Museum Lauriacum, Archaeological museum in Enns, Austria
Museum Lauriacum occupies the former town hall at Hauptplatz 19 in Enns, a late-Gothic building behind a five-axis Baroque facade with a curved gable. Its stone door, window and gable surrounds are Renaissance elements, the courtyard arcades are dated 1547, and the former council chamber on the first floor has a stucco ceiling made between 1720 and 1730. The museum displays over 1,200 finds from the Roman city of Lauriacum on three floors.
The collection began in 1892 when local citizens gathered Roman objects and initially housed them in a single room. Over time the collection expanded and eventually moved into the current town hall building.
The museum's name comes from the Roman city of Lauriacum, whose legionary fortress at Enns is the focus of the collection. On three floors the displays cover the legio II Italica, the civilian town, Roman coinage and burial customs, with reconstructions and a film made for the 2018 provincial exhibition. A room is given to a ceiling fresco of Amor and Psyche, recovered in 1972–73 from the Plochbergergründe civil settlement and remounted in 1979.
The best time to visit is during the warmer months when full opening hours apply, as hours are reduced during colder seasons. Budget time for all three floors and note that stairs are necessary to explore the full collection.
The museum holds an uncommon collection of about 400 medallion works by artist Arnold Hartig, offering insight into the skill of his craft. It also displays wall painting fragments from the 2nd and 3rd centuries, which are rare examples of early Roman interior decoration.
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