Vindobona Totally Explained

Everything about Vindobona totally explained

Vindobona was originally a Celtic settlement, and later a Roman military camp on the site of the modern city of Vienna. Around 15 B.C., the kingdom of Noricum was included in the Roman Empire. Henceforth, the Danube marked the border of the empire, and the Romans built fortifications and settlements on the banks of the Danube.

Early references

The geographer Ptolemy mentions Vindobona in his Geographica. The historian Aurelius Victor recounts that emperor Marcus Aurelius, whose headquarters were here during the Marcomannic Wars, died in Vindobona on the 17th of March 180. Today, there's a Marc-Aurelstraße (English: Marcus Aurelius street) near the Hoher Markt in Vienna. Vindobona was part of the Roman province Pannonia and the regional administrative centre was Carnuntum.
   Vindobona was a military camp with an attached civilian city (Canabae). The existence of a German settlement with a large marketplace on the other bank of the Danube from the second century onwards has been proven.
   The asymmetrical layout of the military camp, which was unusual for the otherwise standardised Roman encampments, is still recognisable in Vienna’s street plan: Graben, Naglergasse, Tiefer Graben, Salzgries, Rabensteig, Rotenturmstrasse. The name “Graben” (English: ditch) is believed to hark back to the defensive ditches of the military camp. It is thought that at least parts of the walls still stood in the Middle Ages, when these streets were laid out, and thus determined their routes. The Berghof was later erected in one corner of the camp.
   Vindobona was provisioned by the surrounding Roman country estates (Villae rusticae).

Roman finds in Vienna

Remains of the Roman military camp have been found at many sites in the centre of Vienna. The centre of the Michaelerplatz has been widely investigated by archaeologists. At this site, traces of a Roman legionary outpost (canabae legionis) and of a crossroad have been found. The centrepiece of the current design of the square is a rectangular opening that evokes the archaeological excavations at the site and shows wall remains that have been preserved from different epochs. Part of a Roman canal system is underneath the fire station am Hof . At the Hoher Markt (near the Vermählungsbrunnen) is an entrance to a display room with Roman foundations that were part of the officers’ quarters.

Further information (in German)

Michaela Kronberger: Siedlungschronologische Forschungen zu den canabae legionis von Vindobona. Die Gräberfelder (Monographien der Stadtarchäologie Wien Band 1). Phoibos Verlag, Wien 2005.

Christine Ranseder e.a., Michaelerplatz. Die archäologischen Ausgrabungen. Wien Archäologisch 1, Wien 2006. ISBN 3-901232-72-9

Vindobona. Die Reise in das antike Wien. DVD-Rom, 2004.

Vindobona II. Wassertechnik des antiken Wiens. DVD-Rom, 2005.Further Information

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