48°18N 14°18E, pop (2000e) 211 000. Industrial town and capital of Oberösterreich, N Austria; situated on both banks of the R Danube, centre of a rich agricultural region; extensive port installations; University of Social and Economic Sciences (1966); third largest city in Austria; iron and steel, fertilizers, tobacco, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; many historical buildings, including early 16th-c castle, Martinskirche (oldest preserved church in Austria), Landhaus (former seat of the state assembly); museums, art galleries, theatres, opera house; International Bruckner Festival (SepOct).
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Linz is a statutory city in northeastern Austria, by the Danube river.
History
The city was founded by the Romans, who called it "Lentie", but there was already a Celtic settlement called "Lentos";
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 Czechoslovakia 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.
Another important inhabitant of the city was Johannes Kepler, who spent several years of his life in the city studying mathematics.
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 parents of Adolf Hitler are buried near Linz, in the town of Leonding.
Shortly before, and during World War II, Linz grew to become a major industrial area;
The Mauthausen-Gusen camps, the last Nazi concentration camps to be liberated, are located near Linz, with the main camp in Mauthausen just 25 kilometres 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.
Economy
Linz is an industrial city.
Linz also serves as an important transportation hub for the region of both Upper Austria and, to a lesser degree, southern Bohemia.
The city lies on Austria's main rail axis, the so-called "Westbahn", linking Vienna with western Austria, Germany and Switzerland.
Sights
The main street "Landstrasse" leads from the "Blumauerplatz" to the main square. [Plague Column:,]
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.
Other sights include:
St. Mary's Cathedral (Mariendom), Roman Catholic Pöstlingberg-Kirche [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 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 Brucknerhaus, the most important Linz concert hall, named after Anton Bruckner, is situated just some 200 meters away from the "Lentos".
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; Linz also has three other universities:
University of Arts and Industrial Design Linz, public, for arts and industrial design (c.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
Vera Lischka (*1977), breaststroke swimmer and politician Franz Welser-Möst (*1960), music director, The Cleveland Orchestra and the Zurich Opera HouseMiscellaneous
Linz is twinned with:
Berlin-Charlottenburg, Germany, since 1995 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic, since 1987 Chengdu, China, since 1983 Gabès, Tunisia, since 1977 Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, since 1975 Kansas City, Kansas, United States, since 1988 Kwangyang, South Korea, since 1991 Linköping, Sweden, since 1995 Linz am Rhein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, since 1987 Modena, Italy, since 1992 Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, since 1993 Norrköping, Sweden, since 1995 San Carlos, Nicaragua, since 1988 Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, since 1983 Tampere, Finland, since 1995
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