Avenches

Under the Roman High Empire, Aventicum was the capital of the Gallo-Roman civitas of the Helvetii, first attached to the province of Gallia Belgica and, from the end of the 1st century, to Germania Superior. It then counted more than 20,000 inhabitants. Its amphitheatre, well preserved today, still hosts performances; of the Roman wall, which had 73 watchtowers, only one remains fully standing, the Tornallaz. The Roman museum holds a collection of Gallo-Roman antiquities, including the copy of the gold bust of Marcus Aurelius, and excavations have uncovered the remains of a hydraulic organ in a wealthy Roman house.

The town was devastated by the Alamanni in 258. It nonetheless remained an episcopal see: Marius of Avenches, known as Saint Marius, held it in the 6th century, though historians consider he may have resided elsewhere, at Vindonissa or Lausanne, where the see may have been transferred toward the end of his tenure.

The present town hall, rebuilt in 1753 by the Bernese architect Nicolas Hebler, has an arcaded projecting bay topped by a pediment carved by Johann Friedrich Funk I. The commune merged with Donatyre on 1 July 2006, then with Oleyres on 1 July 2011; it counted 4,129 inhabitants on 31 December 2016. Since 2017, Avenches has belonged to the association Switzerland's Most Beautiful Villages.

Avenches is also a horse town: the national stud, founded in 1899 beside the National Equestrian Institute of Avenches (IENA), keeps stallions of the Swiss Warmblood and Franches-Montagnes breeds; the IENA, opened in 1999, hosts the Swiss Equidays every year.

Why this place is remarkable

What sets Avenches apart is the double life of the same site: capital of a Roman city of more than 20,000 people, whose Tornallaz — the sole survivor of 73 watchtowers — and amphitheatre still carry performances; a horse town, where the 1899 national stud and the 1999 IENA stand a few steps from the ancient remains.

History and origin

Aventicum became capital of the civitas of the Helvetii under Augustus, first in the province of Gallia Belgica and, from the end of the 1st century, in Germania Superior, on the limes facing the Germanic peoples across the Rhine. The Alamanni devastated it in 258. An episcopal see is attested there in the 6th century with Marius of Avenches, before a possible transfer to Lausanne considered by historians.