Beneath Vienna's Hoher Markt: the legionaries' houses of Vindobona

In the heart of the Innere Stadt, Vienna's first district, the Hoher Markt is a square that most tourists cross in a hurry, headed for St Stephen's Cathedral a few minutes away on foot. Almost no one goes down below street level, and that's a shame: down there are preserved the remains of two officers' houses from the Roman legionary camp of Vindobona, today open to visitors inside the Römermuseum, at Hoher Markt 3.

The history of Vindobona

Vindobona was a military camp founded around 97 AD to guard the northern frontier of the Empire, along the line of the Danube. At its peak the site housed tens of thousands of people, soldiers and civilians alike, with paved streets, canals, baths and workshops. From that settlement was born, centuries later, the Vienna we know. What you see at the museum is not a reconstruction: these are the real foundations of the tribunes' dwellings, discovered during work on the square's sewers at the end of the 1940s and then preserved on site instead of being covered over again.

Beneath the street

The most interesting part is precisely the underground one, below street level. You walk along walkways and look down onto the perimeter walls, the thresholds, the remains of the underfloor heating systems (the hypocaust) that warmed the officers' rooms. These are concrete details of everyday life two thousand years ago, not grand scenic monuments: this is why the place rewards those who stop to read the panels and imagine the floor plan of the houses.

On the upper floor the display gathers around three hundred finds recovered in the area, datable mainly to between the second and third centuries AD: statues, ceramics, ornaments, everyday and cult objects, architectural fragments. There are also three-dimensional reconstructions and stations designed for children, which make the visit suitable for families. It's not an enormous museum: in an hour or a little more you go round it at ease, and it's precisely its compact scale that makes it manageable even within a day packed with other stops.

A practical note on accessibility: the entrance and the shop area are on the level, but the excavation zone lies below the street and is reached by a few steps; a stairlift is available for the first floor. It's worth checking in advance if you're travelling with mobility difficulties.

Hours and tickets

The museum is run by the Wien Museum and is generally open from Tuesday to Sunday, 9 am to 5 pm (closed Monday); the full ticket costs around 8 euros, reduced 6, with a discount for holders of the Vienna City Card. On the first Sunday of the month entry is free. Hours and prices can change, so it's worth checking the Wien Museum website before going.

Getting there

Getting there is easy because you're already in the very centre. The handiest underground stop is Schwedenplatz (U1 and U4 lines), about five minutes on foot; alternatively Stephansplatz (U1 and U3) is just as close. From either you reach the Hoher Markt walking through the alleys of the old town. Once in the square, look up at the Ankeruhr, the famous carillon clock on the corner, and then look for the museum entrance: beneath your feet is Roman Vienna, and almost none of the passers-by know it.

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