Mithraeum at the Austria–Hungary Border

This gem was "lost" in the Cold War - the Romans have already been here

In the inconspicuous building there is a two and a half meter high carved relief stone on the back wall, which depicts the god Mithras killing a bull. It is a holdover from Roman times and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the region.

By the 4th century AD, the Mithras cult had developed in the Roman Empire, a mystery religion about which it was forbidden to report. Because it deviated from the Roman state religion before and after the introduction of Christianity, it was mostly practiced in secret and, as it was aimed exclusively at men, was particularly widespread among the legionaries. A temple of this cult was discovered by chance in 1866 under overgrown undergrowth on the connecting road to the neighboring Austrian community of Mörbisch am See. The restored building, sunk into the ground - the "rock-born" Mithras was mostly worshipped in caves - is located directly at the current border crossing. In addition to three altars, it contains the relief of the bull killing that is typical of this cult. Today, this is mostly interpreted astronomically: as the end of an age and the beginning of a powerful new one.