Landhaus (Country House), Linz (must see)

Country House is HQ for the government of Upper Austria. The original building was built in 1570. The courtyard is bounded by elegant arcades surrounding a fountain. The fountain is called "Fountain of the Planets" in memory of Johannes Kepler who taught at the Country House School from 1612 to 1626.

The land was acquired by the estates in 1563. Most of the old Minorite Monastery occupied the site on the Kloster Street (Klosterstrasse) and had to be demolished. The architects and builders were Christoph and Hans Canevale. The stonemasons were Caspar Toretto and Peter Guet. The Minorite Church is still in place today.

The Renaissance north portal was built in 1565. It is modeled on the Swiss Gate of the Vienna Imperial Palace. On the parapet of the window are the coats of arms of Upper and lower Austria. The Country House was seriously damaged in 1800 by a fire that started in Linz Castle. The building was reconstructed in 1802 with Classicist facades.

The Country House tower, looming over the entire complex, has an ornately shaped helmet top. The assembly hall of the estates, the "Stone Hall", is furnished with pillars of marble. There is a Brown Room, a Blue Room, the small Club Room, the Gallery Room, the Elisabeth Room, the Green Room and the Government Meeting Room.

In front of the house is the Fadinger Column, the Hessian Monument and the monument to the poet Adalbert Stifter.