Marketplaces in small towns, the case study of Langenlois, Lower Austria

Rural trading sites or marketplaces in the narrower sense are not known archaeologically in Austria. However, marketplaces in small towns are and they certainly served as places of exchange for the rural environment. A case study from Lower Austria is from the town of Langenlois. Extensive structures of a late medieval/early modern marketplace were excavated in 2007. In terms of geography, the town is located around 15 km north of the European west−east transport artery, the Danube. Also relevant is its location at the southern entrance to the Kamptal, an important route to the north and finally to Moravia. The Niederer Aigen part of the town was granted market rights at the beginning of the 14th century. In addition to a weekly market for agricultural and handicraft products, there was also a timber market. At the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th, the right to hold two annual markets (fairs) in November and February was added.
The excavations revealed two important complexes associated with these market activities. Of significance is the documentation of a stone (market) hall in the west of the square with a length of around 17 m, which was divided into 2 rooms. At the eastern edge of the market there was a series of ovens, which were possibly associated with fair activities outside of commercial activities. Fairs were always social gatherings where people ate and drank. The ovens could have been used for the production or processing of food (cooking, baking, simmering, brewing).