Linz, Austria

Linz is a city in northeastern Austria, located about 30 km from the border with the Czech Republic, and is the capital of the federal state of Upper Austria. The city is situated on both sides of the Danube, and history tells that it originated on the site of the Roman city of Lentzia. This location makes it an important transport hub in this part of the country. Linz is a city open to culture and the arts, but it is also an industrial center oriented towards steel production as well as the food industry. History has it that Linz was founded by the Romans, who named it Lentia. In time the city became part of the Holy Roman Empire and as it grew it became an important transport center due to its proximity to the Danube and to roads leading to Bohemia, Germany to the north and the Balkans to the southeast.

It is no coincidence that Linz has been selected as the European Capital of Culture for 2009, as this city on the Danube is developing very well as a cultural destination in the country. Linz is comparatively smaller than the capital Vienna, but in cultural terms it is no less significant than it. Since 2003, Linz with Lentos owns, for example, an art museum. The Art Museum's collection is extensive, with the most significant works being those by Klimt, Schiele and Kokoschka, as well as sculptures and prints by Warhol, Haring and Export. Other significant and interesting museums include the Wolfgang Gurlitt Museum, the Stifter Museum, the city's Nordiko Museum, and the Museum of Upper Austria. Linz does not suffer from a lack of theatres. In the city, productions can be seen at the Regional Theatre, which is Linz's largest theatre, the Phoenix Theatre, the Variethe Chameleon Theatre, the Kellert-Theatre, and a music theatre.

Linz also owes its strength as a cultural capital to its cultural centers. The Bruckner Concert Centre is the city's largest concert hall, where the Bruckner Festival is held annually in September. The Centre for Electronic Art, on the other hand, is dedicated to advances in 3D.

The main attractions of Linz are the oldest Austrian church, St. The oldest church in Linz is the St. Martin's Cathedral, the Gothic St. Mary's Cathedral, the Pöstlingberg-Kirche pilgrimage church perched on the hill of the same name, the Anton Bruckner Concert Hall, and the tall Pestseeule column, built in memory of the victims of the plague epidemics, which is located on the city's central square.