2001 - 2007

1st March 2007
Ground breaking ceremony for the AEC expansion

The ground breaking ceremony marks the start of the expansion of the Ars Electronica Center. It will gain an extra 4000 square meters of space by 2009, the year Linz is European Capital of Culture. During the extensive construction works the Museum of the Future will move to a location in the center of Linz.

January/February 2007
Butterfly and Orchid exhibition

The tropical greenhouse of the Botanical Gardens presents a butterfly and orchid exhibition. The colourful display attracts countless visitors year after year.

6th August 2006
100th anniversary of the Grottenbahn

The dwarf kingdom of the Grottenbahn on the Pöstlingberg opened on the 6th August 2006 in one of the defensive towers built by Maximilian. The first major renovation works were carried out in 1936, when the painter Ludwig Haase redesigned the underground area. The Grottenbahn was destroyed in 1945 in an air raid, but the ground floor section including the dragon train reopened in 1948. The underground fairy tale area reopened in 1950. Sculpture Konrad Feichtinger will design new dwarves as 'backup' for the existing 105 dwarves to commemorate the anniversary.

5th May 2006
Most environmentally friendly municipality
The city of Linz was named 'most environmentally friendly municipality in Austria'. More than 100 municipalities from all provinces entered the Society for nature Conservation's competition 'Nature at your front door'. The city of Linz impressed with its activities in supporting urban farming, protection of species, and outstanding achievement in the field of stream renaturation.

April 2006
Opera House

The decision is taken to build a new opera house in Linz. Of the three designs taken into final consideration, the jury chose the „Theatre by the Park“, a project by the architect Terry Powson of London. The deciding criteria were workability, architectural quality and urban value. The costs of the winning project, which includes an underground car park and a new traffic solution for the area around Blumau, were estimated at approximately 143 million Euros. A completion deadline was not set, although the theatre was certain not to be finished by 2009, Linz's year as cultural capital of Europe.

23rd March 2006
Expansion of the AEC

The decision was taken to expand the AEC. The Museum of the Future is to receive adequate exhibition space and be expanded into the Ars Electronica Future Park by 2009, the year when Linz will become European Capital of Culture. Of the 38 entries to the EU-wide competition the jury selected the project submitted by Treusch architecture of Vienna. The main thought behind these plans is to expand in the form of a sculptured building. The point being that this is a sculpture you can enter and so experience. The crystalline form of the steel and glass construction becomes one with its surroundings and simultaneously becomes an architectural landmark in the city. Construction is due to begin at the end of 2006, completion is anticipated in the third quarter of 2008.

6th March 2006
Deputy Provincial Governor Rupert Hartl dies

Dr. Rupert Hartl, former Deputy Provincial Governor and recipient of the honorary ring of the City of Linz, died on Monday, 6th March at the age of 84.

Rupert Hartl was born in Reichenau on the 2nd April 1921. He attended the Kollegium Petrinum grammar school, and graduated from the Linz state grammar school on Spittelwiese. After his war service and spending time in captivity he studied law in Graz and Innsbruck and was awarded his doctorate in February 1948. He began a career as a judge and rose to the position of senate president of the Provincial Appeals Court in Linz.

Hartl entered politics via his activities as a trade unionist. In 1967 he was elected to first president of the Upper Austrian Provincial Assembly. Hartl was involved at the centre of the reform of the Upper Austrian constitution in this capacity. Two years later he joined the provincial government and took on the social security and health portfolios. The completion of the Upper Austrian plan for health institutions, the Upper Austrian plan for the elderly and the Upper Austrian social support bill during his time in charge of social security were trend setting for social and health policies for the whole of Austria.

Between 1974 and 1982 Dr. Hartl was Deputy Provincial Governor and responsible for local government. Having been provincial head of the Austrian Socialdemocratic Party for many years, he retired in 1982.

5th March 2006
Record breaking winter

Meteorologically speaking, spring has already begun. Yet this weekend brought record amounts of snow. 25 cm of snow fell in the centre of Linz on Saturday night alone, a larger amount than has been seen in years. Many house owners are again concerned, for roofs had already had to bear heavy loads of snow in January and February.

The roof of the Intersport Arena beside the Linz Stadium had to be shovelled clear, too. More than twice the amount of salt has been spread on the West, Mühlkreis and Linz motorways than in previous years. In the area around Ansfelden more than 3000 tons were spread on the asphalt. 15 spreading vehicles were constantly in use between 10pm Saturday night and 3pm Sunday.
Meteorologists predict temperatures to rise significantly by the middle of March at the earliest.

End of January 2006
Arena Square redesigned

The 4000 square metre area between the Ursulinenhof and the O.K. Center for Contemporary Art is to make place for a building several stories high. According to plans by the architect Peter Riepl, the area of the square will be reduced by a third and paved in coloured tiles. In the Ursulinenhof, the foyer will be extended, with a view onto the square. The new building will
house office space and at least two restaurants. In addition, an extra 160 seat 'Moviemento' screen directly connecting to the O.K. Is planned.

20th January 2006
Ground-breaking ceremony for the retirement home Franz Hillinger

The ceremony marks the start of work on the redevelopment of the Franz Hillinger retirement home. A new building with over 120 care places and ten short-term care places will be constructed on the site  of the old Hillinger home, to plans by the Linz architect Herbert Karrer. This will significantly improve the quality of care and support in Urfahr.
The planned completion date is 2008.

16th January 2006
Linz Castle

The south wing of the Linz Castle was completely destroyed by fire in 1800. After many deliberations over the past decades, the Upper Austrian provincial government today decides to rebuild the south wing. This will create a space in which to house the Upper Austrian provincial museums' scientific collections, and the collections concerning the history of technology. In addition, a function room is planned including a restaurant overlooking the roofs of Linz.

18th November 2005
LILO connected to Linz Main Station

All trains of the Linz Local Railway (LILO) have the Main Station as their terminal, with immediate effect. This concludes the upgrade of the Main Station into a local transport hub.

The old local railway station will be demolished by the middle of 2006 and the remaining tracks taken up.

17th Oktober 2005
Dr. Erwin Wenzl dies.

In the early hours of 17th October former Governor and bearer of the Honorary Ring of the City of Linz, Dr. Erwin Wenzl, dies aged 84. Erwin Wenzl began his political career in 1952 as regional party secretary of the ÖVP. Three years later he became a member of the Upper Austrian provincial government and succeeded Heinrich Gleißner as Governor in 1971. He retired from this post in 1977 and became a director of OKA. He retired in 1989 after 13 years as Chairman of the energy company.

October 2005
New Advanced Technical College goes into use.

At the start of the winter semester 2005/06, 650 students start their courses at the new Advanced Technical College on Garnisonstraße.

5200 square metres of lecture theatres, seminar rooms, modern labs and a library are available to those courses offered in Linz: social work, social management, social services for people needing care, administration management and medical technology.

The Linz Advanced Technical College is ideally placed near the Linz General Hospital, the new Accident Hospital and the gespag Mother&Child Centre, and is therefore especially suited to the further development in the "Health and Social Welfare" field.

20th September 2005
Simon Wiesenthal dies

Simon Wiesenthal dies in Vienna at the age of 96. Wiesenthal's research activities and significant contribution to processing the historical events surrounding the Holocaust began in Linz. Simon Wiesenthal received numerous awards for this work, including the Honorary Ring of the City of Linz on 29th May 1995.

In solarCity, 43 town houses of the WSG are handed over to the inhabitants . This concludes the construction of housing in solarCity, totalling 1300 housing units.

15th July 2005
Director for the Capital of Culture 2009

The two directors for the large-scale cultural project "Linz – European Capital of Culture" are introduced in a press conference. From September 2005 onwards Swiss-born Martin Heller (Artistic Director) and Linz's Walter Putschögl (Commercial Director)  will head Linz 2009 – Kulturhauptstadt Europas Organisations GmbH.

28th April 2005
Lenauparkcity opens

The opening of the commercial and service centre Lenauparkcity concludes the city development project, which was launched in 2001. The former site of voestalpine steel trading betweenLastenstraße, Rilkestraße, Raimundstraße and Hamerlingstraße is transformed into an attractive new "district in a district" to plans by the firm of architects Kneidinger and Stögmüller. It includes the two office blocks City Tower 1 and 2, the Sonnenhof-Lenaupark retirement home, which was built as part of the city's social strategy, as well as supported rental and rent-then-buy apartments.

15th February 2005
Ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of the Tower of Knowledge.
Following the unanimous decision by the Linz City Council on 3rd June 2004, an attractive, 16 storey centre for providing knowledge and recreational activities will be built by autumn 2007 between Kärntnerstraße and Weingartshofstraße.

The adult education centre and the city library had already been merged into one organisation. By locating them in a single building, the strengths of both institutions can be accessed to their full potential, and new services can be created.
The Tower of Knowledge will offer self-education centres for life-long learning and represents a centre for reading, literature and media use.

The basic architectural concept was developed by the Linz architects Franz Kneidinger and Heinz Stögmüller. The building will meet the highest technological standards and set new standards for the use by people with special needs.
Building the Tower of Knowledge represents the completion of a further project named in the cultural development plan of 2000 and sends a strong signal in favour of education, life-long learning and culture.

3rd December 2004
Opening of the Main Station

After two years in construction, and costing a total of 45 million Euros, the new Linz Main Station is opened.

31st August 2004
The new underground section for the tram lines 1, 2 and 3 opens.

Tram lines 1,2 and 3 now run via the Linz Main Station. Plans to connect the Linz Main Station directly to all tram lines were begun as early as 1976. Even then, putting the tram lines underground had seemed the most practical solution, although the suggested route was changed several times. Early on in the planning stage the entry and exit ramps were located at Schillerpark and the Unionkreuzung, later the route straight through the Volksgarten or under the Unionstraße/Pillweinstraße/ Brucknerstraße/Wiener Straße block was suggested. Finally entry at the Volksgarten and exit after the Sacred Heart Church was agreed on.

After the construction work to move the no. 3 line at the station forecourt was completed in March 2001, the ground-breaking was held in June for the underground tram system at the Main Station. In February the following year work began on the tunnel at the Herz-Jesu-Kirche (Sacred Heart Church) tram stop, with Mrs. Erna Stockinger, the wife of the CEO of LINZ AG, officiating. All the structural work on the tunnel is completed as early as December 2003. The underground tram section comes into use four months earlier than originally planned.

25th June 2004
The infrastructure centre in Solar City is opened.

22nd October 2003
The former deputy governor and councillor Dr. Karl Grünner dies aged 71.

Dr. Karl Grünner was born on the 30th December 1932 in Linz. After completing secondary school and studying at the Federal Institute for Teacher Training, Grünner taught as a primary and secondary school teacher in the districts of Linz-Stadt and Linz-Land. He completed a psychology degree at the University of Vienna while he was working, and was awarded his PhD in 1966.

Karl Grünner's political career began in 1954 as student teacher representative in the Socialist Union of Teachers. In 1973 he was elected to the Upper Austrian parliament, where as regional councillor he was spokesman on nature conservation, health and price monitoring between 1979 and 1982. Between 1982 and October 1993 he acted as Deputy Governor of Upper Austria.

During this period Dr. Karl Grünner was responsible for the well-being of Upper Austrian local authorities. The promotion of social, economic and socio-political life in Linz was of special importance to him.

Dr. Grünner received numerous awards for his dedication and political achievements, including the Honorary Ring of the City of Linz, and the Grand Gold Honorary Award of Upper Austria.

22nd August 2003
The city park between Huemerstraße, Museumstraße, Noßbergerstraße and Körnerstraße is officially opened. It is the second largest park complex in the inner city.

4th July 2003
Opening of the retirement home Sonnenhof-Lenaupark.

This modern care facility for elderly citizens of Linz marks the end of the  building programme of the City of Linz in this sector for the time being. The demand for in-patient care can now almost be met.

The City of Linz spent around 20 million Euros on this project.

The retirement centre was built by Baureform Wohnstätte, and the architects Stögmüller and Kneidinger were responsible for the design.  Sonnenhof-Lenaupark will be run by St. Vincent's Holy Family Community.

18th May 2003
The Lentos Museum for Modern Art is opened.

The art space by the Danube is ceremonially opened to the public with an exhibition titled: "Avantgarde and Tradition". Designed by the Swiss architectural firm Weber + Hofer, the three-storey, 130 metre long building was built in just 29 months. While the New Gallery, which had been located in the housing and commercial complex Lentia 2000 since 1979, had to make do with 3600 square metres of exhibition space, 8000 square metres are now available to ensure a modern and contemporary presentation of the collections. The entire top floor will be reserved for exhibitions. A continuous glass roof transforms the space into a daylight museum. The building's exterior skin consists of a reflective glass mantle, behind which numerous lamps are fitted. At night the facade can shine in a variety of colours.

The costs of the art museum ran to around 33 million Euros, of which the Province of Upper Austria contributed 7.27 million, and sponsors around three million.

7th March 2003
The new multi-purpose and sports hall is officially opened. The "Intersport Arena Linz" is a perfectly sized hall not just for athletics events but is also an ideal location for cultural events.

17th January 2003
After a construction time of two and a half years the retirement centre Keferfeld/Oed on Meggauerstraße is opened.
Wohnungsanlagen GmbH (WAG) project managed the 10.6 million Euro project, which will be operated by the City of Linz. Designed by the firm of architects Team M, the  retirement centre will provide a home for 90 senior citizens.

end of October 2002
The park on the Bauernberg in Linz is included on the list of the most important protected gardens and parks in Austria.
The area includes the public park and the site of the former  Hatschekvilla, which belongs to the Chamber of Agriculture. As a typical Art Nouveau park the Bauernberg is unique in Austria.

Until about 1900 the area was used for sand mining and was partly used for agricultural purposes. At the turn of the century the "Society for the Beautification of the City of Linz and its Surroundings" began extending the public park, in order to provide the citizens of Linz with a new destination for outings.

After the grounds had been purchased by the City of Linz, the first Austrian competition for the design of a public space was advertised in 1911. Thanks to the generous financial support of the owner of the neighbouring villa complex, Ludwig Hatschek, a beautiful park was laid out over the following seven years.

After suffering heavy damage during World War II, the Department for Public Gardens began the large-scale alterations in the 1950s which shape the appearance of the park to this day.

2nd April 2002
Opening of the TECHCENTER Linz winter harbour
The construction was designed by the Linz architect Dipl.-Ing. Gerd Gessner and completed under the supervision of Linz AG in around two years. Occupants of the complex, jointly constructed by the city, provincial and federal governments are mainly firms from the IT-sector and institutions promoting business.
http://www.techcenter.at/ german

2nd April 2002
The new tramline 2 begins operating.
The line 2 runs from the university to the Wiener Strasse/Simonystrasse crossing, parallel to the existing no. 1, and then continues through the centre of Ebelsberg to the provisional terminus ‘Hillerstraße’.

The first three of the 21 ordered lowered trams of the ‘Cityrunner’ type will run on this line.

26th February 2002
Groundbreaking ceremony for the redesign of the main railway station

25th February 2002
Construction begins for the tram underpass near the ‘Herz-Jesu-Kirche’ stop.

15th February 2002
Groundbreaking ceremony for the emergency hospital on Garnisonstraße.

29th May 2001
Mayor Dr. Franz Dobusch and Councellor Mag. Dr. Reinhard Dyk publicly present the results of the research project ‘National Socialism in Linz’.
"Nationalsozialismus in Linz".

5th April 2001
Ending ceremony after the completion of the revitalisation of the town hall area. 16 houses between the Main Square and the Pfarrplatz were comprehensively renovated since early 1994, harmonising the needs of protecting the historical site of the town hall with the demands of administrative offices.