Project Schwarzenbach

The reconstruction of a Celtic town at Burgberg in Schwarzenbach, Lower Austria.

In Schwarzenbach in the Bucklige Welt the Celts erected in the 2nd cent. BC. one of the largest town-like settlements of the Eastern Alps. The Roman emperor Julius Caesar called such early cities of the Celts "oppida". The inhabitants were nobles, farmers, but also craftsmen and traders. The oppidum of Schwarzenbach has an inner surface of about 15 ha and was protected on all sides by a 10 m high city wall, which is still recognizable today as a collapsed rampart in the terrain.

For more than 15 years, the University of Vienna has been carrying out archaeological excavations in Schwarzenbach under the direction of Dr. med. Wolfgang Neubauer, where in addition to the prehistoric fortification also several building structures of residential and commercial buildings could be examined (see research area of Geophysical Prospektion).

The results of this research are presented by the interdisciplinary research institute of archeology in the form of an archaeological open-air museum, where parts of the Celtic city were reconstructed in coordination with the Federal Monuments Office.

The open-air museum provides insights into the everyday life of the Iron Age population in the 2nd and 1st century BC. In addition to the architecture of the buildings, the economic foundations of the people of this time and the craft in a Celtic city are the main focus of this project.

The open-air facilities on the fortification hill in Schwarzenbach consists of seven buildings, as well as several other reconstructed objects such as garden and fence systems.

These allow the visitor insights into different areas of Celtic life. reforged Celtic tools were used in the construction.