Last weekend the Ars Electronica Festival, a festival for art, technology and society, took place in Linz. The festival premiered in September 1979, but only this year I had the opportunity to see some of its exhibitions. This year's theme of the festival was "Error - The Art of Imperfection". One of my favourite exhibits was "SEER", a simulative emotional expression robot by Takayuki Todo. The robot is attached to a camera censor and imitates the facial expressions of the viewer. Please click here for more information and a video.
After the government of Lower Austria had bought the Schallaburg, the castle was completely renovated, and in 1974 opened as a museum. Since then there has been a new exhibition every year. Currently there's an exhibition about the 1970's.
From the 17th until the 20th century, the castle Schallaburg changed owners several times - it remained private property until 1945 when it was confiscated by the Russians (after the end of World War II Austria was occupied by the Allies). Ten years later the castle became property of the new Republic of Austria. In 1967 the government of Lower Austria bought the castle from the Austrian state.
The other day I made an excursion to the castle Schallaburg in Lower Austria. The castle was first mentioned in records in 1242. From 1456 until 1614 the Schallaburg was in possession of the Von Losenheim family. During this time the castle was extended significantly and transformed into a Renaissance castle.
Some weeks ago a friend of mine and me made an excursion to the Zotter chocolate factory in Styria. Zotter is a very famous company in Austria, the chocolate factory has ranked among the few quality chocolate makers around the world whose chocolate production processes are located under the same roof - from the roasting of the cocoa beans up to the finishing touches in the conching plant. Visitors can book a tasting tour that provides valuable information on chocolate as well as numerous creatively arranged titbit stations.
The Old Town Hall is a complex of buildings from the 14th century. It is the oldest city hall in Slovakia and one of the oldest stone buildings still standing in Bratislava, with the tower being built approximately in 1370. It houses the city's oldest museum, the Bratislava City Museum.
The beautiful Art Nouveau Palace of the Hungarian Exchange Bank in the main square.
Kapitulská ulica, constructed in the 13th century, is one of the oldest streets in Bratislava. It is lined with beautiful old and landmarked but also with ruinous palaces.
Sunday before last I made an excursion to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, only 1 hour by train away from Vienna. Slovakia's president resides at the Grassalkovich Palace, a Rococo/late Baroque summer palace with a French garden. It was built in 1760 for Count Antal Grassalkovich and soon became a center of Baroque musical life in Bratislava: Joseph Haydn premiered some of his works here.
That´s one view of the town from Kahlenberg which is - as I mentioned already here - a very popular destination for an excursion within the city limit.This week I will show you some pictures of the northwestern outskirts of Vienna. Stay tuned!
