Exploring the Roman Ruins of Carnuntum, Austria

Many visitors are at least a little familiar with Austria’s imperial history, especially once they’ve seen all the hallmarks of that age in Vienna or Salzburg. Few though realise that the history of Austria stretches way before that era, even as far back as the ancient Romans. If learning a little about that slice of Austrian history interests you, there’s no better place to visit than the Roman ruins of Carnuntum.

Situated out near the border between Vienna and Bratislava, the ancient Roman city of Carnuntum was once even larger than Vienna. Also known as Römerstadt Carnuntum, this collection of Roman sites is sprinkled throughout the modern town of Petronell-Carnuntum.

Just a short trip from Vienna, seeing Carnuntum has to be one of the easiest day trips from the city. It’s a nice change of pace from the rest of Vienna’s sights and honestly a bit unexpected. I mean, I know there are so many great Roman ruins in Europe but I’d never given much thought to ones in Austria. After visiting Carnuntum, that’s changed.

History of Carnuntum

A big part of visiting any ancient site like Carnuntum is learning the history of the place. If you’d like to learn a little before you visit, here’s a brief overview. Before the arrival of the Romans, the region was settled by various Celtic tribes.

It wasn’t until 35 BC that a Roman campaign was ordered here by Emperor Augustus. The first Roman fortification was built in 6 AD and for the next 400 years had their settlement of Carnuntum here in the Pannonia region.

Carnuntum was important both as a vital frontier fortification during its time, but also as a trading post. With its fleet and legions stationed there, Carnuntum was quite critical to the conflict with the Germanic tribes beyond the empire’s borders.

At its peak circa 200 AD, the city had a population of around 50,000 people. With the fall of the Roman Empire, that all came crashing down since it was right on the front line.

Roman City Quarter

The core part of a visit to Carnuntum is the Roman City Quarter, a combination of indoor and open-air museums. After walking through a small introductory exhibit you walk through into the main part of the Roman City Quarter.

This is only a corner of the former Roman city and yet there’s plenty there for you to see. First, you can walk through open-air sections of the site, where low rebuilt walls show you the outlines of Roman houses.

After that though comes something I haven’t seen before at a Roman site. At Carnuntum they’ve recreated 4 buildings on their original spots to show visitors what Roman life was like.

The houses reflect Roman life during the 4th century AD, with many aspects of the homes replicated using traditional methods. All of this comes together to create a fascinating experience as you walk from room to room.

Probably the centrepiece of the restored houses is the Villa Urbana. This high society mansion has had some rooms restored, but sadly little information has been unearthed regarding its owner. Still, they were able to recreate wall decorations based on surviving examples.

The other interesting restored building was the Forum Public Baths, or thermae, as they were known by the Romans. While I’ve seen ruins of Roman baths before, I think this was the first time I saw someone attempt to rebuild them. It makes it easier to picture Roman life when you can see it all in front of you.

Archaeological Museum Carnuntinum

Having seen the city quarter, the next stop on your Carnuntum visit is the Archaeological Museum Carnuntinum in town. This interesting building was created for the museum, which was opened in 1904 by none other than Emperor Francis Joseph himself. The museum acts as the treasury for the Carnuntum archaeological site and is full of all sorts of artifacts.

Various items have been uncovered from the different Roman sites and are all on display here, including ceramics like pots and urns, as well as armour, figurines, trinkets, statues and busts. One of the main items on display here is one of the few surviving cornu, an ancient military instrument.

Military Amphitheatre

Our last stop while out exploring Carnuntum was to a field where the ruins of the Military Amphitheatre lie. With a temporary grandstand by them, the ring of walls and the gentle slope leading away from them give you a clear idea of what once stood here. While a wooden amphitheatre predated it, the stone arena was constructed in the mid-to-late 1st century AD.

Used by the Roman military, the amphitheatre hosted gladiator combats, parades and training drills. Even still, it probably could hold as many as 8,000 spectators. By the ruins, you’ll see a small museum that details the different types of gladiatorial, from their fighting style to their armour and the types they would fight against in combat.

Other Carnuntum Ruins

What I’ve described above are just the main ruins that we had time to visit during our day in Carnuntum. The thing is, that’s not all the ruins of Carnuntum. Around the greater area of Carnuntum are several other smaller ruins, often out in fields but still accessible.

For one there’s the Civilian City’s Amphitheatre, built outside the Roman city walls and a civilian counterpart to the older military one described earlier. Not far away you’ll find a practice arena for gladiators that was reconstructed in the last few years, as well as an ancient monumental gate, the Heidentor.

Visiting Carnuntum, Austria

You’ll need an entrance ticket when visiting the sites of Carnuntum which costs 13€ for adults. Tickets can be bought onsite or you can get them online, and they provide access to the ruins and the Carnuntinum Museum.

More info on opening times etc can be found on the Carnuntum website.

As for getting to Carnuntum from Vienna, you have several options open to you. The best is certainly by car as you can drive between each of the different ruins and museums without hassle.

However, some public transport options are also open to you, with the S7 train and various regional trains running from Wien Mitte station. It’s important to understand that you need to walk or drive to get from one site to the next.

Related Articles

Want more Roman ruins in Europe to visit? Then take a look at these other Europe blog posts that feature archaeological sites you won’t want to miss:

• Remarkable Roman Ruins Outside Italy
• The Extraordinary Mosaics of Villa Romana del Casale, Sicily
• Tongeren Travel Guide: Explore Belgium’s Ancient Roman History
• How to Purposefully Spend a Day in Cartagena, Spain
• A Stunning Day Trip to Pont du Gard, France

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