Travel Guide Linz

The country's third-largest city and capital of Upper Austria, bathed by the Danube and surrounded by hills, Linz is home to a city center rich in Baroque and Renaissance buildings. At the same time, on the other side of the river, Linz is a temple to new technologies, with the Ars Electronica Center. Stroll through the city's large park. Admire the murals of the industrial buildings on the river banks. A city of Roman origins, at the crossroads of trade routes, Linz was home to Emperor Frederick III during the last years of his life, making it the most important city in the empire. During the Second World War, Linz was a major industrial center, producing chemical compounds and steel for the Nazi war machine. Long before this sad episode, and in a completely different vein, it was during a stay in Linz in 1783 that Mozart composed the aptly named Linz Symphony. An industrial metropolis, this working-class city remains a bastion of Austrian social democracy. It's also a green city with a botanical garden and ecological initiatives, a cultural city with a strong emphasis on contemporary art, and an inclusive student city with LGBT+ events. And don't miss the Linzertorte, reputed to be the oldest jam-filled pie in the world.