Francisco-Carolinum, Art museum in Linz, Austria
The Francisco-Carolinum is an art museum in Linz, built from 1884 to designs by Otto van Els and Bruno Schmitz and opened by Emperor Franz Joseph I on 29 May 1895. Its facade carries a 110-metre figure frieze in Stotzinger sandstone by Melchior zur Strassen, depicting Upper Austrian history from the Celtic era to Habsburg rule. Inside, a monumental staircase rises to a glass dome, and lunettes by Franz Attorner show the four quarters of Upper Austria. Since 2020 it has focused on photography and media art.
The museum was founded in 1895 when Emperor Franz Joseph inaugurated a new building by architect Bruno Schmitz designed to house regional art collections. This new structure was part of Linz's modernization efforts at the end of the 19th century.
The museum's name honours Archduke Franz Karl of Austria, who took over its patronage in 1839. Its collections grew from the Upper Austrian Art Association, which from 1854 bought works for a regional gallery on the proposal of its vice-president, the writer Adalbert Stifter. The first purchase in May 1855 was Hermann Mevius's large painting "Shipwreck off the Island of Capraja in the Ligurian Sea".
The museum stands on Museumstraße, a short walk from Linz's main square and tram lines. The entrance is at street level; inside, the monumental staircase rises to the glass dome, and the exhibition floors are also served by a lift. The 110-metre sandstone figure frieze runs along the facade and is easiest to read from across the street.
During the Nazi period the museum was run as the "Gaumuseum Linz" and acquired objects from expropriated Jewish collections and dissolved monasteries. Some of these acquisitions were reversed after 1945, and Upper Austria passed its own restitution law in 2002. The museum's early staff included the ornithologist Andreas Reischek, who had spent twelve years in New Zealand.
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