The capital of Upper Austria - Linz - is one of the most important cultural centers of Austria. Revitalized at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, the former industrial center boasts the Media Art Center, Museum of Contemporary Art and many other cultural institutions, as well as the title of European Capital of Culture from 2009.
The historic buildings of Linz mainly represent the Baroque style. Monumental public buildings, tenement houses and city palaces were built here during the Habsburgs. The heart of the Old Town is Hauptplatz with the Holy Trinity Column erected in 1723, which commemorates saving the city from the plague. Within the oldest district you can also see the late-Renaissance seat of the regional authorities and two cathedrals. The older one represents the Baroque style, while the so-called New Cathedral erected at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries is a neo-Gothic building. It was built to celebrate the establishment of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, and its tower gives way only to the Cathedral of St. Stephen's in Vienna.
The 19th and 20th centuries were a time of rapid industrialization for Linz. Even in the 1990s, the city was considered one of the most polluted in Austria. However, this picture has changed completely. Linz focused on the development of culture, science and multimedia and has grown into a thriving cultural center. At the Media Arts Center here, you can work independently in futuristic laboratories, while in the Tower of Sciences learn about natural, physical and media phenomena. The offer of concerts, festivals and other cultural undertakings, which is served by the Brucknerhaus event hall, has also developed.
