Linz Things to Do

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Most people try to rush Linz on a budget so they end up missing some of the highlights in a whirlwind. The key to seeing Linz properly is a game plan, you must know what you want to see before getting out. Before we visited Linz we saw on a city map that the huge city of Linz is divided into three areas - the historical Hauptplatz, the area in and around the Altstadt and the more residential area in the alleys and winding streets. After that we visited the city and we hiked our way through all three of the areas.

Our hikes were beautiful in the Altstadt, where the village is one huge ancient site in which we could walk for quite some time. It was quite strenuous sometimes, but definitely worth while! For example we started at the Promenade across the Landhaus where we parked the car, made our way to Kremsmünserer Haus and finally hiked way into the old town and it ended at the Linzer Schloss at the city of the Altstadt. While most tour guides don't recommend getting lost in the alley´s, this part of Linz is the place to get hopelessly lost for some time. We wondered off through mysterious and steep alleyways leading us away from the crowds. We ended up at the AtelierHaus Salzamt (old and beautiful building with amazing views at the river Donau), the Hauptplatz (old central square with beautiful old houses of the merchants), mazes of hilly backstreets and deserted gardens. The real Linz?

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Take time to meander - losing yourself in the maze of alleys, streets and lanes is one of Linz old town´s principal pleasures. The streets wind and wander with no discernible order or object. After our stroll we rewarded ourselves with a cool glass of beer or wine for our effort! We learned that you won´t do justice to the entire city of Linz whenever you won´t visit other parts than just the main sights. So ... do meander, because the cluster of sights around the Hauptplatz (main square) are truly beautiful, but the more secret pleasures of the hushed backstreets are just entrancing.

When strolling through the heart of the city, one can literally sense its history. The lanes of the Altstadt (old town), which lies directly at the foot of the castle, communicate the feeling of past ages. Splendid town residences and chapter houses are worthy of closer scrutiny, as are the many inner courtyards hidden discretely behind arched gates. Moreover, the spacious, baroque main square with its lively hustle and bustle is never far away. All this may seem very though as finding your way in Linz might be difficult, but in really distances are short and the signs will help you in getting around. Enjoy!

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Standing on the outside of the church you can’t miss noticing that this Alter Dom has a fairly simple exterior with onion-dome-topped twin towers. On the other hand the interior has the usual Baroque rich excesses - pink marble columns, intricately carved pulpit and lots of beautiful statues. We headed for the high altar which is over flown with marble sculptures and a huge the altar painting. But to me the main focal point were the amazing carved choir stalls.

We walked around in this single-nave Baroque church with several lateral chapels and galleries. Also having a look at the closed choir and the marble high altar. We read that some of the interior originates from a former monastery church in Garsten, while the organ derives from Engelzell monastery. Finally the organ was built according to plans by Anton Brucker and is still in its original state. Truly a great church and also a must visit!

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Although we were quite early when we first arrived at the Ignatiuskirche we were already allowed to enter it. A huge advantage of our early arrival was the fact that there were almost no tourists at that time. Either the bus / coach did not arrive yet or everybody was still having breakfast at their hotels. Whenever we visit a church or cathedral the kids always want to burn a candle, it has become a bit of a tradition. The sight of burning votive candles - real or electronic - is common in most Catholic cathedrals. The candles are usually placed before statues of saints or at shrines. But how did this tradition get its start?

According to A Handbook of Catholic Sacramentals, by Ann Ball, the practice of lighting candles in order to obtain some favor probably has its origins in the custom of burning lights at the tombs of the martyrs in the catacombs. The lights burned as a sign of solidarity with Christians still on earth. Because the lights continually burned as a silent vigil, they became known as vigil lights. Vigil Lights (from the Latin vigilia, which means "waiting" or "watching") are traditionally accompanied by prayers of attention or waiting. Another common type of candle offering is the votive light. Such an offering is indicative of seeking some favor from the Lord or the saint before which the votive is placed. So for us lighting a candle is a way of extending our prayer and showing solidarity with the person on whose behalf our prayer is offered.

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During our walk over the Hauptplatz (main square of Linz) we could not overlook the two mighty towers of the Ignatiuskirche. Therefore we immediately visited it after we finished our Hauptplatz tour. The cathedral lies at the southern end of the Hauptplatz, near the former Jesuits’ College. Although it is no longer the cathedral of Linz, the Ignatiuskirche is still known as the Alter Dom and is the largest Baroque church in the city. Time for us to explore this beautiful church!

After we entered it we saw a small cabinet with some brochures on it. One of the brochures showed us some of the interesting history of the church itself. First of all we read that the church was dedicated to St. Ignatius, the founder of the Jesuit order. The construction period was 1669 – 1683 and furthermore the Ignatiuskirche became the cathedral (Dom) of Linz in 1785 and fulfilled that role until 1909. The last interesting fact was that the famed composer Anton Bruckner was the cathedral organist for over a decade (1856-1868).

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We had a great time at the LENTOS Art Museum. The temporary exhibition we visited (Gilbert & George) will probably no longer be there when you arrive in town, but there may be other exhibitions that are equally interesting! And the museum also houses an excellent permanent collection (no photography allowed in that section, though...).

At the northern side of the Nibelungen bridge (or North bank of Linz) is the new Ars Electronica Center. It exhibits interactive computer wizardry and provides free internet access to the public. There are many computer simulations, with numerous staff on hand to explain what's going on. Unfortunately, the technology requires lots of maintenance and as a result, several displays were closed the day we went. Expect it and also expect some lines for certain exhibits. It's open from Wednesday to Sunday (see website for hours and prices).

Found this on my little walk into the city from our docked ship, the Viking Sky. I walked one block off the main drag and found this small lit statue of Adalbert Stifter who it seems was an Austrian poet, writer, painter and naturalist of some note in Germany, but hardly known in the USA. I love finding little pockets of art throughout the world and finding out a little more about them. Statue by Hans Rathausky.