Antonshöhe

The Antonshöhe is a low hill rising to 356 metres in the Maurer Wald, a wooded area in the southern district of Mauer, part of Vienna’s 23rd district. To the north stands the Wilde Berg, while the Georgenberg lies to the southeast and the Gütenbachtal valley to the southwest. The hill was named after Anton Ölzelt the Elder, a local figure from the 19th century. Beneath its slopes lies the abandoned Mauer-Antonshöhe quarry, recognised as Austria’s oldest industrial monument. Excavations in 1929 and 1930 uncovered ancient mining shafts where prehistoric people extracted hornstone and radiolarite. These colourful stones were shaped into tools and traded across the region as early as 7,500 years ago. Archaeologists found traces of the Linearbandkeramik culture in nearby settlements, confirming the site’s importance. The shafts were later used for burials during the Painted Pottery period, with seven graves containing five adults and two children. Josef Bayer of the Natural History Museum led the dig, and a memorial stone to him stands near the Schießstätte rest house. Visitors walk through the quiet Maurer Wald and reach the quarry’s edge, where the remains of the old stone face are still visible. The memorial to Josef Bayer marks the spot where the excavations took place. The surrounding hills and valleys offer shaded paths through beech and oak woods, with views across the southern outskirts of Vienna. The area remains a peaceful place to explore the traces of Neolithic miners and the early use of stone tools.