Lentos Art Museum
A glass box on the Danube in Linz, lit blue and pink at night, holding Austrian modern art and Nazi-era looted works research.
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Lentos opened in 2003 on the Danube bank, a long rectangular block by the Zurich practice Weber and Hofer wrapped in translucent glass over its concrete core, cut through in the middle by an opening that frames the river; at night the glass skin is lit from within in changing colours, which has made it the standard night image of Linz along with the Ars Electronica Center opposite. The collection covers art from the nineteenth century onward with strengths in Austrian modernism - Klimt, Schiele, Kokoschka - German expressionism, and postwar and contemporary work. Its provenance research is a substantial part of what the museum does publicly, since the city's collection was shaped in a period when Linz was intended as Hitler's cultural capital and works entered it through forced sales and confiscation.
What you actually see
- A translucent glass block - lit in changing colours over the Danube at night.
- Austrian modernism - Klimt, Schiele and Kokoschka in the permanent holdings.
- Provenance research - the museum's public work on looted and forced-sale works.
- A framed river view - the opening cut through the middle of the building.
When to go
All year; after dark for the lighting. Half a day.
Honest expectations
Permanent collection space is limited and rotates - a specific painting may not be up. Closed Mondays. The building is often more photographed than the art inside it.
Nearby
The Ars Electronica Center is across the river; the Hauptplatz is a short walk.
What to pack for Lentos Art Museum
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.
