Graz

Name	Graz
Image photo	Graz 015.jpg
Imagesize	300px
State	Styria
District	Statutory city
Population	258605
Population as of	2010-04-01
Pop dens	1,990
Area	127.56
Elevation	353
Lat deg	47
Lat min	04
Lat sec	13
Lat hem	N
Lon deg	15
Lon min	26
Lon sec	20
Lon hem	E
Postal code	A-801x, A-802x, A-803x, A-804x, A-805x
Area code	+43 316
Mayor	Siegfried Nagl (ÖVP)
Website	www.graz.at

Whs	City of Graz - Historic Centre and Schloss Eggenberg
State party
Type	Cultural
Criteria	ii, iv
Id	931bis
Region	Europe and North America
Year	1999
Extension	2010
Session	23rd
Link	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/931

Graz (; Slovene: Gradec, ) is the second-largest city in Austria after Vienna and the capital of the federal state of Styria. It has a population of 291,890 as of 2010 (of which 258.605 have principal residence status).

Graz has a long tradition as a student city: its six universities have more than 44,000 students. Graz's "Old Town" is one of the best-preserved city centres in Central Europe.

Politically and culturally, Graz was for centuries more important for Slovenes than Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, and still remains influential.

Population (with principal residence status) in the agglomeration was approximately 320,000 at the end of 2006.

History

The oldest settlement on the ground of the modern city of Graz dates back to the Copper Age. However, there is no historical continuity of a settlement before the Middle Ages.

The name of the city, Graz ( see the Slavic settlement Grad), and some archaeological finds point to the erection of a small castle by Alpine Slavic people, which in time became a heavily defended fortification. In literary Slovene, gradec literally means "small castle", which is etymologically a hypocoristic derivative of Proto-West-South Slavic *gradьcъ, itself by means of liquid metathesis descending from Common Slavic *gardьcъ, by Slavic third palatalisation from Proto-Slavic *gardiku (cf. Ancient Greek toponym ) originally denoting "small town, settlement". The name thus follows the common South Slavic pattern for naming settlements as grad. The German name 'Graz' was first used in 1128,

Nowadays, the city is cosmopolitan and quite fond of Slovenes. Many Slovenian Styrians study there. Slovenes are among professors at the Institute for Jazz in Graz. Numerous Slovenes have found employment there, while being formally unemployed in Slovenia. For the Slovene culture, Graz remains permanently important due to its university and the Universalmuseum Joanneum archives containing numerous documents from the Slovenian Styria. due to the harmonious co-existence of typical buildings from different epochs and in different architectural styles. Being situated in a cultural borderland between Central Europe, Italy and the Balkan States, Graz absorbed various influences from the neighbouring regions and thus received its exceptional townscape. Today the old town consists of over 1000 buildings, their age ranging from Gothic to Contemporary. The most important sights in the old town are:

Rathaus (Town Hall).

Schloßberg, hill dominating the old town ( high), site of demolished fortress, with views over Graz.

Uhrturm clocktower, symbol of Graz, on the top of Schloßberg.

Neue Galerie . Museum of art.

Schloßbergbahn, a funicular railway up the Schloßberg.

The Landhaus, the building where the federal state parliament of Styria resides, a palace in Lombardic style. It belongs to the most important examples of Renaissance architecture in Austria and was built by the Italian architect Domenico dell'Allio between 1557 and 1565.

The Landeszeughaus, armoury, the largest of its kind in the world.

The Schauspielhaus is the principal theatre.

Dom (cathedral), a rare monument of Gothic architecture. Once, there had been many frescos on the outer walls, today, there are only few remains, like the Landplagenbild ("picture of plagues") painted in 1485, presumably by Thomas von Villach. The three plagues it depicts are locusts, pestilence and the invasion of the Turks, all of them striking the town in 1480. It features the oldest painted view of Graz.

Mausoleum of Emperor Ferdinand II next to the cathedral, the most important building of Mannerism in Graz. It includes both the grave, where Ferdinand II and his wife are buried, and a church dedicated to St Catherine of Alexandria.

Burg (castle complex), with Gothic double staircase, built between 1438 and 1453 by Emperor Frederick III because the old castle on the Schloßberg was too small and uncomfortable. The Burg remained the residence of the Inner Austrian Court until 1619. Today, it serves as residence of the government of Styria.

Gemaltes Haus ("painted house"), in Herrengasse 3. It is completely covered with frescos (painted in 1742 by Johann Mayer).

Kunsthaus (museum of modern art).

Murinsel, an artificial island in the Mur.

Buildings, courtyards (e. g. Early Renaissance courtyard of the Former House of Teutonic Knights in Sporgasse 22) and roofscape of the old town.

Outside the Old Town

Schloss Eggenberg a Baroque palace on the western edge of Graz with State rooms and museum. In 2010 it was included into the existing World Heritage site of the historic centre of Graz.

Basilika Mariatrost a late Baroque church, on the eastern edge of Graz.

The Herz Jesu Kirche is the largest church in Graz with the 3rd highest spire in Austria, built in Gothic Revival style.

Calvary Hill in the Gösting area of Graz with a 17th century calvary and church.

The LKH-Universitätsklinikum, is the biggest hospital of Graz, it is the largest Art Nouveau building complex in Austria. It was built between 1904 and 1912. It is run by the state.

Best viewpoints for vistas of the city are Ruine Gösting, hilltop castle ruins on northwestern edge of city, and Plabutsch/Fürstenstand, behind Schloss Eggenberg with a hilltop restaurant and viewing tower.

Greater Graz area

Österreichisches Freilichtmuseum Stübing, an open-air museum containing old farmhouses/farm buildings from all over Austria reassembled in historic setting.

Lurgrotte, the most extensive cave system in Austria.

Lipizzanergestüt Piber, Lipizzaner stud at Piber where the famous horses are bred.

The Steirische Weinstraße is a wine growing region south of Graz, also known as the "Styrian Tuscany".

Thermenregion, spa region east of Graz.

Riegersburg, a mighty fortress that was never taken. It was a bastion against historical Turkish invasions

Culture

During 2003 Graz held the title of "European Capital of Culture".

Museums

The most important museums in Graz are:

Schloss Eggenberg (Graz) with Alte Galerie (paintings and sculptures from the Romanesque to the end of the Baroque period), Coin Collection, Lapidarium (Roman stonework collection),Archeological Museum (featuring the Cult Wagon of Strettweg) a special exhibitions area and the 90,000 m² romantic landscape gardens.

Museum im Palais museum of Styrian cultural history from the Middle Ages to the present

Neue Galerie visual arts from the 19th and 20th centuries.

Natural History Museum exhibition of botany, mineralogy and zoology.

Stadtmuseum Graz city museum.

Grazer Kunsthaus exhibition hall of contemporary art.

Forum Stadtpark museum of contemporary art.

Camera Austria museum of contemporary photography.

Landeszeughaus medieval armory comprising of 32,000 pieces of armour and weaponry, largest of its kind in the world.

Volkskundemuseum museum of folk culture and lore.

Diözesanmuseum museum of the Roman Catholic Church.

Künstlerhaus exhibition hall of contemporary visual arts.

Literaturhaus museum of contemporary German literature.

Museum der Wahrnehmung museum of the senses, samadhi bath.

Kindermuseum Frida&Fred; museum for children.

Tramwaymuseum 40 historic trams, the oldest dating from 1873.

Kriminalmuseum museum of criminology.

Luftfahrtmuseum (Graz airport) aviation museum.

Hanns Schell Collection key and lock museum, largest of its kind in the world.

Austrian Sculpture Park 7 hectares of contemporary sculpture

Botanical Garden of Graz 3 architecturally interesting glass houses plus gardens

Architecture

Highest Buildings

There are currently 228 buildings in Graz that are classified as highrise buildings. In Graz a building is classified as being highrise if the floor of at least one room is 22 metres above ground level. Buildings that are classified as highrise have to adhere to much more stringent fire safety regulations because the ladders of the majority of fire appliances used by Graz Fire Brigade cannot reach higher than 22 metres. {| class="wikitable" |- bgcolor="#DDDDDD" ! ! Name or Address ! Completion ! Usage ! Height (m) ! floors |- align="center" | 1. | align="left" | Herz-Jesu-Kirche | 1887 | church | 109 | |- align="center" | 2. | align="left" | Elisabeth Hochhaus | 1964 | residential | 75 | 25 |- align="center" | 3. | align="left" | Kärntner Straße 212, Liebenauer Hauptstraße 309 | 1968 and 1955 | residential | 69 | 21 |- align="center" | 4. | align="left" | Franziskanerkirche | 1240 | church | 69 | |- align="center" | 5. | align="left" | Telekom Austria Tower | 1960s | office | 65 | 15 |- align="center" | 6. | align="left" | Basilica Mariatrost | 1724 | church | 61 | |- align="center" |- align="center" | 7. | align="left" | Hafnerriegel | 1960 | residential | 61 | 19 |- align="center" | 8. | align="left" | St. Peter Pfarrweg, Kindermanngasse, Hanuschgasse | 1970s | residential | 55 | 17 |- align="center" | 9. | align="left" |Vinzenz Muchitschstraße, Ungergasse, Kärntner Straße 216, Eggenberger Gürtel | 1970s | residential | 52 | 16 |}

In Graz there are some new high rise buildings in the pipeline, the only ones that currently (June 2009) are looking certain to be built are a 15 storey officeblock opposite the "Stadthalle" on the southern edge of the city centre and a 21 storey officeblock next to the urban motorway leading from the Graz Ost Interchange (road) into town.

Transportation

An extensive public transportation network makes Graz an easy city to navigate without a car. The city has a comprehensive bus network, complementing a tram network consisting of six lines, two of which run from the main train station (Hauptbahnhof) to the old town before branching out. Furthermore, there are seven night-time bus routes, although these operate only at weekends and on evenings preceding public holidays. The tram is also called "Bim".

From the main train station (Graz Hauptbahnhof), regional trains link to most of Styria. Direct trains also run to most major cities nearby including Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Maribor and Ljubljana in Slovenia, Zagreb in Croatia, Prague in the Czech Republic, Budapest in Hungary and Zürich in Switzerland. Trains for Vienna leave every hour.

Graz Airport is about 10 kilometres south of the city centre and has a railway station within walking distance (east of the airport). The main hubs Graz Airport is connected with are Frankfurt and Munich in Germany and Vienna. Main cities connected to Graz Airport are London (Ryanair) and Berlin (airberlin).

International relations

Twin towns and sister cities

Graz is twinned with: Coventry, England, since 1948 Dubrovnik, Croatia Maribor, Slovenia, since 1987 Trieste, Italy, since 1973 Zababdeh, Palestine Other forms of cooperation and city friendship similar to the twin city programmes: Niš, Serbia

Notable people

Arnold Schwarzenegger, former bodybuilding champion, actor and former governor of California. Born and raised in the farming village Thal, 2 km from Graz. In 2005, the Graz football stadium named after Schwarzenegger was renamed Stadion Graz-Liebenau after controversy over the use of the death penalty in California, now it is called UPC-Arena.

Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, architect of the Baroque period.

Johann Puch, Slovenian inventor, mechanic and significant vehicle producer.

Ludwig Boltzmann, Austrian physicist, Professor of Mathematical Physics at the University of Graz (1869), chair of Experimental Physics at the University of Graz (1876–1890).

Robert Stolz, Austrian composer and conductor.

Feargal 'Mons' O Reilly, Austrian Athlete/P.E Teacher. In 1980, the local Town Park was renamed the Mons Arena .

Friedrich St. Florian, Austrian-American architect.

Olga Neuwirth, one of the most important contemporary Austrian composers.

Nicolaus Harnoncourt, born in Berlin and raised in Graz, a conductor known throughout the world for his performances of classical works on period instruments.

Jochen Rindt, the first Austrian Formula One champion raised in Graz by his grandmother.

Otto Wanz, former professional wrestler who held the AWA World Heavyweight Championship.

Wolfgang Bauer, Austrian writer.

Werner Schwab, playwright and visual artist.

Bernd Brückler, professional ice hockey player

Thomas Tebbich, decathlete and pole vaulter

Thomas Vanek, professional hockey player, born in Baden bei Wien, raised in Graz.

Helmut Marko, former racing driver

Emanuel Pogatetz, Middlesbrough F.C. defender and captain.

Markus Schopp, midfielder for MLS side Red Bull New York

August Musger, inventor of the slow motion technique in cinema.

Karl Böhm, an Austrian conductor.

Lili Novy, Slovenian poet.

Otto Loewi Nobel prize-winning physiologist.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, Archduke of Austria-Este and heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne.

Soo-Young Lee, a clarinetist in the Youtube Symphony Orchestra

Nikola Tesla studied electrical engineering in Graz.

Gert Schnider, Abalone-champion

Baron Roman Ungern von Sternberg, enemy of the Soviet State and dictator of Mongolia in 1921.

Anton Rintelen, Cabinet Minister and Nazi conspirator.

Hans Ulrich von Eggenberg, Austrian statesman and early "prime minister" during the Thirty Years' War

Charles and Helmut Neufeld, From the 1960s revolutionised children's toys with their company "Bendy Toys"

Mick Blue, an Austrian Actor.

References

External links

Official websites City website

Searchable map of Graz

Graz Tourism Office

KulturServerGraz Town's cultural portal

tramway in Graz

History

Jews in Graz. Expelled 1439 - returned 1447 - expelled 1496 - returned 1783 - holocaust (from Encyclopaedia Judaica 1971)

Further information

Various Graz Information Sorted by Categories. Choose from 5 languages.

Category:Cities and towns in Styria Category:World Heritage Sites in Austria Category:European Capitals of Culture Category:History of Slovenia