Carnuntum

On Wednesday we paid a visit to the ancient Roman ruins at Carnuntum, about a 20 minute drive from Vienna. It was a very hot day, but we managed to visit all of the significant sites, most of which were outdoors. We joined the hundreds of school kids that were touring the various areas. Carnuntum was home to a huge Roman army, they are still uncovering ruins and here is a picture of the dig site, where you can also view replicas of Roman buildings and uncovered ruins.

Here is a picture of the old Pagan gate, superimposed with a graphic of how it would have looked originally.

We also visited an old amphitheatre where gladiators battled. Here is a picture of the gate where competitors entered and exited (mostly dead) the arena.

There was also a museum full of artifacts that had been uncovered in the course of excavations. Many items were thousands of years old, including several ancient pieces of amber. Carnuntum was on the "amber road" in ancient times.
Near the ruins was a magnificant castle, in a bad state of repair. On our way home we snuck in (it was closed to the public) to take these pictures. This is Schloss Petronell and was built in 1650.

You can view all our Carnuntum pictures by clicking on the image link below.

Carnuntum