About this place
Perched on the Schlossberg where a Roman fort called Lentia once guarded the river, Linz Castle looks out over the rooftops of the old town toward the Danube, the Pöstlingberg and the distant Alps. Emperor Frederick III turned the medieval stronghold into a residence in 1477, and later Habsburgs married, gave birth and sheltered from plague within its walls. A catastrophic city fire in 1800 gutted the south wing, after which the building spent nearly 150 years as a military hospital, a penitentiary and army barracks. Today it houses the Schlossmuseum, whose collections sweep from Celtic and Roman finds through Gothic art and folk crafts to the technology and natural history of Upper Austria, displayed across both the old stone castle and a striking glass-and-steel south wing rebuilt in 2009.
Key facts
- 799 AD — The year Linz was first documented, tied to the fortified hill where this castle now stands
- 1800 year — A great city fire that broke out at the castle destroyed its entire south wing
- 24 million euros — The cost of the glass south wing reopened for Linz's 2009 Capital of Culture year
📍 Schlossberg 1a, 4020, Linz