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Information about Linz

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Linz
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Location of Linz in Austria
CountryAustria
State | Upper Austria
Administrative region | Statutory city
Population| 188,968 (01.01.2006)
Area | 96.048 km
Population density | 1,957.4 /km
Elevation | 266 m
Coordinates| Coordinates:
Postal code| 4010, 4020, 4030, 4040, 4047
Area code| 0732
Licence plate code| L
Mayor| Franz Dobusch (SPÖ)
Website| www.linz.at


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The Poestlingberg church in Linz.
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View of Linz from the Poestlingberg mountain.
Linz is the third largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria (Oberösterreich). It is located in the north centre of Austria, approximately 30 km south of the Czech border, on both sides of the river Danube, the longest river of the European Union and Europe's second-longest (after the Volga). The population of the city proper is 188,968 (2001), and 271,000 in the agglomeration.

History

The city was founded by the Romans, who called it "Lentia", but there was already a Celtic settlement called "Lentos"; probably their word for the winding of a river. It was a provincial and local government city of the Holy Roman Empire, and an important trading point connecting several routes, on either side of the river Danube from the East to the West and Bohemia and Poland from north to the Balkans and Italy to the south. Being the city where the Habsburg Emperor Friedrich III spent his last years, it was, for a short period of time, the most important city in the empire. It lost its status to Vienna and Prague after the death of the Emperor in 1493.

One important inhabitant of the city was Johannes Kepler, who spent several years of his life in the city studying mathematics. He discovered, on May 15, 1618, the distance-cubed-over-time-squared — or 'third' — law of planetary motion. Kepler is the namesake of the local public university. Another famous citizen was Anton Bruckner, who spent the years between 1855 and 1868 working as a local composer and church organist in the city. The local concert hall "Brucknerhaus" and a local private music and arts university are named after him.

By far the most notorious Linzer, however, is Adolf Hitler. Hitler was born in the border town of Braunau am Inn but moved to Linz in childhood and spent most of his youth here. Hitler's parents are buried near Linz, in the town of Leonding. Hitler was enrolled in the same Linz school, the Realschule, as was the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein.

Hitler had extensive architectural plans for Linz, which he regarded as his home town and wanted to turn into the main cultural centre of the Third Reich. The Rathaus on the Hauptplatz (the townhall on the Main square) was used by Hitler to proclaim the Grossdeutsches Reich during the Anschluss of 1938. In order to make the city economically vibrant Hitler initiated a major industrialization of Linz shortly before, and during, World War II. Many factories were dismantled in the newly-acquired Czechoslovakia, and then reassembled in Linz, where they were known as the Hermann-Göring-Werke. This factory still exists today as the voestalpine. Linz grew to become a major industrial area; manufacturing chemicals and steel for the Nazi war machine. The Mauthausen-Gusen camps, where stone for Hitler's prestige projects across the Reich was quarried and the last Nazi concentration camps to be liberated, are located near Linz. The main camp in Mauthausen is just 15.6 miles (25km) away.

After the war, the river Danube that runs around Linz — from the eastern side to the northern side — which separates the Urfahr district in the north from the rest of Linz — served as the border between the Russian and American occupation troops. The Nibelungen bridge that spans the Danube river from the Hauptplatz (main square) was at that time Linz's version of Checkpoint Charlie. The Nibelungen Brücke with the two bridge head buildings is the only architectural plan Hitler ever carried out in Linz.

Population development

Year Population
190083,356
1951184,685
1961195,978
1971204,889
1981199,910
1991203,044
2001183,504
2006188,968


The agglomeration includes (parts of) 13 other municipalities with together 271,000 inhabitants. Linz is also part of the Linz-Wels-Steyr metropolitan area of Upper Austria, home to around one third of the state's population (460,000 people) and second-largest urban area in Austria.

Source: Statistik Austria [1] City of Linz Website [2]

Economy

Linz is an industrial city. The Voestalpine AG is a large steel concern (founded as the "Hermann Göring Werke" during WWII), and which is known for the LD- ("Linz-Donawitz") procedure for the production of steel, and the former "Chemie Linz" chemical group, which has been split up into several companies. This has made Linz one of Austria's most important economic centres. Linz is also the home of PEZ — makers of peppermint candy.

Linz also serves as an important transportation hub for the region of both Upper Austria and, to a lesser degree, southern Bohemia. The "Blue Danube" Linz Airport lies about 6.25 miles (10km) southwest of the town centre. Direct flights include London Stansted, Frankfurt, Zurich and Vienna with additional seasonal routes added during the summer and winter months.

The city lies on Austria's main rail axis, the so-called "Westbahn", linking Vienna with western Austria, Germany and Switzerland. There are also varying types of river transport on the Danube; from industrial barges to tourist cruise ships.
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The Brucknerhaus.

Main sights

The main street "Landstraße" leads from the "Blumauerplatz" to the main square. In the middle of this square the high "Pestsäule" ("plague column", also known as "Dreifaltigkeitssäule" (Dreifaltigkeit means Holy Trinity)) was built to remember the people who died in the plague epidemics. [Plague Column:[3],[4]

Near the castle, which is located on the same site as the old Roman fortress Lentia was once built — and also being the former seat of Friedrich the III — the oldest Austrian church is located: Sankt/Saint Martins church. It was built during early medieval Carolingian times.

Other sights include:
  • St. Mary's Cathedral (Mariendom), Roman Catholic
  • Pöstlingberg-Kirche
  • Brucknerhaus — the concert hall named after the composer Anton Bruckner, who was born in "Ansfelden", a small town next to Linz Brucknerhaus
  • Gugl Stadium, is home to the LASK (Linzer Athletik Sport Klub), which is claimed to be the third-oldest soccer club in Austria.
  • The Linzer Lanschaftliche Theater or Landestheater is the theater Adolf Hitler and his friend August Kubizek always went to, to hear Wagner.

Culture

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The Lentos Art Museum.
The composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote his Symphony No. 36 (1783) in Linz for a concert to be given there, and the work is known today as the Linz Symphony. The first version of Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 1 in C minor is known as the Linz version.

The city is now home to a vibrant music and arts scene that is well-funded by the city and the state of Upper Austria.

Ars Electronica Center on the north bank of the Danube (in the Urfahr district), across the river from the Hauptplatz (main square), which leads to the historical part of the city (Altstadt), is home to one of the few public 3D CAVEs in Europe. (The very first 3D CAVE world-wide that was publicly accessible) and attracts a large gathering of technologically-oriented artists every year for the Ars Electronica festival.

Recently built (2003) was the new modern art gallery called "Lentos". It is situated on the south banks of the river Danube. The building can be illuminated at night from the inside with blue, pink, red, and violet, due to its glass casing.

The Brucknerhaus, the most important Linz concert hall, named after Anton Bruckner, is situated just some 200 meters away from the "Lentos". It is home to the "Bruckner Orchestra", and is frequently used for concerts, as well as Balls and other events.

Between the Lentos Art Museum and the "Brucknerhaus", is the "Donaulände", which is also referred to as "Kulturmeile" ("culture mile"). This is a park alongside the river, which is used mainly by young people to relax and meet in summer. It is also used for the Ars Electronica Festival and the "Linz Fest".

Along with Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, Linz will be the European Capital of Culture in 2009.

Colleges and universities

The Johannes Kepler University is situated in the north-east of Linz, and hosts law, business, social sciences, engineering, and science faculties; it currently has about 11,000 students. A spin-off of the university, as well as a Fachhochschule for different computer-related studies, (polytechnic) is 20 miles north of Linz in the small town of Hagenberg im Mühlkreis. Linz also has three other universities: Amongst the many "Gymnasien" (high schools) in Linz, is Linz International School Auhof (LISA), which is one of four IB (International Baccalaureate) schools in Austria, and which uses English as the main language of instruction.

Born in Linz

Twin towns

Linz is twinned with:

See also

External links

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country, state, and nation can have various meanings. Therefore, diverse lists of these entities are possible. Wikipedia offers the following lists:

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Anthem
Land der Berge, Land am Strome   (German)
Land of Mountains, Land on the River
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Austria

This article is part of the series:
Politics of Austria

  • Constitution of Austria
  • Executive
  • President (Heinz Fischer)

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Upper Austria (German: Oberösterreich, Czech: Horní Rakousy) is one of the nine states or Bundesländer of Austria. Its capital is Linz.
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A Regierungsbezirk is a government region of Germany, a subdivision of certain federal states (Bundesländer). Regierungsbezirke are themselves further divided into districts (Kreise), either Landkreise
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A Statutory city (Statutarstadt in Austria, or Statutární město in Czech Republic) is a city with its own municipal law or city statute.

Austria

In Austria, a city can request this status if it has more than 20,000 inhabitants.
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population is the collection of people or organisms of a particular species living in a given geographic area or mortality, and migration, though the field encompasses many dimensions of population change including the family (marriage and divorce), public health, work and the
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Area is a physical quantity expressing the size of a part of a surface. The term Surface area is the summation of the areas of the exposed sides of an object.

Units

Units for measuring surface area include:
square metre = SI derived unit

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Square kilometre (U.S. spelling: square kilometer), symbol km², is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of surface area, the square metre, one of the SI derived units. 1 km² is equal to:
  • 1,000,000 m²
  • 100 ha (hectare)
Conversely:
  • 1 m² = 0.

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Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, humans in particular.

Biological population densities


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Square kilometre (U.S. spelling: square kilometer), symbol km², is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of surface area, the square metre, one of the SI derived units. 1 km² is equal to:
  • 1,000,000 m²
  • 100 ha (hectare)
Conversely:
  • 1 m² = 0.

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elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, often the mean sea level. Elevation, or geometric height, is mainly used when referring to points on the Earth's surface, while altitude or geopotential height
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1 metre =
SI units
1000 mm 0 cm
US customary / Imperial units
0 ft 0 in
The metre or meter[1](symbol: m) is the fundamental unit of length in the International System of Units (SI).
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geographic coordinate system enables every location on the earth to be specified by the three coordinates of a spherical coordinate system aligned with the spin axis of the Earth.
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geographic coordinate system enables every location on the earth to be specified by the three coordinates of a spherical coordinate system aligned with the spin axis of the Earth.
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Format

Postal codes in Austria consist of four digits. The first identifies a geographic delivery area within Austria. The second identifies a routing area. The third defines the route the mail takes either with the car/truck or with the train.
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00 International call prefix 112 general emergency call 118 directory assistance services 122 fire 133 police 140 mountain rescue 144 medical emergency 147 telephone counseling for children (Rat auf Draht) 15xx
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Austrian car number plates are license plates found on Austrian cars.

Appearance



The license plates are made of metal. On the left there is a blue bar like in other EU countries; the text is in black letters on a white background.
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A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning "larger", "greater") is the modern title of the highest ranking municipal officer.

In many systems, the mayor is an elected politician who serves as chief executive and/or ceremonial official of many types of
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The Social Democratic Party of Austria (German: Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs, or SPÖ) is one of the oldest political parties in Austria. The SPÖ is one of the major parties in Austria and has particularly strong ties to labor unions and the Austrian
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A website (alternatively, Web site or web site) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos or other digital assets that is hosted on one or several Web server(s), usually accessible via the Internet, cell phone or a LAN.
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Anthem
Land der Berge, Land am Strome   (German)
Land of Mountains, Land on the River
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Austria

This article is part of the series:
Politics of Austria

  • Constitution of Austria
  • Executive
  • President (Heinz Fischer)

..... Click the link for more information.
Upper Austria (German: Oberösterreich, Czech: Horní Rakousy) is one of the nine states or Bundesländer of Austria. Its capital is Linz.
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Motto
"Pravda vítězí"   (Czech)
"Truth prevails"
Anthem
Kde domov můj
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Danube
Donau, Dunaj, Duna, Dunav, Dunărea
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Volga River (Peка Волга)

Volga in Yaroslavl (autumn morning)


Country | Russia

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agglomeration is an extended city or town area comprising the built-up area of a central place (usually a municipality) and any suburbs linked by continuous urban area.
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The Roman Empire is the name given to both the imperial domain developed by the city-state of Rome and also the corresponding phase of that civilization, characterized by an autocratic form of government. This article however is about the latter.
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Celts, normally pronounced /kɛlts/ (see article on pronunciation), is widely used to refer to the members of any of the peoples in Europe using the Celtic languages or descended from those who did.
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