With sidewalk chalks

Children transformed the main square into a work of art

The children were allowed to paint Linz's main square.(Bild: Horst Einöder/Flashpictures)

"Bye bye cars!" Linz's main square became an outdoor studio for numerous children on Sunday. They transformed the gray ground into a colorful work of art with sidewalk chalks. From today, Monday, the main square will be closed to through traffic.

It was a colorful morning on an unfortunately somewhat foggy Sunday in the provincial capital. But that didn't dampen the joy and dedication of the numerous children who transformed Linz's main square into a large open-air studio. Equipped with chalk, they transformed the gray pavement into a colorful work of art.

Martin Hajart with his son Mathias and the artist Clemens Bauder (right) on Linz's main square.(Bild: Horst Einöder/Flashpictures)

The artist and architect Clemens Bauder accompanied the participants through a course that invited them to playfully explore the urban space and encouraged them to draw with street chalk.

"The focus was not only on free drawing fun, but also on dealing with important questions about the future of the city. How do children experience urban life? What do they want for their environment?" said Familienbund Oberösterreich in a press release.

More space for development
"The hands-on campaign was the starting signal for the permanent closure of the main square to through traffic. With this initiative, we are sending a strong signal for future-oriented urban development that offers young people more space and development opportunities," said Martin Hajart (ÖVP), Chairman of the Family Federation in Upper Austria and Deputy Mayor of Linz for Mobility.