery: 2400. And also outside the historic part of Regensburg’s city archaeologists dig and scratch. In the city district Kumpfmühl for example, graves of the linear pottery culture were discovered. Skeletons, a stone axe, a shell necklace from the Black Sea and a smoothened pearl were found. They were identified to be grave offerings from the year 5000 AD.
Also the city district of Burgweinting is a never ending discovery field for archaeologists. The community was incorporated in the city of Regensburg in 1976. Extensive excavations have been taken place there the last years. Thanks to the project Entente Florale an educational trail with stops was erected there: It is a beautiful day trip into the green parts of Regensburg with its starting point in the alley of Dr. Martin Lutherstreet. In Burgweinting you can also find the former villa rustica- or precisely speaking, its silhouette and the foundation walls of the building whose outline has been stressed with plants. And we want to give you one last recommendation: it is located quite close to the Roman villa rustica. This is an authentic house in the style of old Bavarian tribes. It has been erected with historic working techniques.
Another sensational Regensburg digging trove was the excavations of 624 golden guilder coins which were uncovered at Neupfarrplatz Square. During the reconstruction of the plaza the deeply buried relicts of the Jewish Ghetto, which had been destroyed in 1519, were discovered and these golden coins had been hidden in the cellar ground throughout the centuries. You may visit this excavation site which today is known as document Neupfarrplatz. The founding stones of the former synagogue were retraced by Dani Karavan in pure and white concrete blocks. Thus a city meeting area in the vision of this internationally renown Israeli artist, Karavan was created. Have a look at its official programme at the tourist information.
Open Shops on Sunday
The concrete blocks of the Misrach are often used by ice cream savouring spectators to have a seat for a break and this is the opportunity for us to cut the line to our next theme: The Open Sunday.
Regensburg is also called the most northern city of Italy and the special atmosphere in the city can best be felt strolling around the old city’s shops, cafes and restaurants. The opening hours of German shops are regulated by law. Although church and labour unions seldom have the same opinion, they find common grounds here in Bavaria regarding the protection of labour free Sundays.
Even giving your car a long needed wash on a Sunday can cause great disturbance in catholic Bavaria. Shops are usually closed then. Only on special occasions exceptions are made. One is the open Sunday which is on the 14th of September this year. This trading Sunday is at the same time the big final of the marketing campaign Crazy for Regensburg. The project put to life by the Advertising Union of Regensburg was launched by Regensburg’s City Marketing Association and runs altogether for 13 weeks.
Most businesses in the old city and the big shopping malls like the DEZ Mall and the Arcaden Mall as well as superstores like Ikea, Hiendl and Media Market open their doors for visitors and customers on this Open Sunday.
More information at:
www.regensburg.de
www.coe.int
www.tag-des-offenen-denkmals.de (german)
www.heiss-auf-regensburg.de (german)
10.09.08 - michael kroll