The Port of Enns (or Ennshafen) lies on the Enns River where it joins the Danube about 18 kilometers southeast of Linz, Austria. Enns’ economy, which is important to the region, rests on glassware and jewelry manufacturing, roofing, and local breweries. In 2006, almost 11 thousand people called Enns home.

Human settlement in the area goes back four thousand years. Celts settled here in about 400 BC. In 45 AD, the Roman Empire absorbed the Celtic kingdom, Noricum, and designated it a Roman province.

Nearby suburb of the Port of Enns is Lorch, the site of the old Roman camp called Lauriacum. As many as 6000 Roman soldiers were stationed there. By the time Rome granted it city privileges in 212, the population of Lauriacum was about 30 thousand. A Christian basilica was build on the remains of a Roman temple in about 370 AD, and the modern basilica of Lorch rose up on its foundations in 1344.

Ennesburg castle was build near the Port of Enns’ modern city center in 900 AD to protect the area from invasions from Hungary. Over time, the castle became the chateau of Ennsegg, and the surrounding village thrived from the 1100s when a market was created.

Granted city privileges in 1212 by Duke Leopold VI, the Port of Enns is Austria’s oldest municipality. Its 60-meter tall City Tower, built in the mid-1500s as a watch- and clocktower, is still the city’s most impressive landmark.

The Port of Enns began operations in 1993 when it handled 30 thousand tons of cargo. Since then, cargo passing through the port has exceeded five million tons. The port area includes two business parks, making it the largest industry-related facility on the upper Danube.

The Port of Enns boasts a modern container terminal and the largest container terminal in the region. The Port of Enns has capacity to handle 250 thousand TEUs of containerized cargo, and it has a container storage area of 70 thousand square meters.

With links by rail and road to the surrounding regions, the Port of Enns offers modern facilities and services to support almost every shipping need.

Located on the banks of the beautiful Danube, the Port of Enns is a portal back in time, boasting Renaissance and Baroque architecture, tower, and the fortified walls of a medieval town.

Visitors can tour Medieval Old Town from May to September. Tours of the St. Laurence Basilica includes Roman excavations and insights into the struggles of the earliest Christian martyrs there. The Lauriacum Museum, holding the “Austrian Museum Prize,” contains a prehistoric collection and sacred items of art. From

May to August, visitors can enjoy the Danube Ferry that links the Port of Enns to Mauthausen. The Port of Enns offers quaint hotels and inns and cafes offering the best of local cuisine. You won’t want to miss the newly-refurbished medieval Ennsegg Castle, and you’ll find theater performances, exhibits, readings, and concerts on the calendar throughout the summer.