Heinrich-Gleißner-Haus

The Heinrich-Gleissner House stands on the Upper Danube Embankment in Linz, linking the bridgehead buildings to the old town. Designed by architect Roderich Fick, it was built in 1939 as a waterways office in the neoclassical style. The building forms part of the monumental Danube riverside scheme planned under National Socialism. Its western side joins the western bridgehead building, while its facades face the embankment, Badgasse and Hofberg. The neoclassical detailing is restrained, using only a few segmental pediments above windows. The building’s most striking feature is its heavy granite ground floor with rounded entrance arch. Above rises a tall gauge tower that once measured river levels. The site once held two older buildings, demolished in 1938–39 to clear space for the Nibelungen Bridge. After the war it briefly served as the Raiffeisenhof before becoming the regional headquarters of the Austrian People’s Party in 1952. Today the Heinrich-Gleissner House remains the Upper Austrian ÖVP’s party centre. Its name honours Heinrich Gleissner, a long-serving state governor. The building’s sober neoclassical style contrasts with the surrounding historic town houses. Visitors can admire the granite base, the gauge tower and the restrained window pediments from the street.