View of the Salzkammergut lakes and mountains in summer.
Leonhard Gruber, Long inspired by the underground and street subcultures, he moved to Linz, Austria, to make one of his dreams come true: setting up a graffiti museum in an old port. So he went from organizing snowboard events in the Tyrolean mountains to found, in 2012, Mural Harbour, getting the most sought-after graffiti artists on the planet to bet on the project and turn the outdoor space into a dynamic and unique museum in the world.
This interview is part of "The World Made Local", a global project of Condé Nast Traveler in the seven international editions, which gives voice to 100 people in 100 countries to discover why their own territory should be your next destination.
Tell us a secret about Austria that we may not know.
We invented graffiti! Sorry New York and Philly. But that's how it is. In 1825, Joseph Kyselak he traveled throughout the Austrian Empire, writing his name on important buildings of the monarchy. Some marks can still be seen. And, according to legend, the emperor found out, asked him to go see him and ordered him not to continue this practice. Kyselak promised to do so, but as soon as he left, they found his name and date engraved on the Emperor's desk.
Designer Leonard Gruber.
Why should we travel to Austria?
Austria is a cultural Gold Mine, and not only for the history of art, but also for the present and future of many artistic forms and subcultures. Besides, his alpine landscape offers a variety of options for adventure activities in the nature. (Red Bull is from Austria!) And the country is small enough that you can combine a little snow in the morning, see the largest collection of artist Egon Schiele in the afternoon, and in the evening, immerse yourself in the club atmosphere.
You are from Linz. Why should we add it to our itinerary?
the people in Linz she is authentic and humble. Other bigger cities – and I lived in some before I moved here in 2010 – may have "better" culture, history, architecture, and artists." But some of the people who live in these cities think that makes them "better." "This is not the case in Linz. Here people are open, and whether in the opera house or in the punk club, they don't have airs of anything. In addition, Linz offers many of the advantages of an international city. And it has two things you won't find anywhere else in the world: first, the Ars Electronica Center, a museum of art and technology with a digital music festival, a research and development laboratory and much more... And the other is, of course, Mural Harbour, this rare collection of urban art in a very very special port atmosphere.
Mural Harbor is a benchmark of street art. Why do you think it is?
We were very lucky when guys like ROA, aryz Y niches, being Austrian, they ended up doing some of their best work here. That caused quite a stir. They all wanted to come. Part of this success was our effort to engage leading graffiti artists. But to have the most notorious crew, like 1UP either berlin kidz, we had to give them full confidence that we would keep them anonymous. That means the world to us and says a lot about the project.
What else should we do when we get to Linz?
Viennese café culture has played an immense role in shaping Austria's literary, musical and artistic world. And it exists outside of Vienna. Cafe Traxlmayr, in the center of Linz, it has retained its Art Nouveau façade, so it has that turn-of-the-century charm you want to find in a classic Austrian café. You can choose one of its more than 100 international newspapers and magazines to read with your breakfast or lunch. And for dinner I would recommend The Cubes, a restaurant on the upper floors of the Ars Electronica Center for the spectacular view of the city and the river. Then for a drink Stadtwerkstatt either Salonschiff Fraulein Florentine . Both are cornerstones of Linz's alternative scene and are not at all on the standard tourist trail.