Mautern – the ancient Favianis

Mautern has an important Roman past, which began with one of the oldest forts on the Danube Limes.

Mautern an der Donau was an important Roman base on the Noric Limes in what is now Lower Austria. Research from 1892 onwards gradually increased our knowledge of the military camp and the surrounding civilian settlement of Favianis, as Mautern was called in Roman times.

The Roman fort

The oldest finds from today's urban area of Mautern date from the transition from the Early to the Middle Bronze Age around 1700 to 1500 B.C. The settlement at that time probably consisted of small groups of farmsteads. These traces of settlement were completely overlaid by the Roman building activity that began in the 1st century AD. At that time, a fort was built for Roman auxiliary troops - Germanic Batavians and mounted British archers are known from tile stamps. The camp was initially fortified with a ditch and earth rampart, which were replaced by stone walls in the 2nd century. In the 4th century, a massive expansion took place, during which the fan and horseshoe towers, some of which are still visible today, were erected. As a new garrison site for the "Norse legion", the camp was also extended to the north. The final inner area of around 4.8 hectares was covered with long rectangular crew barracks. They were divided by transverse walls into two rows of interconnected rooms, each of which were rooms for six to seven men, next to which were the stables for their pack animals.

The civilian settlement

The civilian settlement outside the camp was densely built up on narrow plots of land. In addition to residential buildings, there were workshops, with evidence of iron and non-ferrous metal smiths, tanners and weavers as well as stores such as butchers and bakers.

Saint Severin

Historically, Favianis/Mautern is known as one of St. Severin's places of activity. The monastery he founded was possibly located in the area of the Nikolaihof, which is likely to contain a late antique building, possibly a small fort.

Tip: The fort wall with the tower is still clearly visible today.