KulturEXPO balance sheet

Mega birthday: Bruckner attracted 660,000 visitors

Multimedia in the Bruckner exhibition at St. Florian Abbey

(Bild: Andreas Krenn)

Anton Bruckner celebrated his 200th birthday this year with the first KulturEXPO in Upper Austria. It would hardly have been thought possible at the beginning of the year: This served up 626 events, which have so far attracted 660,000 visitors. A successful "Brucknerization", says Artistic Director Norbert Trawöger.

The first KulturEXPO in Upper Austria dedicated to Anton Bruckner takes stock: a total of 626 event formats were organized throughout the state, which were attended by a total of 660,000 people. The costs amounted to 5.3 million euros for material expenses.

What does that look like in detail? OÖ KulturEXPO was directly responsible for 95 of these formats. These were launched as in-house projects or as collaborations together with 216 cultural partners in Upper Austria, nationally and internationally.

Anton Bruckner as an "umbrella brand"
The other cultural activities surrounding Anton Bruckner were organized by institutions, municipalities, associations, independent artists and interested parties, with the KulturEXPO serving as a common umbrella.

Between tradition and the present
Governor Thoms Stelzer commented: "Anton Bruckner has never been so present in Upper Austria. With a great deal of enthusiasm, heart and soul and passion, the jubilarian was brought into the present with the first Upper Austrian KulturEXPO. In doing so, we have both preserved tradition and at the same time created a new beginning."

Musician Norbert Trawöger says: "The 'Brucknerization' of the province has succeeded in a breadth, depth and inventive diversity that hardly anyone would have thought possible for us and the birthday boy."

Bruckner was and is our ingenious accomplice!

Norbert Trawöger, künstlerischer Leiter der KulturEXPO

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Fotos

Welser-Möst and folkshilfe
One of the highlights was undoubtedly Bruckner's exact birthday on September 4, which was celebrated for a whole 24 hours. A unique event was an open-air concert with Franz Welser-Möst and the Cleveland Orchestra in Ansfelden. The Bruckner Orchestra's open-air concert on Linz's main square together with folkshilfe was also a hit.

At the monastery and in the ice caves
Projects were also realized together with the Salzkammergut Capital of Culture, one highlight being Bill Fontana's sound installation in the Dachstein ice caves, which we reported on.

Other venues included the Mariendom cathedral in Linz, St. Florian, Kirchdorf and Vöcklabruck. More than 9000 visitors were counted on this day alone. The exhibition "How it all began. Bruckner's Visions" at St. Florian's Abbey attracted more than 45,000 visitors. There were also 34 other exhibitions and projects, some of which will continue in 2025.