31 August 2020

Tip for a family tour: Exploration of Roman antique lifestyle in Carnuntum, Austria

Carnuntum is not far from Vienna and can be reached in a round 40 minutes. Recently, Fashion.at visited the Römerstadt Carnuntum (Roman City of Carnuntum) where excavations of parts of the former Roman fortress and city Carnuntum are presented as accessible reconstructions of the houses, a store, a mansion and thermal baths of the Romans who settled here from around 50 AD (history). The journey starts with an introduction into the society through important sources for historians of the antique world: Gravestones. The tombstones of Romans and their slaves show the same esthetics with shorter or longer information about the person such as about a young woman with the message that every moment of life should be enjoyed. The dramaturgy of the museum is astonishing theatrical in the best sense. After the gravestones, visitors enter a film projection room where a documentary on a large-sized video wall with sensurround cinema-like sound composition shows various aspects of living in Carnuntum - from the military life to gladiators and commerce. With these images in mind, visitors arrive at the next station, the outdoor area of the Römerstadt Carnuntum. The buildings were reconstructed on the basis of scientific research on life and lifestyle of Romans in Austria. And it's impressively comfortable and pleasant how people lived here more than 1500 years ago! Many rooms show colorful walls, living rooms furnished lovely with interior in Roman style may inspire visitors for their own homes, dining rooms, kitchens, workplaces with looms, offices, gardens, courtyards, thermal baths,... are accessible and can be experienced by taking a seat or as stages for memory selfies. Last mentioned was heavily practised by visitors who had enough space at the wide area to keep distance to each other.

Due to coronavirus, the 'Roman Festival' with gladiator fights, a store of a cloth merchant, artisan demonstration of fabric dyeing, Roman music, fashion,... scheduled on 19 and 20 September had to be cancelled; new dates aren't public yet.
Recommendation: Carnuntum offers this week special guided tours for families from Monday to Friday starting at 14:00. Details at facebook.com/events/315020789740321/.
(Dates and hours fast checked today.)