Living · Topic
Water geometry from OpenStreetMap + a water-cooling score per 250 m cell · as of: August 2026
“By the water” is a favourite in every listing. wohnwahn measures it instead: 3,753 water features across Linz, from the Danube to the Pichlinger See, and a cooling score per inhabited 250 m cell. Right now Industriegebiet-Hafen has the largest share of homes near water (70% of its residential spots).
And we say honestly where the trade-offs are: the riverside roads are among the loudest streets in the city, and the bathing lakes in the south cost you a long commute.
Deeper blue means closer to open water. Every square is an inhabited 250 m cell; the Danube, the Traun, the Pichlinger See with the Weikerlseen and the Pleschinger See count, the Kleinmünchner Kanal and small brooks do not.
Only inhabited cells are coloured. This is a proximity model for the big open waters, NOT an official flood map. Tap the map for the water-proximity score at that exact spot.
Ranked by the share of residential spots near a big open water, so it rewards districts with many waterside homes, not a single luxury shoreline. Linked: the full profile in the atlas.
Method: proximity to the big open waters per inhabited 250 m cell (the Danube, the Traun, the Pichlinger See with the Weikerlseen and the Pleschinger See count), bigger and closer water weighs more, share of cells above the threshold, clipped to the real boundary. Channelled races and small brooks are deliberately excluded, they don’t make a waterside home. A district scores high when many homes sit near water, not because of one exclusive shore.
Water usually means the edge of the city. These places prove otherwise: many waterside homes AND within 20 minutes of Hauptplatz by transit (the Danube bank in Urfahr is the classic).
Our data shows how close and how cooling the water is around an address. Whether you actually see it depends on the floor, the orientation and the building, that’s what the listing and a viewing tell you.
On the southern bank the Untere Donaulände carries 75 to 79 dB during the day, the loudest band the official noise map has. Urfahr on the northern bank is quieter at 70 to 74 dB, greener and just four minutes from the Hauptplatz. Both are “on the Danube” and live completely differently: check the noise layer on the search map.
At the Pichlinger See it is genuinely quiet and the lake is on your doorstep, but the Hauptplatz is 40 minutes away by public transport and everyday infrastructure scores 14 out of 30. That is the trade you are making.
The Winterhafen, the Tankhafen and port basins 1 to 3 are open water, so they push the harbour district to the top of the ranking. Everyday infrastructure there scores 6 out of 30. Water on the map is not the same as a place to live: read the location score next to it.
Current rentals on wohnwahn, strongest water location first. Each card shows the water-cooling score of its spot.
water 84Innere Stadt** Gemütliche 3-Zimmer-Wohnung im Dachgeschoss - Pfarrplatz 11, Top 16 **€ 763/month · 2 rm · 63.3 m²
water 84Innere StadtJetzt Besichtigen! Sonnige 2-Zimmer Citywohnung - Pfarrplatz 11, Top 6€ 645/month · 2 rm · 42.5 m²
water 84Innere StadtRuhige und sonnige 2-Zimmer Wohnung mit Terrasse in Nähe der Donaulände - Kaisergasse 12 - 14, Top 1€ 843/month · 2 rm · 64.1 m²
water 82AnsfeldenGroßzügiges Ein- bis Zweifamilienhaus mit großem Garten in ruhiger Siedlungslage€ 445,000 · 140 m²
water 78Innere Stadt++großzügige 2-Zimmer Wohnung im Zentrum von Linz++€ 810/month · 75.8 m²
water 68AnsfeldenLiebesvolles Haus mit Doppelgarage und Schönen Garten in Ansfelden für Investoren ohne Wohnbedürfnis€ 445,000 · 8 rm · 217 m²By share of waterside homes it is Industriegebiet-Hafen (70% of residential spots near water), followed by Pichling and Kleinmünchen-Auwiesen. The classic addresses are the Danube banks in Urfahr and along the Donaulände, the bathing lakes in the south (Pichlinger See, Weikerlseen) and the Pleschinger See in the north-east. Source: OpenStreetMap water geometry, evaluated per 250 m cell.
wohnwahn measures water proximity and cooling, not flood risk. On the Danube that is a serious question, and the official HORA hazard map is the reference per address, not this page: we do not issue a flood-risk rating.
The Danube banks are central and urban: the city centre within walking distance, but the riverside roads right there, up to 79 dB by day. The lakes in the south (Pichlinger See, Weikerlseen) are quiet and green, with a 30 to 40 minute commute into town. Both are “by the water” but suit very different lives.
Innere Stadt for example: many waterside homes and still ≈ 7 minutes from Hauptplatz by transit. The Danube bank in Urfahr is the textbook case: the water on your doorstep and the Hauptplatz four minutes away.
Water geometry from OpenStreetMap, cooling score per inhabited 250 m cell, refreshed monthly (as of August 2026).
More honest data on where to live well in Linz and the surrounding area.
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On foot
A curated walk makes this tangible on foot, every stretch backed by real data.
Search, tap any address on the map, and see the water, the cooling, the noise and the travel times before the viewing. Free and independent.
How wohnwahn rates locations →Water keeps it cooler: cool living in Linz →Quiet living →Green living →Family-friendly →
Sources: water geometry OpenStreetMap · cooling effect: own model per 250 m cell · transit: own routing on the Linz AG Linien and ÖBB timetables. Not an official flood map. Refreshed monthly.