Linz is already looking forward to serving as Europe's official host for a year, and our visitors can look forward to nothing less than culture bursting from every nook and cranny of the city and region of Linz. Our aim is to make Linz Austria's most interesting city - not only in 2009, but more than ever in the years to come!

The capital of the Province Upper Austria is situated astride the Danube. Linz is Austria's third largest city and links the Mühlviertel region that stretches north to the Czech border with the rolling hills that extend to the Austrian Alps in the south. The Linz Metropolitan Area is the hub of a thriving regional economy; the number of jobs in Linz exceeds the city's population. Here, technology, industry and high ecological standards are no contradiction: Linz is one of Austria's moste environmentally-friendly communities with green spaces making up 60 % of the city. Linking up industry, culture and nature will play an essential role in the Linz09 programme.

LINZ, CULTURE

Cultural life in Linz is highly diverse:

ranging from interactive art at the Ars Electronica Center to 19th- and 20th-century fine arts in the Lentos Kunstmuseum, music in the Brucknerhaus, home of the world-famous Bruckner Orchestra, drama in the Landestheater, contemporary art in the OK Offenes Kulturhaus Oberösterreich and exhibitions in the Oberösterreichischen Landesmuseen. Big events dot the cultural calendar in Linz. One of the summer highlights is the Pflasterspektakel that turns the entire city centre into a stage for street art. An annual fixture in early September is Ars Electronica, the world's most important media art festival. It's directly followed by the Brucknerfest and the Klangwolken in riverside Donaupark. Here, culture also means history: astronomer Johannes Kepler, composer Anton Bruckner and poet Adalbert Stifter lived in Linz, and Mozart's Linzer Symphony has immortalised the name of the town in which it was composed.

LINZ, EXPERIENCE

The best way to experience Linz is by strolling around town:

across the Hauptplatz, one of the largest squares in Central Europe, and through the narrow lanes and inner courtyards of the baroque Old City below the Castle. A qaint old traction railway - with the steepest grade in Europe - climbs Pöstlingberg: at the top, you're rewarded with panoramic views of the city, and when the weather's good you can see all the way to the Alps. An outing on a Danube cruise ship is an unforgettable experience. Another way to explore the charming countryside along Europe's second-longest river is a ride on the Passau-Linz-Vienna Danube bike path.

But culture and scenery aren't all Linz has to offer. Landstraße is the main boulevard of one of Austria's best and busiest downtown shopping districts. And this isn't the last of the Linz superlatives: the Linzer Torte is known all around the globe. But did you know that this cake recipe is the world's oldest and has been delighting pastry connoisseurs for over 350 years now?

Additional information is available online at www.linz09.at
You can order the comprehensive programme booklet at www.linz09.at/info
Linz 2009 - Capitale Europea della Cultura