After a leisurely breakfast we set off to cover the remaining few kilometres to Linz. A short detour off the direct route took us through Kefermarkt to see the carved altar screen in the church there. It appeared to compare very well with the one we saw at
Rothenburg ob der Tauber, with one important advantage, this one was free to visit. The three saints in the centre are life-size and the intricate filigree carving above the screen reaches 13m high. While the name of the carver has been lost over the years, the details of his work are as sharp as ever.
Arriving at Linz we briefly visited the main square; but the weather wasn't conducive to lingering so had a look at the extremely well done “Story of Linz” at the tourist office which, although very impressively lit and displayed (including Hitler's triumph return to his home-town) was all in German and not conducive to lingering and reading either so we left and drove a short distance along the Danube to Wilhering.
Lingering was definitely in order at the church in the monastery here: It is Rococo gone wild. The walls and ceiling are covered in vibrant paintings, plaster and marble figures accented in gold and one could spend hours looking at all the details of the work here. Built in 1733 it rivals
Wieskirche in Germany for extravagance of décor.
Back in Linz we crossed the Danube and drove up the hill to Postlingberg where the views are fabulous and where the steepest adhesion railway in the world terminates. Built in 1898 as a day-trip destination, the Postlingberg-Schlossl was owned by the railway developers and is now a classy restaurant where we felt compelled to sample the wares before heading back across the Danube to find the airport and reluctantly leave Austria.
After a leisurely breakfast we set off to cover the remaining few kilometres to Linz. A short detour off the direct route took us through Kefermarkt to see the carved altar screen in the church there. It appeared to compare very well with the one we saw at Rothenburg ob der Tauber, with one important advantage, this one was free to visit. The three saints in the centre are life-size and the intricate filigree carving above the screen reaches 13m high. While the name of the carver has been lost over the years, the details of his work are as sharp as ever.
Arriving at Linz we briefly visited the main square; but the weather wasn't conducive to lingering so had a look at the extremely well done “Story of Linz” at the tourist office which, although very impressively lit and displayed (including Hitler's triumph return to his home-town) was all in German and not conducive to lingering and reading either so we left and drove a short distance along the Danube to Wilhering.
Lingering was definitely in order at the church in the monastery here: It is Rococo gone wild. The walls and ceiling are covered in vibrant paintings, plaster and marble figures accented in gold and one could spend hours looking at all the details of the work here. Built in 1733 it rivals Wieskirche in Germany for extravagance of décor.
Back in Linz we crossed the Danube and drove up the hill to Postlingberg where the views are fabulous and where the steepest adhesion railway in the world terminates. Built in 1898 as a day-trip destination, the Postlingberg-Schlossl was owned by the railway developers and is now a classy restaurant where we felt compelled to sample the wares before heading back across the Danube to find the airport and reluctantly leave Austria.
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