Vindobona

Vindobona
Vienna in Austria
The excavated ruins of Vindobona on the Michaelerplatz
Map of the Roman castrum of Vindobona in 250–300
Vindobona is located in Vienna
Vindobona
Vindobona
Vindobona is located in Austria
Vindobona
Vindobona
Coordinates48°12′39″N 16°22′13″E / 48.21083°N 16.37028°E / 48.21083; 16.37028
TypeRoman fortification
Site history
Builtc. 100 (100)
In use103–433 (433)[1]
FateAbandoned to the Huns
Garrison information
GarrisonX Gemina

Vindobona (Latin pronunciation: [wɪnˈdɔbɔna]; from Gaulish windo- "white" and bona "base/bottom") was a Roman military camp (or castra) in the province of Pannonia, located on the site of the modern city of Vienna in Austria. The settlement area took on a new name in the 13th century, being changed to Berghof, or now simply known as Alter Berghof (the Old Berghof).[2]

Around 1 CE, 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, including Vindobona with an estimated population of 15,000 to 20,000.[3][4]

  1. ^ Humphreys, Rob (1997). Vienna: The Rough Guide. Pensylvannia State University Press. p. 313. ISBN 978-1-85828-244-2.
  2. ^ The Older Berghof in Vienna Archived 2017-09-18 at the Wayback Machine (German). Today, the site is more commonly associated with Hoher Markt and Wiener Neustädter Hof, a building in today's Sterngasse 3. Berghof was the name of the mansion, which had evolved from the initial settlement with the walls of the Roman baths. It was originally the only building in Vienna to be built by a certain pagan, presumably an Avaricum dignitary, eventually becoming a fortified town. The place is mentioned in Jans Enikel's "Fürstenbuch" (around 1270) (vide: Jeff Bernhard / Dieter Bietak: The Wiener Neustädter Hof alias Berghof - a probe into the Year Zero, Frankfurt am Main/Berlin/Bern 1997, p. 247).
  3. ^ Bowman, Alan; Wilson, Andrew (2011-12-22). Settlement, Urbanization, and Population. OUP Oxford. ISBN 9780199602353.
  4. ^ Ziak, Karl (1964). "Unvergängliches Wien: Ein Gang durch die Geschichte von der Urzeit bis zur Gegenwart".