Goldens on the Road: # 3 Linz, Austria

Linz, Austria

We arrived and docked in early in the morning. We were scheduled to do a walking tour with our guide through this lovely city. Linz is the third-largest city of Austria and capital and largest of the state of Upper Austria and is developed on both sides of the Danube.

It is also a beautiful European City with its various forms of architecture including, Gothic, medieval style in the city center, with the surrounding areas hosting neoclassical, neo-baroque and neo-renaissance architectural styles and the most recent modern buildings.

The Linz Symphony was created in November 1783 in Linz. Mozart was on his way back from Salzburg to Vienna with his wife Constanze. In Linz they were invited by the Count Von Thun to stay for several days. He suggested that Mozart give a concert. Mozart was unprepared and composed the Linz Symphony in three days and it was performed in the Count’s ballroom. The Landhaus in Linz is a country house built in the 16^th century that is a remarkable architectural jewel of Linz. The wonderful courtyard with its fountain has a very Italian flair. Formerly a monastery Landhaus is now the center of Upper Austria’s political scene serving as the seat of the Upper Austrian Provincial Government.

The Schloss Museum was at one time a castle for Kaiser Fredrich III who carried our extensive renovation work and retired here in the late 1480’s. Kaiser Rudolf II had the old castle demolished in 1599 and built the castle in its present form. After the Kaiser’s using the castle as their home it was used as a military hospital, a provincial prison and later a barracks. By 1960 it housed cultural historic collections. As with so many other museums photos inside the museum where not permitted but outside on a balcony was a metal Model of the city of Linz in the late 1800’s. The rest of the photos are scenes of some visible parts of the ole castle, the grounds, and views out over the city from the castle.

Linz Cathedral is one of the top sights in Linz, especially when you realize that it has been around since 1669. Also known as the New Cathedral, it is a Roman Catholic cathedral and is the largest cathedral in Austria, with 20,000 seats. The cathedral is 426.1 ft. long, and the ground area equals 55,649.4 square feet! However, it is not the tallest church in Austria. Construction plans were started in 1855 by Bishop Franz-Josef Rudigier. The first stone was laid on May 1^st 1862—an event solemnised by the performance of Anton Bruckner's Festive Cantata Preiset den Hern. The originally-planned, higher spire was not approved, because in Austria-Hungary, at the time, no building was allowed to be taller than the South Tower of the St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna. At 442 ft. 10.961 inches, the New Cathedral is 6 feet 6.74 inches shorter than the Viennese cathedral. This Cathedral is very beautiful but I believe the outside of the Cathedral, as awesome that it is, would be totally eye popping if it was cleaned!

In 1924 Bishop Johannes Maria Gföllner consecrated the finished building as the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. The plans, drawn by the master builder of the Archdiocese of Cologne, Vincenz Statz, were made in the French high Gothic style. Particularly noteworthy are the cathedral's stained-glass windows. The most famous is the Linz Window, which depicts the history of Linz. The windows also contain portraits of the various sponsors of the church's construction. During the Second World War some windows, particularly in the southern part of the cathedral, were damaged. Instead of restoring the original windows, they have been replaced with windows displaying modern art.