Carnuntum, Petronell-Carnuntum, Austria

Carnuntum was a Roman Legionary Fortress and also headquarters of the Pannonian fleet from 50 AD. After the 1st century it was capital of the Pannonia Superior province. It also became a large city of 50,000 inhabitants. In Roman times Carnuntum had a history as a major trading centre for amber, brought from the north to traders who sold it in Italy; the main arm of the Amber Road crossed the Danube at Carnuntum. Its impressive remains are situated on the Danube in Lower Austria in the Carnuntum Archaeological Park extending over an area of 10 km² near today's villages of Petronell-Carnuntum and Bad Deutsch-Altenburg.

The remains of the civilian city extend around the village Petronell-Carnuntum. There are several places to see in the city: Roman city quarter in the open-air museum, palace ruins, amphitheatre, and Heidentor.

Some way outside the city was a large amphitheatre, which had room for about 15,000 spectators. A plate with an inscription found at the site claims that this building was the 4th largest amphitheatre in the whole Roman Empire.

Between 354 AD and 361 AD, Heidentor, a huge triumphal monument was erected next to the camp and city. Contemporary reports suggest that Emperor Constantius II had it built to commemorate his victories. When the remains of Carnuntum disappeared after the Migration Period the monument remained as an isolated building in a natural landscape and led Medieval people to believe it was the tomb of a pagan giant. Hence, they called it Heidentor (pagan gate).

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Katharina Biber (3 years ago)
Roman Town in Carnuntum It is the most important and most extensively researched ancient excavation site in Austria. Three completely reconstructed, fully furnished buildings with Roman underfloor heating, magnificent murals and functional kitchens bring ancient living worlds into the present. In the Museum Carnuntinum, selected treasures of the collection of more than two million finds document the culture of the former inhabitants. Opening Hours: 18 March to 18 November: daily from 9 am - 5 pm

Alan (3 years ago)
OMG. 40,000 residents in 311. Marcus Aurelius. Diocletian. The division of the Roman empire. Reconstructed with ancient techniques. Beautiful.

Kevin Franklin (3 years ago)
Loved it. Very very interesting and well done with both the museums and living history part. Not to mention the ongoing archaeological digs that you can view. Bus times were really spread out so highly recommend you have a bike or car to be able to view everything. It is huge. Some roads connecting the sites don’t have sidewalks so car may be best.

Mino Bathory (3 years ago)
Great museum where you can see how Romans lived in this area. You can visit old recreated houses and there is a lot of things to do. Also old Roman amphitheatre is close. During the summer time there are som Roman festivals and you can see how it was in Romans age. It's close to Vienna or Bratislava.

Carolyn Shannon (3 years ago)
Having seen the typical roman ruins over Europe this is the place that puts all those ruins into perspective. They have built, using roman methods and materials, replicas of what once stood on this spot. It is incredible to see and really put other ruins into perspective. It looks like the roman residents just stepped out somewhere leaving their things behind.

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Lednice Castle

The first historical record of Lednice locality dates from 1222. At that time there stood a Gothic fort with courtyard, which was lent by Czech King Václav I to Austrian nobleman Sigfried Sirotek in 1249.

At the end of the 13th century the Liechtensteins, originally from Styria, became holders of all of Lednice and of nearby Mikulov. They gradually acquired land on both sides of the Moravian-Austrian border. Members of the family most often found fame in military service, during the Renaissance they expanded their estates through economic activity. From the middle of the 15th century members of the family occupied the highest offices in the land. However, the family’s position in Moravia really changed under the brothers Karel, Maximilian, and Gundakar of Liechtenstein. Through marriage Karel and Maximilian acquired the great wealth of the old Moravian dynasty of the Černohorskýs of Boskovice. At that time the brothers, like their father and grandfather, were Lutheran, but they soon converted to Catholicism, thus preparing the ground for their rise in politics. Particularly Karel, who served at the court of Emperor Rudolf II, became hetman of Moravia in 1608, and was later raised to princely status by King Matyas II and awarded the Duchy of Opava.

During the revolt of the Czech nobility he stood on the side of the Habsburgs, and took part in the Battle of White Mountain. After the uprising was defeated in 1620 he systematically acquired property confiscated from some of the rebels, and the Liechtensteins became the wealthiest family in Moravia, rising in status above the Žerotíns. Their enormous land holdings brought them great profits, and eventually allowed them to carry out their grandious building projects here in Lednice.

In the 16th century it was probably Hartmann II of Liechtenstein who had the old medieval water castle torn down and replaced with a Renaissance chateau. At the end of the 17th century the chateau was torn down and a Baroque palace was built, with an extensive formal garden, and a massive riding hall designed by Johann Bernard Fischer von Erlach that still stands in almost unaltered form.

In the mid-18th century the chateau was again renovated, and in 1815 its front tracts that had been part of the Baroque chateau were removed.

The chateau as it looks today dates from 1846-1858, when Prince Alois II decided that Vienna was not suitable for entertaining in the summer, and had Lednice rebuilt into a summer palace in the spirit of English Gothic. The hall on the ground floor would serve to entertain the European aristocracy at sumptuous banquets, and was furnished with carved wood ceilings, wooden panelling, and select furniture, surpassing anything of its kind in Europe.

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