Bus from LINZ to BERLIN

Linz is a town in the north of Austria of 191,767 inhabitants, the third largest Austrian town and the capital of the federal state of Upper Austria.

Linz lies in the north of central Austria, only 30 kilometers from the border with the Czech Republic, 160 km west of Vienna, along both banks of the Danube. Surrounded by the Linzer Becken valley surrounded by the mountains, today it is connected with the surrounding cities (Amstetten, Wels and Steyr) and formed a small metropolis.

Linz developed from the Roman military fortress - Lentia, which became an important shopping center in the Middle Ages. Linz is mentioned for the first time in 799 when Bavaria expanded to the south and occupied the area. By the 13th century, Linz had acquired all the external features of the city but had not yet had the status of the city. This status was acquired only in the 15th century when he was in the car of the Holy Roman Emperor - Fridrik III., Then became known for his fairs.

At the beginning of the 17th century, Linz had taught mathematics for the first time by the famous astronomer Johannes Kepler, today called the Johann Kepler's Local University, founded in 1966. [2] At the same time Protestantism expanded around the city and the surrounding area, which led the Jesuits to carry out the counter-Reformation. Numerous baroque buildings were built within the 17th century. Since 1785, Linz has become the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese. [2] During the War for the Austrian legacy, the city was occupied by the Bavarian and French troops in 1741, and in 1800 the city burned down the fire. In addition to Linz in 1809, the Battle of Ebelsberg between the Austrian and Napoleonic forces in the War of the Fifth Coalition.

The first European railroad (outside England) still hunted by horses was built between Linz and Budweis - 1832. During that period, the Danube was flourishing, so Linz became a major port for numerous industrial goods from the Czech Republic, which was transported by rail to Linz , and continued to drive ships along the Danube across the monarchy. A major leap in the development of the city was the construction of the 1861 railway to Vienna and Salzburg. Since 1880, Linz has a horse-drawn tram that was electrified in 1897. Since the middle of the 19th century, the industry has started to develop into metal processing and textile.

Adolf Hitler spent part of childhood and youth in Linz, where he attended high school with Ludwig Wittgenstein - jealousy for his humble life, allegedly had a decisive influence on his later attitudes about the Jews. In 1934, in Linz, the Schiff Nazi hotel tried to revolt against the Austrian authorities. After the Anschlus of Austria in the Third Reich in Linz, in 1938, construction of steelworks and other heavy industry plants began as a branch of the state-owned joint stock company "Hermann Göring" in Berlin. This large complex began with the production of war material in 1941 and was constantly being built with thousands of foreign workers, some of whom volunteered for themselves, but also with a large number of forcibly recruited workers and prisoners of concentration camps were used to construct manufacturing and armaments. By the end of the Second World War, these drives were the target of heavy allied bombings - so these post-war drives have been renewed for a long time.

Linz is one of the largest Austrian industrial centers, known for its large steel company Voestalpine, which was built at the time of the Third Reich. In addition to Voestalpine, Linz operates a number of other smaller plants that produce machines, electrical equipment, textiles, glass, furniture, beverages, footwear, rubber and tobacco products. With its numerous shopping malls and large wholesale stores, Linz is the trade center of that part of Austria.

Berlin is the capital, as well as the biggest city in Germany with 3,5 millions citizens. Devided in twelve districts, through Berlin flow rivers Spree and Havel and a lot of smaller streams that can be found at the city territory, in addition to lakes and forests. The city is situated in the mild climate zone between maritime to continental climate. The average temperature in Berlin  amounts to 9,5 °C.

Berlin features 175 museums and has more than 140 theaters, as well as 300 cinemas. There are 4650 restaurants, around 900 pubs and 190 bars and discos, which makes it one of the most captivating tourist destinations worldwide!

The most famous sightseeing attractions in Berlin are the following:

The Brandenburg Gate (das Brandeburger Tor) was built from 1788 to 1791. The classical construction was preserved from time of the German Democratic Republic and was considered a symbol of the Division of Germany.  After the Reunification the Gate gets another meaning and becomes the symbol of the German Unity. At the Brandenburg Gate a famous statue group designed by Johhan Gottfried Schadow decorates its top, the Quadriga.

The Television Tower (Fernsehturm) –situated  in the vicinity of Alexanderplatz, the Television Tower with its height of 368 meters it is the tallest building in Germany. The Tower is visited by more than 1 million tourists every year. When the weather is clear one can enjoy in a spectacular wide view above Berlin and the surrounding area.

Postdam Square (Postdamer Platz) – the modern city center surrounding Postdam Square was rebuilt on a wasteland after the Cold War and the Fall of the Berlin Wall, which made a clear border between East and West Berlin. Today several skyscraper are shapind the skyline above the Postdamer Platz, and  Railway Tower, the Kollhoff Tower and Piano Skyscraper form the entrance gate to the inner city.

The Holocaust Memorial – The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe or the Holocaust Memorial consists of 2711 concrete blocks built (stelae) in honour of the millions of people that were murdered during the time of the National Socialism. Underground of the Memorial’s field of stelae contains  Place of Information (Ort der Information), which documents the persecution and destruction of the European Jews.

The Old Arsenal (Zeughaus) Unter den Linden – it is the oldest building construction at the Boulevard Unter den Linden. The previous Zeughaus was the most extensive armory in the Prussia in the XVIII century, but, during the XX century it was redesigned by the government into the Museum of German History, which presented the collection of the history of Germany.

Central Station (Hauptbanhof) – Berlin Central Station was officially opened in May 2006. From Monday to Sunday, around 80 Shops are opened on different levels of the station. The glass construction and the glass roof represent the distuinguishing feature of the station.

Berlin is one of the most visited centers of national and international city tourism, and with its cuisine and specialities you can experience the perks of Berlin to the utmost.