The Trip That Keeps Growing: Danube River Christmas Market Cruise

7 December Linz

Linz, the third largest city in Austria and one of the largest ports on the Danube, is located in the northern part of the country just 19 miles from the Czech border. Today Linz is a vibrant and innovated city with a beautifully quaint Old Town. It is also one of Austria’s cultural centers. The Danube River flows through the city itself.

During the first century AD, the city that is now known as Linz was developed by the Romans who built fortifications around an earlier settlement and named it Lentia. It eventually became a local government city of the Holy Roman Empire and an important trading center. In the later part of the 1400s, it was briefly the most important city in the Hapsburg Empire when Emperor Friedrich III took residence there in the last years of his life. When the Emperor died in 1493, that status was given to both Vienna and Prague.

Several important people at one time or another called Linz home. The astronomer and mathematician Johannes Kepler was living in Linz when he discovered his third law of planetary motion (distance-cubed-over-time-squared). Linz’s university was named for him. And during the period 1855-1868, Anton Bruckner, worked as a composer and organist in the Old Cathedral. But perhaps the most infamous former citizen was Adolf Hitler who spent part of his youth (1898-1907) in Linz before moving on to Vienna. He considered Linz to be his hometown. Hitler had grandiose plans to build a massive new Fuhrermuseum to showcase his collection of looted art and, because he hated Vienna, he wanted Linz to become the main cultural center of his Third Reich. Also spending part of his youth in Linz was Hitler’s notorious henchman Adolf Eichmann.

Following WWII, Linz also became a divided city, with the Soviets occupying the city north of the Danube and the other three Allied countries (US, France, and Great Britain) the city to the south. Finally, on 15 May 1955, the Austrian Independence Treaty was signed by the four occupying nations and Austria was once again a free republic.

Today was a free day for us as many of our fellow travelers chose to take the optional tour to Salzburg, most noted for the role it played in The Sound of Music. However, as it was a 1 ½ hour bus ride from Linz, there would not have been enough time to really see and enjoy Salzburg. So we opted to enjoy our day in Linz. Our Program Directors had arranged for a private guide to take those who were interested on a tour of the old city. It was a very interesting walk.

Our first stop was to Hauptplatz, the original Market Square and the center of the Old Town. It is one of the largest squares in Central Europe and is surrounded by beautiful baroque buildings, including the Rathaus or Town Hall. In the center of the square is the Dreifaltgkeitssaule or Trinity Column. It was constructed in the 18^th century as a “thank you” to God for saving the city from the Turkish Wars of 1683, the 1704 War of the Spanish Succession, the 1712 fire, and the 1713 plague. The baroque Column stands 66 feet tall and was sculpted from white marble. On three sides of the base are panels containing the coats of arms that symbolize the earthly trinity of Emperor, City and estates. On the Pedestal are three plague saints (Sabastian, Karl Borromeo, and Florian) with Saint Maria Immaculata standing on a crescent moon surrounded by playful cherubs. The top of the column is crowned with the biblical Holy Trinity – the Father, Son and Holy Ghost – cover with gold-plated copper. It was in this square that the main Christmas Market was located.

We then walked along the narrow streets lined with beautiful baroque buildings until we came to the Linz Parliament. This is the one exception to the baroque buildings – it was built in the Renaissance style between 1568 and 1658. Formally the Monastery of the Friars Minor, when the monastery was abolished in 1785, it was taken over by the government and today is the seat of the provincial government of Upper Austria. It was also once a college where Kepler taught. Inside the courtyard was another small Christmas market with a beautiful wood carved nativity scene.

Our last stop on the walking tour was the New Cathedral ( or Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception). Built between 1862 and 1924 in the Neo-Gothic style, it is constructed of yellow sandstone. Larger than St. Stevens Cathedral in Vienna, it has a 433-foot-high tower, and inside three aisles and a walkway that is surrounded by a ring of chapels. The stained-glass windows are stunning. In addition to their beauty, they serve to commemorate important figures and the history of Linz. During WWII some of the windows were damaged, but rather than restore them to their original state, they were replaced with windows displaying modern art.

After the tour ended, we walked through the main Christmas market and enjoyed a mug of hot glühwein before returning to the ship for lunch, After lunch we returned to Linz to try and find St. Martin’s Church, the oldest church in not only Linz by in Austria. We first followed the route on the map that showed a stairway that led up to the Linz Castle, but those steps were closed. So, we returned to the center of town and proceeded to walk up several rather steep streets leading up to the Castle. Although a fortress was first mentioned in 799, the Linz Castle was completely rebuilt by Emperor Friedrich III in 1477. As it did then, the castle stands guard over the Danube River. Today the castle is a museum featuring art and historical collections and artifacts from the prehistoric, Roman, and medieval periods. Except for the museum there really is not much to see in the Castle except for its walls.

With the help of a young boy walking through the Castle, we finally found St. Martin’s Church. It is located on the other side of the Castle. When we finally got to the church it was closed, but there was a small window in the door from which we could see the inside of the church. Coming back through the Castle, we had some beautiful views of the town of Linz.

It was then time to return to our ship to enjoy a nice glass of wine while we rested our weary legs. It seems the older we get, the steeper and harder to climb the streets become.