Petronell-Carnuntum

"... all other thoughts were chased away as I approached the little town of Petronell, by wondering what a distant object could be that was growing steadily larger as I advanced. It turned out to be a Roman triumphal gateway standing in the middle of a field like a provincial version of the Arch of Titus; alone, enormous and astonishing."

The Roman gateway or 'Heidentor' that Paddy saw is part of a triumphal arch of which only one of its four arches remains. It was the gateway to the Roman City (Römerstadt) of Carnuntum. In the first century AD Carnuntum became the centre of the Roman fortifications along the Danube between Vienna ('Vindobona') and Brigetio (near Komarom in Hungary).  It remained a Roman settlement until the fifth century with approximately 50,000 inhabitants at its peak.

Photo below:  The Roman gateway or 'Heidentor' in Petronell-Carnuntum.

Bad Deutsch-Altenburg

"In the late afternoon I knocked on the gate of Schloss Deutsch-Altenburg - a wooded castle on the Danube's bank.  Friends in Vienna had asked the owner to put me up for the night and old Graf Ludwigstorff, after a kind welcome, handed me over to his pretty daughter Maritschi."

'Altenburg' was first mentioned in a document in 1297. The long-time rulers here were the knights Dörr von Wildungsmauer, who owned German Altenburg from the middle of the 12th century until 1620. The Knights of Dörr were also the first to commercially exploit the healing powers of the sulphurous water by setting up a thermal bath here in 1549. However, the thermal baths were already used by the soldiers of Carnuntum in Roman times. After his short stay at the castle, Paddy moves on to Hainburg.

Photo below: Schloss Deutsch-Altenburg.

Hainburg an der Donau

"I was through the barbican in the old walled town of Hainburg early next day."

Hainburg an der Donau once was a significant location on the Amber Road from the Mediterranean to the Baltic Sea. It's also the nearest Austrian town to Bratislava (about 14 kilometers away). Due to its strategic location, the city has been a symbol of protection and security since the Middle Ages with heavily fortified walls, town gates and towers.

Photos below: The castle (1050 AD) on top of the hill and some of the fortifications of the city of Hainburg an der Donau.

"Castled hills rose from the shore, and soon, under the ruins of Theben, the battle-haunted fens came to an end on the other side of the river. Below this steep rock, the March - which is the Czech Morava - flowed into the Danube from the north, marking the Czechoslovak border."

The ruins of the imposing fortress of Thebes ('Hrad Devin') rise from the rocky massif at the confluence of the Morava and Danube rivers. This is where the Danube breakthrough of the Theban Gate begins, formerly known as the 'Porta Hungarica'.

Photos below: the ruins of Thebes on the northern shore of the Danube, just east of Hainburg. '... the last bastion to be stormed by Asian invaders before laying siege to Vienna.'

Bratislava

'... It was the old city of Pressburg, re-baptized with the Slav name of Bratislava when it became part of the new Czechoslovak Republic. The climbing roofs were dominated by a hill and the symmetry of the huge gaunt castle and the height of its corner-towers gave it the look of an upside-down table.'

Photo below: Bratislava Castle (9th century) on the hill above the Danube overlooking the capital. 

In Bratislava, Paddy stays with Hans Ziegler, a bank employee whom he befriended during his stay in Vienna.

'Whenever he had a free moment, we explored the surviving relics of the town, plunging through arched barbicans and along twisting lanes in our search; journeys which ended with cakes stuffed with nuts and poppy-seeds in a wonderful Biedermeier café called the Konditorei Maier...'

Photos below: Konditorei Maier still opened its doors in 1873 and still exists as 'Kaffee Mayer' in the centre of Bratislava.