The founding of Gesellschaft der Freunde Carnuntums or GFC (Society of Friends of Carnuntum) in 1884 laid the cornerstone for conducting research in and on Carnuntum.  GFC is one of Austria’s oldest associations of its kind and deeply steeped in tradition. As such, it is a key interest group for addressing the concerns related to archeology in Carnuntum.
© RSV

Opening of AMC 1904 (c) State of Lower Austria - Museum Carnuntinum, Bad Deutsch-Altenburg

GFC financed the first excavations out of private funds. Over the more than 130-year history of GFC, its members have included and still include prominent representatives of the imperial family, the nobility and the upper echelons of society as well as the scientific and business communities.

Besides scientific research, one of GFC’s most significant accomplishments was to establish Museum Carnuntinum, which Emperor Franz Joseph I officially opened on May 27, 1904.
Exterior view of the Carnuntinum Museum with statue of Emperor Franz Joseph in autumn
© RSV

A statue in front of the museum is a remembrance of the emperor’s visit in 1904.

Since its founding in 1884, GFC has pursued the objective of promoting the work of archaeological researchers in the grandest cultural landscape of present-day Austria and to make it accessible to the interested public. Equally important is the objective of permanently safeguarding the significant witnesses to ancient Roman history at this site for the future.

GFC continues to carry out research projects in Carnuntum today. Through lectures, professional conferences, scientific publications and information and in close collaboration with institutions pursuing comparable objectives, the members and indeed everyone interested in archeology and related sciences are informed about the latest results and developments in archaeological research in the Carnuntum area.