Sights in The Danube Valley
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Stift Göttweig
Founded in 1083, the abbey you see today is mostly baroque due to restoration after a devastating fire in the early 18th century. Aside from the grand view back across the Danube Valley from its garden terrace and restaurant, the abbey’s highlights include the Imperial Staircase with a heavenly ceiling fresco painted by Paul Troger in 1739, and the over-the-top baroque interior of the Stiftskirche (which has a Kremser Schmidt work in the crypt). Fully guided tours take in the abbey’s Imperial Wing, church and summer vestry; shorter tours explore either the Imperial Wing or the church and vestry.
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Egon Schiele Museum
The Egon Schiele Museum, housed in a former jail near the Danube, vividly presents the story of the life of the Tulln-born artist. It contains 100 of his paintings and sketches and a mock-up of the cell he was briefly imprisoned in (he was however jailed in Neulengbach). He fell foul of the law in 1912 following the seizure of 125 erotic drawings; some were of pubescent girls, and Schiele was also in trouble for allowing children to view his explicit works.
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Stift Melk
Of the many abbeys in Austria, Stift Melk is the best known. Historically, Melk was of great importance to both the Romans and the Babenbergs, who built a castle here. In 1089 the Babenberg margrave Leopold II donated the castle to Benedictine monks, who converted it into a fortified abbey. Fire destroyed the original edifice, which was completely rebuilt between 1702 and 1738 according to plans by Jakob Prandtauer and his disciple, Josef Munggenast.
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Lentos Kunstmuseum
The gleaming Lentos Kunstmuseum stops you dead in your tracks. Defined by razor-sharp lines, this glass-and-steel landmark was designed by Zurich architects Weber & Hofer, who decided to leave a large gap in the base of its rectangular shape. The gallery showcases a world-class collection of contemporary art, including works by Warhol, Schiele, Klimt and Kokoschka, which is complemented by rotating exhibitions.
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Pfarrkirche St Veit
The Pfarrkirche St Veit is a baroque parish church resurrected from earlier Gothic and Romanesque forms. Its colourful frescoes are by Martin Johann Schmidt, an 18th-century local artist who was also known as Kremser Schmidt and occupied a house from 1756 near the Linzer Tor in Stein. Behind this is the Piaristenkirche, with Gothic vaulting, huge windows and baroque altars.
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Ars Electronica Center
On the opposite side of the Danube is the Ars Electronica Center, where virtually anything is possible –from diving to the depths of the Danube to flying high above Linz. This temple of interactive wizardry is devoted to the evolving world of technology (the lift projects graphics and a remote-controlled robotic arm tends to the entrance-hall flower garden).
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Schloss Grafenegg
A castle with the look and feel of an ornate Tudor mansion set in English woods. Built in a revivalist (neogothic) style by Leopold Ernst in the mid-19th century it is now a venue for exhibitions and concerts, but you can explore the interior, which includes a chapel and decadent state rooms, weighed down with plenty of wood, period furniture, carpets and fireplaces.
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Alter Dom (13)
Nip down Domgasse to admire the 17th-century Alter Dom (13), where Anton Bruckner served as church organist. Step inside to admire the interior – the architectural equivalent of a wedding cake, with its theatrical pink marble altar and lavish white stuccowork. Bearing left on Domgasse brings you back to the Hauptplatz.
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Landesgalerie
Housed in a sumptuous 19th-century building, the Landesgalerie exhibits 20th-century paintings, photography and installations that bear some relation to Upper Austria. Alongside masterpieces by Dürer and Kokoschka, you’ll find a peerless collection of fantastical works by the Austrian expressionist Alfred Kubin.
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Minoritenkirche
The rococo Minoritenkirche from 1739 is decorated with a magnificent series of ceiling frescoes dedicated to St Johannes Nepomuk, culminating in one depicting his fall from a bridge at the hands of Bohemia’s King Wenceslaus IV; the angel trying to save him is tumbling out of the frame.
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Pöstlingbergbahn
It’s a gentle hike to the top or a precipitous 15-minute ride aboard the narrow-gauge Pöstlingbergbahn. This gondola features in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s steepest mountain railway – quite some feat for such a low-lying city!
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Grottenbahn
At the summit of Pöstlingberg is the turn-of-the-century Grottenbahn, where families – and anyone that loves a bit of cult kitsch – can board the dragon train to trundle past gnomes, glittering stalactites and scenes from Grimms’ fairytales.
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Museum Im Minoritenkloster
The Museum im Minoritenkloster adjoins a church. This city-promoted art space features excellent changing exhibitions such as one in 2007 of erotic art with works by Picasso, Warhol, Richard Lindner and Viennese artist Gottfried Helnwein among the many on show.
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Donaupark
Next to Lentos onto the southern bank of the Danube is the Donaupark, the city's green escape vault. Modern sculptures rise above the bushes in the well-tended gardens, which are a magnet to walkers, joggers, skaters, picnickers and city workers seeking fresh air in summer.
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Botanischer Garten
Rest beside the rhododendrons and orchids in Linz’s botanical garden. This peaceful pocket of greenery south of the centre nurtures 10,000 species, from native alpine plants to tropical palms and one of Europe’s largest cacti collections.
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Linz-Genesis
Opposite the Dreifaltigkeitssäule in the Hauptplatz is the Altes Rathaus (3) housing Linz-Genesis, unravelling the city’s history and celebrating famous sons such as Johannes Kepler and Anton Bruckner.
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Dreifaltigkeitssäule
Admire the pastel-coloured baroque houses framing the Hauptplatz square and its centrepiece, the Dreifaltigkeitssäule, a striking 20m pillar of Salzburg marble carved in 1723 to commemorate the town's deliverance from war, fire and plague.
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Neue Dom
The Neue Dom, a neo-Gothic giant with a riot of skinny spires and fabulous stained glass windows depicts Linz's history. The cathedral's height was apparently restricted to 134m, so as not to outshine Stephansdom in Vienna.
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Weinstadt Museum
The Weinstadt Museumis housed in a former Dominican monastery; inside you’ll find displays on the town’s pride and joy (wine) and its production, and paintings by our friend, Kremser Schmidt.
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Minoritenkirche
Turning into Klosterstrasse, you'll spy the sleek grey-and-white façade of the 13th-century Minoritenkirche, famed for its rococo stuccowork and frescoes (the brushwork of Bartlomeo Altomonte).
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Weingut Der Stadt Krems
Weingut der Stadt Krems is the city-owned vineyard, yielding 200,000 bottles per year (90% is Grüner Veltliner and Riesling), some of which you can sample free and buy.
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Mozarthaus
Appreciate the Renaissance architecture of Mozarthaus where Amadeus composed the Linzer Sinfonie in 1783, before soaking up the ambience in the Altstadt's maze of cobbled streets.
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Pöstlingberg
Linz spreads out beneath you atop Pöstlingberg, which affords bird's-eye views over the city and the snaking Danube. It's a gentle hike to the top of the 537m mountain.
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Karikaturmuseum
The Karikaturmuseum features changing exhibitions and a large permanent collection of caricatures of prominent Austrian and international figures
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Pfarrkirche St Stephan
Not to be missed is the Pfarrkirche St Stephan with its perfectly preserved 13th-century frescoed Romanesque funerary chapel.
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