![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fdr.at\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Stadtplatzblick-Stadttorturm-c-Stadt-Braunau-2000x1280.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For the first time, the Festival of Regions is taking place in the Innviertel, a region of Upper Austria, with the main focus on Braunau am Inn as the festival location. Since the first edition in 1993, the festival has repeatedly been a guest in this part of Upper Austria with individual projects. A region in the Innviertel has never been an explicit festival region before.<\/p>\n\n
Braunau am Inn, located directly on the German border on the River Inn, presents itself as a typical small Austrian town with picturesque streets, charming houses dating back to the 15th century and a long-established industry.<\/p>\n\n
When leaving the town square in Braunau, the bridge across the Inn leads directly to the neighbouring Simbach. A quick stroll, without losing your breath. Economically, historically, and in daily business, these two border towns are tightly interwoven. You can meet people from Braunau in Simbach, and people from Simbach in Braunau. Nowhere else does this border between nation states seem so fluid and permeable.<\/p>\n\n
Braunau is a town that is ideally suited to creating a festival atmosphere. Nevertheless, the town is perceived by outsiders primarily because of the Adolf Hitler birthplace.<\/p>\n\n
Braunau seems to be in a state of limbo, as if the next scandal is imminent. The perception from the outside is almost completely dominated by a single building and its historical use, leaving little room for other narratives that make up the city’s identities. We want to consciously look beyond this one-sided image, imagine the future and remember the past in many voices.<\/p>\n\n
In the year 2025, we can view Braunau as a place where we can collectively work at utopia. A place that surprises us, and lets us find moments that bring us together, and clearly show our place in the world \u2013 a place where we are.<\/p>\n\n
The \u201cFestival of Regions\u201d travels to the edge of Upper Austria to the Innviertel. A region unknown to many, as it is neither blessed with lakes and mountains nor a tourist destination and only attracts people through its innovative industries. Players in the arts and culture sector are often invisible and need to be strengthened, networked and enriched with new positions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
Katharina Spanlang, Member of the Programme Board 2024-2025<\/p>\n\n