Statement Erich Watzl, Deputy Mayor of Linz and Chairman of Linz09

Say Linz. Say change

The above motto expresses above all our intention in European Capital of Culture Year to tell the story of our city’s past, notably its most recent chapters. We will recount how the city shook off pollution to reinvent itself as a highly prosperous hi-tec centre with near full employment, which features major green spaces and a fully autonomous cultural life.
It is a foregone conclusion that in this story the dark patches, such as the Civil War, the Nazi era and WWII, will not be glossed over.

Say Linz. Say change
also implies that in the course of the preparations for Culture Capital Year our city is undergoing a makeover in its appearance. As it prepares to step on to the European stage, the city wants to make sure it will be putting its best foot forward.
Construction work on a spate of cultural institutions, such as the enlargement of the Ars Electronica Center or the construction of the Schlossmuseum’s South Wing, and the construction of new infrastructure facilities and the revamping of existing ones, such as the reconfiguration of squares, the extension of Pöstlingbergbahn, the redevelopment of the shipping piers along the Danube, the construction of hotels and of the VOEST Visitors’ Center, have had a profound influence on the rhythm our city on the Danube pulses to.

Say Linz. Say change

means above all the need for a process of change to be initiated in the minds of all of us in Linz that will still be in evidence long after Culture Capital Year 2009 and that is going to make Linz Austria’s most interesting city by 2015. There are simple reasons for this: here artists and entrepreneurs are both involved in the realization of joint projects and in staking out the course for the future; here politicians from different political camps join forces to push for the best possible solution and do not cultivate differences for their own sake; and, last but not least, meeting people with a background in other countries, cultures and religions is considered an enrichment here rather than a threat.