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 The Austrian
Empire played a decisive role in Central European history. It occupied a
strategic position astride the south-eastern approaches to Western Europe
and the north-south routes between Germany and Italy. Although present-day
Austria is only a tiny remnant of the old empire, it still occupies this
strategic position.
Soon after the Republic of Austria was established at the end of World War
I, it not only had to redesign a government meant to rule a great empire
into one that would govern only 6 million citizens but also faced
catastrophic inflation. In the early 1930s, worldwide depression and
unemployment added to these strains and shattered traditional Austrian
society. These economic and political conditions led in 1933 to a
dictatorship under Engelbert Dollfuss. In February 1934, civil war broke
out, and the Social Democratic Party was suppressed. In July, the National
Socialists attempted unsuccessfully to seize power and assassinated
Dollfuss. In March 1938, Austria was incorporated into the German Reich
through the Anschluss.
At the Moscow conference in 1943, the Allies declared their intention to
liberate Austria and reconstitute it as a free and independent state. In
April 1945, both East and West forces liberated the country.
Subsequently, Austria was divided into zones of occupation similar to
Germany's. A Socialist elder statesman, Dr. Karl Renner, successfully
organized an Austrian administration.
General elections were held in November 1945, and the conservative
People's Party obtained 50% of the vote and 85 seats in the National
Council (lower house of the parliament). The Socialists won 45% and 76
seats, and the Communists won 5% and 4 seats. The ensuing three-party
government held office until 1947, when the Communists left the
government. During that year, the People's Party and the Socialists formed
a coalition that governed until 1966.
Under the 1945 Potsdam agreements, the Soviets took control of German
assets in their zone of occupation. These included manufacturing plants,
constituting 7% of all Austrian industry; oil resources, which accounted
for 95% of the nation's oil production; and refineries, which accounted
for about 80% of Austria's refinery capacity. These properties were
returned to Austria under the Austrian State Treaty, signed at Vienna on
May 15, 1955. The treaty came into effect on July 27 of that year.
Under its provisions, all occupation forces were withdrawn by October 25,
1955. Austria became free and independent for the first time since 1938.
A History Book, 219 x 60
Metres:
It
looks like an open air Great Hall. The Main Square of Linz, Hauptplatz, is
a vaste as a field of grain and as intimate as a beautiful old courtyard.
Despite its size of 13,140 m², the squares never impersonal and is as
communicative, inviting and at the same time just as grand as it was 600
years ago.
Its present
dimensions were laid down in the 13 th century and this reveals a great
deal of boldness on the part of the residents of Linz in those days: they
opted for a square of extraordinary size in
relation to the extent of town. Not only that city walls had to be
extended and new defences planed; the entire structure of old Linz
irrevocably altered. Obviously, it all cost quite a lot of money.
Linz was already a thriving centre of trade. Property rates
were higher here than anywhere else, and so of course every merchant worth
his salt was keen to call at least a tiny niche of the square his own.
This is the reason that so many small houses with narrow facades, most of
which, however, extend far back in compensation, surround the square. The
merchants of those days needed space at the back for storage and wares.
Its size makes
the square ideal for large assemblies. When Archduke Ferdinand married
Anna of Hungary on May 26th, 1521, the famous "Losenstein
Tournament" took place here before a teeming throng. Later, heads
were to roll on the same square. The leaders of the peasant uprising were
executed here in the form of a public spectacle. Until the year 1716 all
manner of misdemeanors were punished here on the square’s pillory, fair
game for the mockery of passers-by.
Where the
pillory once stood is now the site of one of Linz´ most typical
landmarks, a Column of the Holy Trinity, completed in 1732 by sculptor
Sebastian Stumpfegger after a design by Antonio Beduzzi. The number
"three" figures not only in the allegory of divine unity but
also in the lifting of the plague in 1713.
While this
impressive column marks the centre of the square, the Rathaus, or City
Hall, symbolizes the gradual rise of the middle class. The gothic building
was finished in 1513 and was subsequently rebuilt.
The
architectural evolution of the City Hall also hold true of money buildings
around the Main Square, most of them are considerably older than they at
first appear to be. The long series of fires which has plagued the history
of Linz as well as constantly changing architectural taste are responsible
for the changes - the medieval foundation have taken on many a new dress
in the course of centuries.
On the Main
Square looking towards the Danube we come to the Brückenkopf
(Bridgehead) and Nibelungenbrücke (Bridge of the Nibelungs),
buildings that look entirely different from their namesakes, both were
reconstructed in 1947.
Nearly every
house on the square has its own story to tell. At Nr. 18, for example, the
Feichtingerhaus has its own "Glockenspiel" which plays themes by
Bruckner. In the house of Nr. 27, the infamous French Minister of Police
Joseph Fouché took up residence-in-exile from 1818 to 1820.
Today the Main
Square forms the backdrop for many different kinds of markets, from the
idyllic Christmas Fair to the lively and colourful fleamarket as well as
stands for fruits and vegetables.
When the
first Jesuits came to Linz around 1600, they didn’t yet realize that the
Jesuit Church which would be finished three quarters of a century later
would serve as a cathedral for 147 years under the guidance of seven
bishops.
The
true grandeur of this monumental building by the italian architect Pietro
Francesco Carlone can best be appreciated if both the majestic towers are
viewed from the main square. From the narrow lane called Domgasse
however, the impressive effect of the magnificent facade cannot be seen in
all complexity.
Anton
Bruckner, who played his first performance of his D-minor Mass here,
during his twelve years as cathedral organist, played the organ, which was
“looted” from Engelszell.
When the
population of Linz grew in the 19th century, the so-called "old
cathedral" seemed much too small to its current bishop, Rudiger. The
neogothic Maria-Empfängnis-Dom was commissioned. But the construction
lasted for decades. It was not until 1909 that the last evening vespers
were read in the Jesuit Church: It was then returned to the original
order.
The
Cathedral of Linz is such a perfect interpretation of Gothic building
style that it requires a highly critical eye to discover the origins as a
child of the 19th century. In respect to its dimensions, the cathedral
master builder Vinzenz Statz kept to all the rules of thumb observed by
his medieval ancestors. Especially that one which holds that a gothic
cathedral should be the same length as the heigh of its tower. When
the cornerstone for the new church was laid in 1862, Linz had a population
of 27,000 inhabitants and that was just 7,000 more than the capacity of
the intended building. Linz only just missed having the highest church
tower in Austria owing to protests from Vienna, which prescribed a height
just slightly less than St. Stephan´s. In recent times, the
cathedral of Linz has gained yet another distinction: the Rudigier-Organ,
built by the Danish organ makers Marcussen, was consecrated in 1968 and
numbers among the largest, most beautiful and perfectly balanced organs in
Europe.
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