Linz

Sister cities

• Gwangyang
• Tampere
• Chengdu
• České Budějovice
• Gorizia
• Dodoma
• Halle (Saale)
• Nizhny Novgorod
• Modena
• San Carlos
• Norrköping Municipality
• Linköping Municipality

History

Linz originated as a Roman fort named Lentia, established in the first century. The name reflects its location at a bend in the Danube (Celtic root lentos = "bendable"). This strategic position on the river made it the first Roman fort in the Noricum region, protecting a vital transportation route. The name "Linz" in its present form was first documented in 799. Johannes Kepler spent several years of his life in the city teaching mathematics. On 15 May 1618 he discovered Kepler's laws of planetary motion. The local public university Johannes Kepler University Linz is named for him. The Oeconomische Encyclopädie (also simply known as the Krünitz), with the entry about Linz being written around 1800, describes the city as well built and fortified and its economy as growing, partially because of its location on the Danube and the connection to routes to Hungary and Vienna. At that time, the city had a population of 16,000–17,000. Major industries were the productions of gunpowder, iron, steel, salt, and firewood. The wool industry was particularly important: a wool manufactory, established in 1672, was the biggest in then-Austria, or rather, the Austrian states. It was nationalized in 1754. Plans, made in 1770, of selling it to a tradesman were canceled. Although it kept production going, by the end of the 18th century its golden era was over. When the Krünitz entry was written, the manufactuary had a yearly revenue of 1.5 million Gulden and was generating 100,000 in profit and was employing around 30,000 people. Anton Bruckner spent the years between 1855 and 1868 working as a local composer and organist in the Old Cathedral, Linz. The Brucknerhaus is named for him. Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn (an Austrian town near the German border) and moved to…

Most-observed species

• Asian tiger mosquito, Forest day mosquito

  Aedes albopictus (Skuse, 1894) · Insecta
  2,346
• Asian bush mosquito

  Aedes japonicus (Theobald, 1901) · Insecta
  2,171
• Tree Hole Mosquito

  Aedes geniculatus (Olivier, 1791) · Insecta
  2,128
• Korean bush mosquito

  Aedes koreicus (Edwards, 1917) · Insecta
  2,055
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,134
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,082
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  970
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  967

Most recent

• M 3.9 — 2021-01-20
  3 km NNE of Ardning, Austria
• M 3.8 — 2008-08-12
  6 km SE of Maria Schmolln, Austria
• M 2.8 — 2008-08-06
  2 km SE of Schalchen, Austria
• M 3.2 — 2008-06-22
  4 km ESE of Micheldorf in Oberösterreich, Austria
• M 2.9 — 2008-03-16
  8 km W of Windischgarsten, Austria
• M 2.7 — 2006-12-15
  0 km NE of Bad Ischl, Austria