Andautonia – A Roman City That Predated Zagreb
The city of Andautonia, located on the southern bank of the Sava River in Ščitarjevo, ten kilometers southeast of Zagreb, was a Roman city that predated the capital.
Archaeological Park Andautonia was opened to the public in 1994 in Ščitarjevo near Velika Gorica. The Archaeological Museum in Zagreb is responsible for maintaining it.
Andautonia was strategically built on the route of the Roman road Siscia – Petovio (Sisak – Ptuj). It was a municipium in the shape of an irregular hexagon with a high legal status, and for 400 years it was also the administrative, cultural, and religious center of the Zagreb part of Posavina.
In the city existed a thermal complex with a water supply, sewage, and a room heating system. Since 1981, excavations have uncovered various artifacts including plates, jugs, tools, dishes, coins from emperors Titus to Vales, and remnants of a road and necropolis.
The city is rarely mentioned in ancient sources, and its history is reconstructed using archaeological finds. During the first century and following 400 years, Andautonia had an independent administration. This information can be found on epigraphic monuments mentioning Andautonia as Municipium and Respublica Andautoniensium.
The city of Andautonia was about one kilometer long from north to south and 400 meters wide from east to west. Its administrative area covered the same area as today’s Zagreb plain. The borders were mostly determined by natural features such as Medvednica in the north, Vukomerički gorice in the south, the Zelina river in the east, and the slopes of the Samoborski Hills (the northeast part of Žumberak Mountains) in the west.
Andautonia marked the beginning of urbanization in Pannonia, which lasted until the end of the 4th century. No significant urbanization occurred until the second half of the 20th century.
The Zagreb Archaeological Museum hosts annual events featuring exhibitions and programs focused on Andautonia, a Roman city.
With its protection and promotion plans in place, the Andautonia Archaeological Park has the potential to become a key destination for cultural and tourist activities in Zagreb.
Location
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is situated on the slopes of Medvednica mountain, in the Carpathian Basin, and on the banks of the Sava river. Zagreb has a rich and diverse history, culture, and architecture that reflect its long and turbulent past.
ExploreAncient Rome
Romans subdued the Greek colonial cities in the 3rd century BC. They imposed an organization based on a military-economical system. Furthermore, the Romans subdued the Illyrians in the first century BC and organized the entire coastal territory by transforming the citadels into urban cities. After that, the history of these parts is the history of the Illyrian provinces of the Roman Empire. Numerous rustic villas, and new urban settlements (the most impressive are Verige in Brijuni, Pula, and Trogir – formerly Tragurion) demonstrate the high level of Roman urbanization. There were at least thirty urban cities in Istria, Liburnia and Dalmatia with Roman citizenship (civitas). The best-preserved networks of Roman streets (decumanus/cardo) are those in Epetion (Poreč) and Jader (Zadar). The most perfectly preserved Roman monuments are in Pola (Pula); founded in the first century dedicated to Julius Caesar. It is full of classical Roman art such as: stone walls, two city gates, two temples on the Forum, and remains of two theaters, as well as the Arch from the year 30 AD, and the temple of Augustus built in the years 2 to 14 AD, and finally the Fluvian Amphitheater (so called – Arena) from the 2nd century. In the 3rd century AD, the city of Salona became the largest (it had 40,000 inhabitants) and most important city of Dalmatia. Near the city emperor Diocletian, born in Salona, built Diocletian’s Palace around the year 300 AD, which is the largest and most important monument of late antique architecture in the world. On its pathways, cellars, domes, mausoleums, arcades and courtyards we can trace numerous different art influences from the entire Empire. In the 4th century, Salona became the center of Christianity for the entire western Balkans. It had numerous basilicas and necropolises, and even two saints: Domnius (Duje) and Anastasius (Stošija).
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