Tabakfabrik Linz

One of Austria’s most significant industrial-era buildings sits quietly in Linz, and most visitors walk past it on the way to the Danube museums. Peter Behrens, the German architect who trained Gropius and Mies van der Rohe, designed this tobacco factory in 1935 as a monument of industrial modernism. When the factory closed in 2009 after employing 2,000 people at its peak, Linz turned it into a creative campus rather than a shopping mall, and the decision shows. Inside you’ll find galleries, studios, coworking spaces, and the Valie Export Center for media art dedicated to one of Austria’s most important feminist artists. The building is free to enter; wander through the courtyards and check the event calendar for exhibitions and performances. Combine it with the Ars Electronica Center and the Lentos art museum for a full picture of what Linz has become.