Travel to Linz - Austria - Österreich - Culture

Linz - Culture

Linz is the capital of the federal province of Upper Austria and business centre. Linz is located on the Danube at a major crossing point for international traffic, which has made Linz an important centre of trade. Thanks to its traditional basic industries like: iron and steel, Linz has been able to establish an economy based on high - tech production with modern trade and services industries.

The Castle: Residence and Barracks

At first glance, the Castle at Linz looks like an over dimensional four-sided farmhouse, which strayed by mistake to a vantage point above the Danube. And yet, if you delve deeply into the castle chronicle, you will find every component of a true centre of power, one that even surprised the Winter Palace in Vienna for a time. In 799 a "castle in Linz" in first mentioned.

From 1489 to 1493 the castle became the centre of the Holy Roman Empire under Friedrich III. Under Emperor II, the castle, which at this time still retained its medieval bastions and gables, was further extended, a decision for which the local estates of the realm were partly responsible. In order to emphasize their power, they erected a magnificent administrative seat called the Assembly House in visual contrast to the rather unprepossessing abode of the emperor: What other choice could he make but to strengthen his show of power by building yet another wing to the castle?

It is hard to imagine so much defiance in the face of its present appearance. It is, of course, only a remnant of its former glory. A conflagration in 1800 destroyed the monumental south wing entirely and it was never rebuilt. Today, the visitor enters the castle, which served as a prison from 1811 to 1851 and then as a barracks until the post war era, through the Rudolf gate, behind the castle courtyard, one reaches the older section dating back to Fridrich´s time with its Fridrich gate.
Here, above the lancet, is an older coat of arms with the date 1481 bearing the slogan of Emperor Friedrich:

A E I O U - "Alles Erdreich ist Österreich untertan"

Meaning

"All the world is a Vassal of Austria"

After its thorough restoration in 1963, the castle of Linz has found a new function. The Linzer Schlossmuseum, a castle museum, is now located in its rooms and it contains a part of the collections of the Upper Austria Provincial Museum. The emphasis, aside from collections of pre- and ancient history, is on art history and folklore exhibits such as the Eggelberg Triptychon, all of which keep the culture and history of Austria truly alive.

The Design Centre:

This multi-functional complex, which opened at the end of 1993, is an aesthetically pleasing technical composition. The roofing skin consists of a steel construction with glass panels and is almost 14,000 square metres. It gives the Design Centre the fascinating effect of a daylight building. An ingenious system allows for the possibility of making all the necessary alterations for staging a variety of events.
The Design Centre is thus an ideal place for trade fairs, product presentations, congresses, banquets and conferences, as well as international exhibitions.

The Street Spectacle in the City Centre:

For many years now, three days in July have seen the Landstraße and the Main Square transformed by artists into a street festival reminiscent of those found in southern cultures. There are street musicians, clowns, fakirs, jugglers, mimes and conjurors, artists, storytellers - in short, people who entertain their audience in a way, which has actually become archaic today.
If the weather is good, well over 200,000 visitors pour into the city centre to the Street Spectacle to enjoy what these colourful performers have to offer.

The Bruckner House:

Not since the building of the Maria-Empfängnis-Dom, or New Cathedral, have the people of Linz collected donations for so long and with such assiduity as for the Bruckner House. In 1969 the time had come - the cornerstone for one of the most modern concert houses in the world was laid. The architect was Heikki Siren, a Finn, who conceived a simple but impressive round building near the Danube. The acoustics of the Great Hall, which seats up to 1,444 people, are crystal clear and free of even the slightest echo. A promenade area with a length of 103 metres reveals a view of the Pöstlingberg and the hilly terrain of the vicinity known as Mühlviertel through the monumental curved glass walls. The house can be easily adapted as a conference centre or a ballroom. At the festive opening in 1974, the Vienna Philharmonic under Herbert von Karajan included a work of the Genius loci on the programme, the 7th Symphony of Anton Bruckner. In fact, Bruckner was to remain the guiding spirit of the house and in his honour, the "International Bruckner Festival" is organized each autumn in which conductors and orchestras from all over the world take part.
In order to provide a certain counterpoint to classical culture in the traditional sense, the "Ars Electronica" takes place annually in the Bruckner House and has developed into a contemporary festival unique in Europe. Another regular feature of the cultural scenery in Linz are the "Sound Clouds" which are organized regular in the Danube Park in front of the Bruckner House. These events are multi-media presentations in which sound, music and spectacle combine to form an extraordinary multi-media experience.

click to go back

Back to Europe

Back to WTG