Day 6 - Tour of Linz and Visit to a Concentration Camp

Today has been an eye-opening kind of day. In both beautiful, and dark ways. My morning started off a bit rushed, I had miscalculated our departure time for the tour so I had almost no time for breakfast. But I thankfully ate a roll with jam, a sausage, and brought a small wrapped cheese with me.

The tour itself was rather long, two hours more or less. But we learned a ton about the area, its history, and saw sights we would never have found on our own. We visited the oldest building of Linz first, the town hall, which is located in the main plaza. 

At first glance it just looks like a refurbished, old building, but then we stepped inside and were introduced to an incredible "carpet" (tour guide called it carpet, pretty sure it was more like tile). It was three rooms worth of a map of Austria viewed from above, like google maps. She had us walk on it and point out many important buildings and landmarks in Linz, including the main plaza, a famous church, the Danub River bend, and the ports on the river. What fanacinated me was how Linz got its name. It means "to bend" or "a bend" in Celtic, which referred to the bend in the river that the city is built around.

After our tour of the city map carpet, we stepped outside and made our way across the plaza to look at the statue at the center of the city. According to our guide, it and many others across Europe were built after the Black Plague, in honor of those who kept their faith in their ruler and God. It is covered in angels and cherubs (cupids). Our guide then directed our attention towards the far end of the square, explaining to us the division of the city after the war. The allies split up the territory amongst themselves and we could see the broader of the American and Russian claims. Also, two buildings at the far end made of gray granite with arches were instructed to be built by Hilter. The city of Linz was actually one of his favorite cities in Austria, where he originated from. The city is very active with explaining the dark history of their past to keep the younger generations aware.

When we left the plaza we headed up a side street to look at other famous buildings in the city. To my left I recall passing a cute shop with handmade necklaces and scarves. I think they would make a great souvenir/gift, so I shall have to see if I will have time to go back after Electronica tomorrow.