Linz, Hostess of Europe

Press report

Linz, the city on the Danube, has become the pulsating centre between East and West during the last decades. A unique interplay of culture, industry and nature, combined with Austrian hospitality, gives the city its exceptional vitality. The year 2009 is a very special one for Linz: The capital of Upper Austria will be European Capital of Culture. Today already numerous events are taking place so that you can anticipate what will happen in this coming Cultural Capital year.

Linz is Culture
The city is a stage for art and culture, all year long. Music, theatre, movies and art – old classics to Media Art – , Linz is open, innovative and varied; a city that has something to offer for any taste.

Linz knows how to celebrate
In December 2008 the shortest days of the year are counted down. This year 31 windows are opened on the Advent calendar and five candles are lit on the Advent wreaths. So people won’t just wait for Christmas to come, but also for the Cultural Capital year which will officially start with the strike of the clock on January 1, 2009 at 00:00.

Linz offers experience
The metropolis on the Danube can be experienced best by walking through the city. There is so much to see. The main square, impressing by its size, invites you to a chat in one of the comfortable open-air restaurants and cafés in summer and to a stroll through the Advent market in winter. Don’t miss the Pöstlingberg, the mountain in the north of Linz, with its baroque Pilgrimage church, the Grottenbahn, and a fantastic view over the city. Or the Landstraße and its side lanes, with elegantly decorated shops, three down-town shopping malls, from flagship stores of international brands to small stores for tasting and browsing. Afterwards comfortable restaurants and cafés invite you to enjoy one of the various culinary highlights of the city. For example, a piece of Linzer Torte. This sweet titbit has been seducing people for more than 300 years now.

Linz changes
This is not only a slogan of the city, it is real: Linz is striving for the new and is transferring this ambition. No Austrian city has changed as much as Linz during the last decades. Linz of today is a modern city full of impetus with high living quality. This change is reflected in all of the city’s past, present and future. Be that in the romantic corners and narrow lanes and on historic places that can tell many stories about the vivid past of the city, or in the interesting new buildings of appealing architectural styles. Just like the newly-built Museum of the Future – the Ars Electronica Center – or the new south wing of the Schlossmuseum (Museum in the Castle of Linz) that allows the visitor to enjoy an extensive view over the city. These modern buildings will be opened in the Cultural Capital year and they will fit perfectly into the cityscape of Linz.

Contact Press
Tourismusverband Linz | Marion Brunnmayr
Tel. +43 (0)732/7070-2922 Fax: +43 (0)732/700494
E-mail: marion.brunnmayr@mag.linz.at
www.linz.at/tourismus/presse