Backscattering and absorption of solar radiation by aerosol particles are an important source of uncertainty in climate predictions. Integrated research on the radiative properties of aerosol may reduce this uncertainty. The Lindenberg Aerosol Characterization Experiment 1998 (LACE 98) contributes to this aim. LACE 98 took place between 13 July and 12 August 1998, near Berlin, Germany. The Lindenberg Meteorological Observatory (52.2¿N, 14.1¿E) was chosen as the central field site because of its long record with aerosol optical-depth data. Measurements were performed from three aircraft, with one airborne and four ground-based lidars, and at a ground station. The meteorological situations in which intensive observations were carried out included clean and polluted air masses as characterized by low and high aerosol optical depths. This introductory paper gives an overview of the LACE 98 goals, instrumentation, meteorological and aerosol properties, and reports on the key findings as a guide to the results presented in the more detailed papers that follow. A very remarkable finding should be mentioned beforehand because of its unique character: on 9--10 August 1998, a free-tropospheric aerosol layer was observed that originated from forest fires in western Canada.