Acoustic City

Acoustic City was started as an initiative of Linz 2009 European Capital of Culture, and is run by the Akustikon Society of Hearing since January 2010. Acoustic City promotes a conscious design of our audible environment in keeping with human dignity. It is based on the conviction that human beings are touched and influenced to the core by what they hear. For this reason, Acoustic City is committed to promoting an acoustic environment appropriate for human beings.

With the Linz Charter as a guideline for urban planning in an acoustic sense,
Beschallungsfrei – The Campaign Against Imposed Noise,
Acoustic City establishes points of crystallization for an increased acoustic awareness in the arrangement of personal life, in politics, in the world of work and everyday life, in architecture and urban development, in zoning and traffic planning.

The Akustikon as a world of hearing in the center of Linz had to close by the end of June 2010 due to lack of funding by the City of Linz and the Province of Upper Austria.

Despite all politicial promises to use Linz 2009 European Capital of Culture as a starting point for a sustainanble development of culture in Linz, the City of Linz and the Province of Upper Austria decided not to fund Acoustic City anymore. Therefore the Akustikon had to close by the end of June 2010 after only a year of being in service.

Acoustic city invites all companies, businesses and organiations renouncing piped music to declare all publicly accessible areas as Beschallungsfrei – free of piped music and imposed noise by attaching the sticker Beschallungsfrei.
The City of Linz, the Province of Upper Austria and companies such as Thalia Books & Media are among the first to join this initiative.
Acoustic City is being supported by persoages such as alpinist Reinhold Messner, conductors Franz Welser-Möst and Dennis Russell Davies, scientists Anton Zeilinger and Elmar Altvater as well as musicians Heinrich Schiff, Hans Platzgumer and Rocko Schamoni.