"Adopted home town" of the Führer

Fritz Mayrhofer

The epithet “Patenstadt” (“adopted home town”) exemplifies Adolf Hitler's close relationship with Linz since the days of his youth. Already in the years between 1931 and 1934 the city had been the centre of the political activities of National Socialism in Austria. During the “Anschluss” the city entered the spotlight of world events for 36 hours and became one of the “Cities of the Führer”. He nourished his dream of creating an “ideal National Socialist city” over a model in the cellar of the Chancellery of the Reich in Berlin right up to his suicide.

According to Hitler's vision, Linz was to be expanded into an administrative, cultural, industrial and transport centre, as well as to become the most beautiful city on the Danube. The cream of German architects were entrusted with the responsibility of realising these plans. In actual fact the main building works that were undertaken were those which served the effort to produce armaments to continue the war. Above all these included building up heavy industry, which caused speedy structural change and the building of apartments through a rapid increase in population. The monumental plans for the administrative, cultural, and transport centre did not, for the large part, get off the drawing board.