HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES ______________________________________ Until the time of the First Republic and the authoritarian corporative state, the name Linz was synonymous with provincial culture. During the Nazi period it was the personal wish of Adolf Hitler to upgrade Linz to a cultural metropolis on the Danube. After 1945 the first priority of Linz politicians was to distance themselves from Nazi culture, placing the emphasis firmly on traditionally humanist cultural values. Since the 1970īs a new dynamic appreciation of the arts has lead to a wider cultural and social definition of the city's cultural policy with the emphasis on culture and technology (Ars Electronica) and open space culture (Cloud of Sound). In both areas a diverse and distinguished artistic and cultural scene has developed. During the 1990īs the pressure on arts and culture was increased by two factors. The general economic situation led to harsher disputes about the distribution of funds between individual sectors such as culture, traffic and sport. On the other hand there was an unmistakable cultural upswing in the tertiary sector (cultural tourism, organisation of leisure, advertising, design, and so on.) The challenges for cultural policy in Linz lie in this area of tension and in the conscious perception of responsibility for the recent past. The city of Linz will continue to meet the challenges of cultural policy in the future, and commits itself to the further maintenance of politically and morally exemplary behaviour in dealing with its own past, in particular that of the Nazi period. Cultural Development Plan, CONTACT Culture Director Mag. Siegbert Janko Cultural Office of the City of Linz A-4041 Linz, Hauptstraße 1 - 5 Phone: +43 (0)70/7070-2930 Fax: +43 (0)70/7070-2955 mail: info@mag.linz.at