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Linz ***DemographyLinz 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. HistoryThe 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. The city was a provincial and local government city of the Holy Roman Empire, but it was also 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. Another 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. He first made the pope accept its worth. Kepler is the namesake of the local public university, the only one in Austria that embraces the cam stem. Another honoured citizen of the city 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. The parents of Adolf Hitler are buried near Linz, in the town of Leonding. He was enrolled in the same Linz school as the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. Shortly before, and during World War II, Linz grew to become a major industrial area; manufacturing chemicals and steel for the Nazi war machine. Many factories were dismantled in the newly-acquired Czechoslovakia, and then reassembled in Linz. Hitler had extensive architectural plans for Linz. He regarded it as his home town and wanted to turn it into the main cultural centre of the Third Reich. The Rathaus on the Hauptplatz (the townhall on the Main square) was used by Hitler proclaiming the Grossdeutsches Reich on the balcony of the Rathaus, during der Anschluss. The Mauthausen-Gusen camps, the last Nazi concentration camps to be liberated, are located near Linz, with the main camp in Mauthausen 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 is the only architectural plan Hitler ever carried out in Linz. CultureThe 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. EconomyLinz 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. Colleges and universitiesThe 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: * University of Arts and Industrial Design Linz, public, for arts and industrial design (c. 800 students) * Anton Bruckner Private University for Music, Drama, and Dance (private) for music (c. 800 students) * Catholic-Theological Private University Linz (private) for Catholic theology (c. 400 students), which has been a Papal faculty since 1978. 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.
** Pictures by the city of Linz, taken from www.linz.at. |
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