Innocents Abroad: Chapter 53 - Klingenbach History, Pt. 1 ... Way, Way Back

My plan, after we moved to the flat in Klingenbach, was to do a few blogs on the village of Klingenbach. It has been at the nexus point of history more than once. I thought I'd go back a few centuries, quickly cover the history and then get to the modern Cold War era where Klingenbach played a larger role, but in my research I kept having to go further and further back in time. Apparently, this area has been inhabited by humans since the Stone Age! I was more intrigued than ever and decided to do a series of blogs on the history of this area. This combines my three great loves - history, writing and teaching. What could be better? My goal is not to bore my readers so I've heavily edited the material and tried to provide what I always told my kids - the "outline version." The information will give you the quick tale of this area. If dates are not exact, please remember that many of these time periods overlapped.

At the start of the Upper Paleolithic, or Old Stone Age, modern man replaced Neanderthals about 40,000 BCE. The era predates agriculture, but there is a sharp increase in the diversity of artifacts, including those made of bone and the first art.

Look at this little darling. She's called the Venus of Willendorf and has been dated to around 22,000 BCE. Carved from oolitic limestone (not available in the area where she was found) and tinted with red ochre, she stands 4 3/8 inches high. This anatomically-detailed goddess probably represents fertility, the Earth or women in general.

She was found 100 years ago along the Danube River near the village of present-day Willendorf, 24 miles north-northwest of Klingenbach. The blue dot is Willendorf, and the larger red circle (on this and the other maps) represents Klingenbach's modern location. Her current home is the Natural History Museum in Vienna.

The Mesolithic Period or Middle Stone Age, from 10,000 to 4,000 BCE, sees the transition from hunter-gatherer to agriculture. Genetic studies show that modern Europeans are descended directly from these Mesolithic peoples.

A depiction of a Mesolithic Period house

Mesolithic Period artifacts

Overlapping the Mesolithic and Bronze Age periods in Europe is the Neolithic Age from 7,000 to 1,700 BCE. Its duration varies in different areas, and its end was marked by the introduction of bronze tools. Neolithic Europe involved family-based communities and longhouses, early agriculture, first use of Indo-European languages and fortified settlements. Experts believe Central European settlers came through the Balkans from Anatolia (Turkey). Some of the first farmers in Central Europe lived in the middle Danube valley where modern Hungary, Austria and Slovakia meet, a short distance from Klingenbach.

Neolithic Europe - Klingenbach is in the Danubian Neolithic area

Cave art in Europe during the Neolithic Period

This vase is sturdy but still graceful-looking.

One of the most famous relics of the Neolithic Period is Otzi the Iceman. His glacier-bound mummy, dated to 3,300 BCE, was found in 1991 near the Austria-Italy border. Examinations show the 5'5" tall man weighed 110 lbs. and was about 45 years old. Examination of stomach contents showed that he had journeyed from farther north in Austria. He died violently, probably as a victim of assualt or ritual sacrifice. Otzi lived in the Copper Age which in Europe roughly dated from 5,500 to 2,800 BCE. The Copper Age boundaries are blurred because alloys were in and out of use due to the erratic supply of tin (usually tin was mixed with copper). The main archaeological sites are near modern Budapest, Hungary, about 120 miles east of Klingenbach.

Otzi the Iceman

Bronze is made by alloying copper with tin. In the early Bronze Age there were a number of different periods, usually marked by distinctive pottery and/or style of burial. The Beaker Culture, 2,800 to 1,900 BCE, was defined by pottery made in a bell shape.

One prime area of Beaker Culture was the upper Danube valley into the Vienna basin.

Distinctive Beaker Culture pottery

Another early Bronze Age culture was the Unetice, from 2,300 to 1,600 BCE. It is distinguised by pure copper objects, including weapons and ornaments as status symbols. Burials were in flat graves, lying in the fetal position. The deceased were often buried with copper weapons, rings and bracelets.

Excavating an Unetice grave

A bronze and copper medallion made in the Unetice Culture

The Tumulus culture, 1,600 to 1,200 BCE, in the Middle Bronze Age, is distinguished only by the practice of burying the dead beneath burial mounds (tumuli) located in groups. Many elaborate bronze weapons and ornaments adorned the dead.

A grave barrow from the Tumulus Culture

A bronze spiral-ended bracelet found in a Tumulus Culture barrow

The Urnfield Culture was a late Bronze Age culture defined by the practice of cremating the dead, then burying their ashes in urns. They lived in fortified settlements, and there is archaeological evidence of widespread warfare, social collapses and upheavals during the period. Bronze artifacts from this time include cuirasses, dishes, miniature wagons, shields and ornaments. They kept animals, cleared forests and grew grains.

Urnfield Culture, Early Bronze Age in Central Europe, 2,000 to 750 BCE. The arrows show the migration paths from the East. Klingenbach is in the Danubian Carpathian Culture.

A warrior from the Unfield Culture

One of the urns for which the culture was named

The Hallstatt Culture, from 1,200 to 500 BCE in the Early Iron Age, was the predominant Central European culture of its time. Named for a lakeside Austrian village, the culture was defined by hilltop fortifications, iron swords, burial rites and grave goods. Many were buried in full armor with axe and sword. Trade spread the culture to Spain and the British Isles. They exported salt and iron and imported fancy pottery, amber, ivory, wine and dyes from the south, mainly Greece.

Helmets from the culture

This beautiful necklace was found in a grave.

During this period the Celtic Migrations began. The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies whose culture formed in the Early Iron Age in Central Europe. The Greek historian, Herodotus, locates them first at the source of the Danube. The tribes used a common language, a branch of the larger Indo-European family of languages. Celtic river names are found in large numbers near the Danube and the Rhine. This period was marked by economic disruption and social transformation.

Celtic Migrations, 750 to 50 BCE

A typical Celtic warrior

A bronze vessel from Celtic culture

The La Tene Culture, 450 to 100 BCE, was an Iron Age culture named after an archaeological site in Switzerland. Elaborate burials and a wide trade network are the hallmarks of the period; trade goods included salt, tin and copper, amber, wool and leather, furs and gold. Artwork was intricate, stylized and elegant. The development of towns occurred during this period. The La Tene Culture was ended by the Roman conquest.

On this map, Klingenbach is located in Transdanubia, one of the main concentrations of the culture. The red zones contain rich burial sites, the lined areas contain many pottery sites. The arrows show the Celtic migrations.