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An exhibition at StifterHaus presented observations on Linz by celebrities past and present.

“Linz is no more than a glorified railway station,” Herzmanovsky-Orlando opined, “of which I am only familiar with the depot and the Linzer Torte” one might add à la Alfred Polgar. Among literary movers and shakers, Linz was often considered merely a stopover on the way to somewhere else. At most, its train station achieved a certain degree of renown. Nevertheless, and almost unbeknownst to the annals of literature, there were indeed famous travelers who spend some time here. And this wonderfully done, ironically tinged exhibition collected evidence of these encounters—the writing of such greats as Mozart, Nestroy, Grillparzer, Twain, Musil, Thomas Mann and Qualtinger. The casual jotting of these historical personages, their adventures, acquaintances and musings amounted to a cacophonous chorus of verdicts on and prejudices about Linz.
The exhibition design’s metaphor transformed StifterHaus into an imaginary train stop at which all these various routes intersected. For the duration of the exhibition, mementos, letters, commentaries, travel accounts and literary gems by famous travelers had a stopover here. Lady Mary Montagu and Hans Christian Andersen, to name only two, took away pleasant memories of their stay. Postcards and short stories, characters in novels and symphonies—these contradictory testimonials created the space necessary for a bit of ironic self-mockery and established some playful distance to the city’s current (self)image.

This extraordinarily well-received exhibition attracted 4,600 visitors. An accompanying catalog featuring famous authors’ texts that make mention of Linz is available at StifterHaus.


WHAT // Exhibition
WHEN // April 29-November 12, 2009
WHERE // StifterHaus

IDEA // Petra-Maria Dallinger, Regina Pintar
CONCEPT / CURATOR // Evelyne Polt-Heinzl
EXHIBITION DESIGN // Peter Karlhuber


Free admission