Bulgariplatz
In the middle of Linz, the city of Upper Austria, lies Bulgariplatz. It is named after Anton Bulgari, a resistance fighter who died during the Austrian civil war of 1934. Covering 2.6 square kilometers, the district has around 15,000 inhabitants.
Since the 19th century, Bulgariplatz has had a long and eventful history. Originally a military training site known as Place du Polygone, the area saw soldiers firing artillery and missiles. Public executions, including the hanging of rebel leader Franz Riepl in 1848, were frequent on the square.
During the 20th century, the region experienced major political and social upheaval, including the Nazi occupation and the Austrian Civil War. The most famous event was the February 1934 uprising, in which workers and socialists rebelled against the autocratic government of Engelbert Dollfuss, banning the Social Democratic Party and establishing a one-party dictatorship. Many rebels were killed or arrested as the army and police ruthlessly suppressed their uprising. One of the main battlefields was Polygon Square, where workers barricaded themselves in a building and fought off government assaults.
The place was renamed Bulgariplatz in 1946 in honor of the prominent resistance fighter and communist leader Anton Bulgari after World War II. Born in Trieste under the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1898, Bulgi began his membership in the Austrian Communist Party in 1919, he became a member of the Central Committee in 1927. He participated in the underground resistance movement opposing the Nazi government and was placed in several times in Gestapo custody. Along with other communist leaders, the Nazis killed him at the Mauthausen concentration camp in 1944.
Built on the square in 1951 as a tribute to Bulgari and his associates, the Bulgari Monument. The memorial consists of a stone wall bearing the names of other resistance fighters killed by the Nazis as well as a bronze monument of Bulgari holding a flag and a weapon. . The memorial represents the Linz labor movement and the anti-fascist struggle.
Bringing together the former statistical districts Andreas-Hofer-Platz-Viertel and Makartviertel, the statistical district Bulgariplatz in Linz was established in 2014, excluding the area south of the motorway. In demographic and socioeconomic research and planning, a statistical district is a city-level subdivision. Based on the city’s natural and urban boundaries, Linz has 36 statistical districts.
Conveniently located between the industrial zone, the city center and the main train station, the newly created statistical district is known as Bulgariplatz. Comprising 1.4 km², the district has a population of approximately 11,000 inhabitants. The neighborhood is distinguished by a large concentration of mostly apartment buildings, as well as public and commercial facilities such as offices, stores and schools. The area also has several green spaces, including parks and gardens, which provide residents and guests with recreational choices.
Bulgariplatz is a varied and dynamic district with many cultural and social events. Along Wiener Straße, the area has many foreign retailers and restaurants; its large immigrant population comes mainly from the Balkans. Architectural and historical sights in the district include the early 20th century neo-Gothic Herz-Jesu-Kirche, the monument to Anton Bulgari and his friends Bulgaridenkmal and the St. Barbara-Friedhof cemetery, where many famous people are buried famous. .
The Bulgariplatz district is rather industrial and economically active. Among the various important companies in the district are Arbeitsmarktservice (AMS), Berufsförderungsinstitut, Brau Union Österreich, Neuromed Campus, ÖBB Werkstätten, Rechberger Ges.m.b. and Siemens Österreich. Among the many recreational and educational facilities in the district are the Otto-Glöckel-Schule, the Bundesrealgymnasium Linz Hamerlingstraße, Andreas-Hofer-Park, Poschacherwiese and Panuliwiese.
