Avenches

On 19 April 1939, unemployed workers from Lausanne discovered a golden bust buried in a drain beneath the Cigognier sanctuary in Avenches. The bust measures 33.5 cm high, weighs 1.59 kg of 24-carat gold, and is one of only six known golden busts from the Roman Imperial period. It was initially identified as Emperor Marcus Aurelius at a 1939 congress in Berlin, though scholars have since debated whether it depicts Emperor Julian or Tetricus I. Around 275 AD, Alemanni raiders pillaged Aventicum, the former capital of Roman Helvetia.

The Roman amphitheatre of Avenches was built in two stages in the 2nd century AD: first around 130 AD with a capacity of 9,000, then expanded around 165 AD to hold 16,000 spectators in 31 rows. It ceased to be used in the 4th century and served as a stone quarry for centuries. Today it hosts the Rock Oz'Arenes festival in August and the Avenches Tattoo military music festival in September.

Avenches is the only nesting site for white storks in French-speaking Switzerland. The Cigognier column had a documented stork nest as early as 1642. The name 'Cigognier' comes from the French 'cigogne' meaning stork. In 1978, the nest was removed during restoration. Today nearly 30 pairs return each year to the Swiss National Stud Farm, nesting on specially constructed platforms.

At its peak in the 2nd century AD, Aventicum housed nearly 20,000 inhabitants -- a population modern Avenches (approximately 4,500) has never matched. The city was encircled by a monumental wall 5.5 km long with 73 towers and 4 gates. The Tornallaz tower is the best-preserved of the 73 towers, later repurposed as a medieval watchtower.

Bishop Marius of Avenches (532-596) was a chronicler, goldsmith, and scholar venerated as a saint. In 585 AD, he transferred the episcopal see from declining Aventicum to Lausanne, marking the symbolic end of the ancient city's importance. After Alemanni incursions around 275 AD, Aventicum never recovered.

The Swiss National Stud Farm in Avenches was established in 1899, with the first horses arriving in 1901. The Franches-Montagnes (Freiberger) is the only typically Swiss horse breed. Avenches is known as the 'capitale du cheval' in Switzerland. In 1997, part was privatised as the Institut equestre national Avenches (IENA).

Emperor Vespasian elevated Aventicum to the rank of colonia around 73-74 AD. His father Titus Flavius Sabinus had worked as a banker in Aventicum and died there in 69 AD. Under Vespasian's patronage, the city grew to nearly 20,000 inhabitants with a forum, thermal baths, theatre, amphitheatre, multiple temples, and six aqueducts.

The Roman Museum of Avenches, opened in 1838, is one of the oldest archaeological museums in Switzerland. It is housed in a 12th-century fortified tower on the amphitheatre's eastern entrance. Among its exhibits is a mysterious dodecahedron -- a hollow bronze twelve-sided object whose purpose remains completely unknown. The association Pro Aventico, founded in 1884-1885, has driven systematic excavation ever since.