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Vienna

Vienna is a very interesting city which deserves a visit.
Its ancient inheritance is much more present here than in its neighbour Lyon which can envy it.
The imperial temple of the Roman period is very well preserved, but the Roman theatre was entirely rebuilt in the 1930'.
Some traces of other buildings are more or less present : forum, obelisk of a big circus, and the important site and archaeological museum of St Romain in Gal.

History of Vienna

The zone of Vienna was in antiquity occupied by the Gallic ones: Allobroges. It Became a Roman fortified town under Julius Caesar, after the conquest of the Gaules the Romans developed a colony which thrived quickly to become one of the most important commercial ports of the valley of the Rhone.
In the IIth century AC, the city would have been inhabited by about 30.000 people. Its enrichment marked the architecture with beautiful monuments among its some reached us : temple and theatre. The city knew in the Middle Ages an important religious growth with many monasteries.
In the XIth century, it integrated the Roman Germanic Saint Empire and was controlled by its archbishops during several centuries, among them Calixte II who became Pope in 1119.
In 1450, Vienna is attached to the Kingdom of France, the ecclesiastics loosed their religious power for the benefit of Lyon.

See also Monuments and main sights in Vienna