Rome named its new province Pannonia which covered territory encompassing present-day western Hungary, part of Austria, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Rome had to fortify the border areas of Pannonia to prevent barbarian incursions. The pesky Germanic tribes continued to cause trouble, and Rome had to fight several wars led by famous generals like Caius Marius, Augustus, Tiberius, Germanicus, Marcus Aurelius and Hadrian. Pannonia was productive with minerals and agricultural products like timber, oats, barley, beer, grapevines, olive trees and also hunting dogs.
On this map of the Roman Empire in 200 CE (the empire at its greatest size), note that Klingenbach is in Pannonia, near the border. Throughout history, you will see that Klingenbach is usually near the border of empires, never a comfortable place to be. Klingenbach is the red dot.
A bronze brooch from Pannonia.
This glass bottle is from 200 CE. How did it never break?
Always one of the most important items - a Roman coin.
In the year 296 Emperor Diocletian redrew boundaries and called the Austrian area Pannonia Prima. The situation gradually deteriorated as first Huns and then Visigoths continually raided the area.
Barbarian invasions in 350 CE. Klingenbach (the green dot) is getting it from more than one direction. The red part of the map is the Western Roman Empire, the pale green the Eastern Empire.
Imagine seeing these guys coming at you.
Alaric, King of the Visigoths (370-410), sacked Rome, then died of a fever.
Attila the Hun (406-453) led his army in invasions all over central Europe. He choked to death after getting drunk at his wedding to a very reluctant bride.
By 427 CE Pannonia was assimilated into the Huns' territory, never again to be controlled by Rome. After the fall of Rome in 476 to the Visigoths - the historically-accepted date for the beginning of the Dark Ages - central Europe continued to be invaded. The area was successively controlled by the Ostrogoths, Lombards, Avars and Slavs. In the sixth century the Bavarians fought back against the eastern tribes, and today's Austria still has place names divided along a rough north-south line from Freistadt and Linz to the Eastern Tyrol. Even 1,400 years later, people and towns on either side of that line have names distinctive of Bavarian or Slavonic languages.
Barbarian Kingdoms of Europe in 530 CE. Klingenbach is the red dot.
With the power of the Barbarian kingdoms came profound and catastrophic societal change, including the collapse of urban life, loss of literature, limited building activity, cessation of art patronage and the end of artistic training and production. The culture of northern Europe was determined by the tribes, and crafts important to them were work in fine metals, leather, wood and semiprecious stones. Only in Italy did art production continue.
These bronze cloaks and hoods depict typical Dark Ages clothing.
The little art that survived was religious in nature. This early Nativity is a wood carving dated to 500 CE.
This bronze beaker embellished with silver and gold has been dated to 500 CE.
This is typical clothing in 500 CE.
In the sixth and seventh centuries, the Bavarians fought against Carantania (roughly the modern southeastern Austrian province of Carinthia) and other eastern tribes. Bavarians settled across the area of modern Austria, a process that enabled it to become the mostly German-speaking country it is today. In 788 the Bavarians were defeated by Charlemagne, an event that profoundly changed the history of Austria.
Europe in 800. Note that Klingenbach is on the eastern edge of Charlemagne's Frankish kingdom. I'll bet they continued to face invaders from eastern tribes though. The light brown circles on the map aren't that far from Klingenbach.
There were still marauders. This is a Viking ship from 800.
But things were changing. On Christmas Day, 800, 58-year-old Charlemagne was crowned the first Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
The reappearance of painting in northern Europe was due to the conversion of the barbarians to Christianity. Iconography was important in the Church, and painted Christian images were indispensable as were relics of early Christianity.
This is reportedly a piece of Mary's dress worn when she gave birth to Jesus. It was given to Charlemagne by Irene, Empress of the Eastern Roman Empire.
This is Aachen Cathedral, begun in 805 by Charlemagne.
The Dark Ages were slowly fading, and the Middle Ages were about to begin.
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