The Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages
Christianity spread on the Danube from very early times. Saint Florian is the first Danube saint. Because he, a Roman state official, refused to sacrifice before the image of Emperor Diocletian, he was thrown into the Enns with a millstone around his neck, somewhere near Lorch, on 4 May 304. The river’s strong current carried him down towards the Danube. Legend has it that it was at the very place where his body was washed ashore that the foundation stone of St. Florian’s Priory was later laid. Thus, despite the political troubles, a lively early Christian culture developed in the Danube provinces.
The decline of Roman power
New life flourishes amid the ruins….
Mission to the Hungarians
The birth of Austria on the Danube