History Of Linz
The Celtic period (around 400 BC)
Human habitation in the Linz region first appears in the Neolithic period, around 5,000 BC. But the first known communities appeared in the 4th century BC when several Celtic tribes migrated near the Danube and its tributaries. Skilled traders, farmers, fighters, the Celts created a rich culture and art. To guard against rivals and invaders, they also created magnificent fortifications and towns called oppida. Two of these oppida were located within the current city limits of Linz: one on the Gründberg hill in Urfahr and another on the Freinberg hill to the west of the city center. The Freinberg settlement most likely had a Celtic name, Lentos, which suggests something like flexible or curved. Later, the Romans adopted this name for their city and their fort. The Roman conquest of the region falling within the province of Noricum in the first century BC marks the end of the Celtic period.
The Roman period (1st century BC - 5th century AD)
Part of the province of Noricum, which spanned most of modern Austria and Slovenia, the Romans included the Linz region in their empire. To guard the passage of the Danube, they built a fort of wood and earth on the site of the Celtic oppidum of Lentos, in the middle of the first century AD. Later, in the second century CE, a larger stone fort replaced the fort, housing a civilian community and a garrison of around 600 soldiers. Named Lentia, the fort became a major military and administrative center in the region. It was also a trading center, linking the Amber Road, which connected the Roman roads along the Danube to the Baltic Sea, to the Germanic tribes, including the Marcomanni and the Quadi, who attacked and destroyed Lentia several times in during the second and third centuries AD. was always rebuilt and fortified. The fort remained under Roman rule until the fall of the empire, having survived the migrations of the 4th and 5th centuries AD. Among the few Roman towns in Austria, Lentia is the one that has been continuously inhabited until the present day.
The Early Middle Ages (6th century - 10th century)
Various Germanic tribes, including the Lombards, Alemanni, and Bavarians, invaded and settled Linz after the fall of the Roman Empire. Covering mainly modern Austria and parts of Germany, the Bavarians founded a duchy. Until the 12th century, Linz was under the authority of the Duchy of Bavaria. Serving trade between East and West, Linz once again became important as a market and customs site on the Danube. The first known reference to Linz as “Linze” in written records dates from 799, in a deed of donation made by the Holy Roman Emperor and the Frankish King Charlemagne. Between 902 and 906, Linz was also mentioned in the Raffelstetten customs rules as a royal market and customs place. These records reveal that, under Carolingian control, Linz was a wealthy and powerful city in the early Middle Ages.
The High and Late Middle Ages (11th century - 15th century)
Linz joined the Babenberg dynasty, which ruled the Duchy of Austria, in the 11th century. The Babenbergs granted Linz various rights and privileges, thus promoting the growth of the city. Linz was designed with a consistent grid in 1207 using the old colony core. Still the largest metropolitan square in Europe, the new main square opened in 1230 Linz became a legal and administrative center when it acquired a municipal seal and a municipal judge in 1240. For the dukes of Babenberg, who also encouraged the trade and industry of the city, the Linz toll was one of the most important sources of income. Due to its strategic position close to the border with Bavaria, Linz was also a regular location for royal visits and negotiations. When the Habsburgs acquired Carinthia in 1335, Emperor Louis IV was present in Linz. After the extinction of the Babenbergs in 1246, the Habsburgs inherited the Duchy of Austria.
Linz continued to develop as a city under the Habsburgs, but it also experienced some difficulties and conflicts. Claiming Austrian territories, the Bohemian king Charles IV besieged and burned Linz in 1362. The scene of a civil war between the Habsburg brothers Albert III and Leopold III, who shared the Austrian territory, Linz saw in 1382 Linz hold the first high -Austria. State Parliament in 1408, representative assembly of towns, clergy and nobility. Emperor Frederick III attended another state parliament held at Linz Castle in 1457. After the capture of Vienna by Matthias Corvinus, Frederick III chose Linz as his city of residence, thus establishing the center of the Holy Roman Empire of 1489 to 1493. Linz also became the headquarters of the Imperial Mint, which produced the famous Guldiner silver coins. Linz was also aided by Duke Albrecht VI, who lived there from 1458 to 1462 and supported the arts and sciences. Linz suffered from heavy legal demands and expenses even as it gained political and cultural importance. First designated as the state capital in 1490, Linz granted the city council the power to choose a mayor and a municipal judge. The third Danube bridge in Austria, Linz obtained permission from Emperor Maximilian I to build a bridge across the Danube in 1497. Completed in 1500, the bridge facilitated trade and traffic between the two banks of the river.
The Modern Period (16th century - 21st century)
Linz’s modern period began with the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, which brought social and religious changes to the city. Although the Catholic Habsburgs persecuted and suppressed Linz, it became a stronghold of Protestantism in Austria. The first Protestant synod in Austria took place in Linz in 1542, thus founding the Lutheran confession. Wolfgang Krell was the first Protestant superintendent appointed in Linz in 1564. But Linz was forced to adopt the Counter-Reformation in 1600, thereby reestablishing Catholicism as the official religion and driving many Protestants either into exile or conversion. Also suffering from the Thirty Years’ War, which destroyed the city and its surroundings, Linz. The Swedish army besieged and occupied Linz in 1645, pillaging and burning the city. The Turkish wars, which endangered Austria’s eastern borders, also had an impact on Linz. Under Polish King John III Sobieski, who commanded the relief army lifting the siege of Vienna by the Ottoman Turks, Linz served as his headquarters in 1683.
Linz was healed of wars and became a center of enlightenment and culture in the 18th century. The composer Anton Bruckner, cathedral organist and music teacher in Linz, was born here. Also living in Linz was the mathematician and astronomer Johannes Kepler, who developed the laws of planetary motion there. Many famous people have also visited Linz, including Napoleon Bonaparte, Ludwig van Beethoven and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Particularly in the textile, iron and tobacco sectors, Linz also observed growth in industry and trade. With the opening of the first railway line in 1832, the first telegraph line in 1847 and the first electric tram in 1897, Linz also developed as a communications and transport center.
Linz participated in the political and social movements that influenced the course of Austria and Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries. The peasant revolt of 1626, which aimed to gain more rights and freedoms for the rural population, occurred in Linz. Also, the site of the Linz Program of 1882, which defined the goals and values of the nationalist and anti-Semitic German National Party, Linz. It was in Linz that Adolf Hitler grew up and spent his early years. The Nazi government, which took over Austria in 1938 and made Linz a “Führerstadt”, a model city for the Third Reich, greatly affected Linz. Several Allied bombs targeting Linz devastated most of the city and its infrastructure. Numerous concentration camps and forced labor factories located in Linz also exploited and killed thousands of workers and inmates. After its liberation by American forces in 1945, Linz joined the Soviet occupation zone until 1955.
Alongside the transition from an industrial city to a service and cultural city, Linz underwent reconstruction and modernization in the second half of the 20th century. Host of the first Austrian state treaty in 1955, Linz helped Austria regain its neutrality and sovereignty after occupation. It is also the site of the first Ars Electronica festival in 1979, an international celebration of art, technology and society. With the establishment of numerous colleges and institutes, including the Johannes Kepler University, the private Anton Bruckner University and the Ars Electronica Center, Linz has also become a center for research and education. With so many museums, theaters, celebrations and events, including the Lentos Art Museum, the Brucknerhaus concert hall, the Linz Festival and the Linz Klangwolke, Linz has also created a lively and varied cultural scene. Linz also spearheaded environmental and social projects, including the Green Belt, the Solar City and the Linz Charter of Human Rights.
Linz is still a dynamic and creative city with a vision for the 21st century. Recognizing its achievements and potential in the fields of culture and creativity, Linz was European Capital of Culture in 2009 and UNESCO City of Media Arts in 2014. With almost 200,000 citizens from over 140 countries and cultures, Linz is also a city of diversity and inclusion. With a strong network of alliances and projects spanning Austria and beyond, Linz is also a city of cooperation and communication.
