A partially rebuilt 4th-century Roman city brings the ancient world back to life
Austria’s capital city Vienna is rightfully known for its music, art, architecture, history, museums, cafe culture, and food — not to mention its model public transportation system. But just 20 miles east of the city lies an overlooked destination that’s guaranteed to startle and surprise.
It’s called Carnuntum, a Roman border town that flourished between the first and fourth centuries CE.
Carnuntum was part of a border defense system, called the Limes, that marked Rome’s imperial boundaries. Consisting of walls, ditches, forts, fortresses, watchtowers and civilian settlements, the Limes stretched from Scotland to the Sahara.
Located 520 miles northeast of Rome, Carnuntum began as a frontier outpost in the mid-first century CE. Early in the second century CE, it became capital of the Roman province known as Pannonia Superior, which included portions of modern-day Hungary, Croatia, Austria, Slovenia, and Slovakia. Due in part to its location on the Danube as well as the Amber trail, Carnuntum became a thriving trading center of 50,000 residents — complete with an arena, gladiator school, harbor for the river fleet, and a stationed force of 6,000 legionnaires.
