Mautern – the ancient Favianis

Mautern has a significant 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 that began in 1892 gradually yet significantly increased our knowledge about the military camp and surrounding civilian settlement of Favianis, as Mautern was called during Roman times.

The Roman fort

The oldest finds from the present-day urban area of Mautern date back to the transition from the Early to the Middle Bronze Age around 1700 to 1500 BC. The settlement at the time probably consisted of small groups of farmsteads. The traces of these settlements were completely overlaid by the Roman building activity that began in the first century AD. At that time, a fort was built for Roman auxiliary troops – brick stamps provide evidence of Germanic Batavians and mounted British archers. The camp was initially fortified with a moat and earth wall; these were replaced by stone walls in the second century. There was significant expansion in the fourth century, when fan-shaped and horseshoe-shaped towers were built – some of which can still be seen today. As the new garrison for the ‘Noric legion’, the camp was also extended to the north. The internal space, which last measured around 4.8 ha, contained rectangular troop barracks. These were divided into two rows of interconnected rooms by transverse walls. Each room was shared by six to seven men; next to the rooms were the stables for their pack animals.

The civilian settlement

The civilian settlement outside the camp was densely built on narrow plots of land. As well as residential buildings, there were also workshops. There is evidence of blacksmiths, metalsmiths, tanners and weavers as well as shops such as butchers and bakers.

St Severinus

Historically, Favianis/Mautern is known for its association with St Severinus. The monastery he founded may have been on the site of the Nikolaihof, whose structural fabric is likely to contain a building from the Late Antiquity, possibly a small fort.

Tip: the well-preserved wall of the fort and its tower can still be seen today