Wöginger • Rendi-Wagner • Kickl • Maurer • Meinl-Reisinger •
69-562: Graz ( German: [ɡʁaːts] ) is the capital of the Austrian federal state of Styria and the second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna . As of 1 January 2024, Graz had a population of 303,270. In 2023, the population of the Graz larger urban zone (LUZ) stood at 660,238. Graz is known as a college and university city, with four colleges and four universities. Combined,
138-512: A City of Culinary Delights in 2008. The name of the city, Graz, formerly spelled Gratz and also formlerly known as Grätz , most likely stems from the Slavic gradec/gradac , which means "small castle". Some archaeological finds point to the erection of a small castle by Alpine Slavic people, who settled in the region after the Barbarian invasions drove out the original Celts, as well as
207-484: A car. The city has a comprehensive bus network, complementing the Graz tram network , which has six lines. Four lines pass through the underground tram stop at the central train station (Hauptbahnhof) and on to the city centre before branching out. Furthermore, there are eight night-time bus routes, although these run only at weekends and on evenings preceding public holidays. The Castle Hill funicular (Schlossbergbahn) , and
276-406: A city council, the deputies can only deal with city affairs; when meeting as a federal state parliament, they can only deal with affairs of the state. Austrian federalism is largely theoretical, as the federal states are granted few legislative powers. Austria's constitution initially granted all legislative powers to the federal states, but many powers have been subsequently taken away, and only
345-530: A coalition with the Greens and SPÖ. The most recent city council election was held on 26 September 2021, and the results were as follows: During 2003 Graz held the title of " European Capital of Culture " and was one of the UNESCO "Cities of Design" in 2011. The most important museums in Graz are: The city centre and the adjacent districts are characterized by the historic residential buildings and churches. In
414-656: A defensive border, in which the peasantry is taught how to organize and fight in the case of an invasion. With a strategic location at the head of the open and fertile Mur valley, Graz was historically a target of invaders, such as the Hungarians under Matthias Corvinus in 1481, and the Ottoman Turks in 1529 and 1532. Apart from the Riegersburg Castle , the Schlossberg was the only fortification in
483-452: A few remain, such as planning and zoning codes, nature protection, hunting, fishing, farming, youth protection, certain issues of public health and welfare and the right to levy certain taxes. All other matters, including but not limited to criminal law, civil law, corporate law, most aspects of economic law, defense, most educational matters and academia, telecommunications, and much of the healthcare system are regulated by national law. There
552-464: A national level. The party placed third with 20.8% of votes in the 2003 local election, which has been attributed to the popularity of local leader Ernest Kaltenegger. It fell to 11.2% in 2008, and recovered under new leader Elke Kahr, becoming the second most popular party in Graz with 19.9% in 2012 and 20.3% in 2017. The KPÖ's popularity in Graz allowed them to enter the Styrian provincial parliament in
621-553: A short period beginning in 1594. He worked as district mathematician and taught at the Lutheran school, but still found time to study astronomy. He left Graz for Prague in 1600 when Protestants were banned from the city. Ludwig Boltzmann was Professor for Mathematical Physics from 1869 to 1890. During that time, Nikola Tesla studied electrical engineering at the Polytechnic in 1875. Nobel laureate Otto Loewi taught at
690-566: Is Maribor ( Marburg ) in Slovenia, which is about 50 km (31 mi) to the south. Graz is the capital of Styria and the largest city in the federal state, a green and heavily forested region on the eastern edge of the Alps . It is located in the Graz Basin and surrounded by mountains and hills to the north, east and west. The city centre sits at an elevation of 353 m (1,158 ft),
759-483: Is Austria's only metropolitan area . Lower Austria ranks only fourth in population density even though it contains Vienna's suburbs; this is due to large areas of land being predominantly agricultural. The alpine federal state Tyrol, the less alpine but geographically more remote federal state Carinthia, and the non-alpine but near-exclusively agricultural federal state Burgenland are Austria's least densely populated federal states. The wealthy alpine federal state Vorarlberg
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#1732765475389828-418: Is a community defined to be a city by Austrian law, and a town is a community not defined to be a city. Many of Austria's cities have population figures on the order of 10,000 inhabitants; some are even smaller. Inner Austria Inner Austria ( German : Innerösterreich ; Slovene : Notranja Avstrija ; Italian : Austria Interiore ) was a term used from the late 14th to the early 17th century for
897-564: Is a leading tourist attraction and serves as a symbol for Graz, were spared after the citizens of Graz paid a ransom for their preservation. Archduke Karl II of Inner Austria had 20,000 Protestant books burned in the square of what is now a mental hospital, and succeeded in returning Styria to the authority of the Holy See . Archduke Franz Ferdinand was born in Graz in what is now the Stadtmuseum (city museum). On 2 April 1945, while
966-455: Is also no judiciary of the federal states, since Austria's constitution defines the judiciary as an exclusively national matter. This centralisation follows a historic model where central power during the time of the empire was largely concentrated in Vienna. However, the federal state governor ( Landeshauptmann ) is in charge of the administration of much of federal administrative law within
1035-582: Is in Eggenberg and has 180 beds and a total of 444 employees. Federal states of Austria [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Austria is a federal republic consisting of nine federal states . The European Commission calls them provinces . Austrian federal states can pass laws that stay within
1104-528: Is located about 10 km (6 mi) south of the city centre and is accessible by bus, railway, taxi and car. Direct destinations include Berlin, Düsseldorf , Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Vienna and Zurich. In 2021 a two-line metro system was proposed for Graz, which would make Graz the second Austrian city with a rapid transit system after Vienna. In Graz there are seven hospitals, several private hospitals and sanatoriums, as well as 44 pharmacies. The University Hospital Graz (LKH-Universitäts-Klinikum Graz)
1173-512: Is located in eastern Graz and has 1,556 beds and 7,190 employees. The Regional Hospital Graz II (LKH Graz II) has two sites in Graz. The western site (LKH Graz II Standort West) is located in Eggenberg and has 280 beds and about 500 employees, the southern site (LKH Graz II Standort Süd) specializes in neurology and psychiatry and is located in Straßgang with 880 beds and 1,100 employees. The AUVA Accident Hospital (Unfallkrankenhaus der AUVA)
1242-600: Is not unheard of for Austrians to consider themselves, for instance, Tyrolean first, Austrian second. In terms of boundaries, the present-day federal states arose from the crown lands of Austria-Hungary , an extensive multiethnic realm whose German-speaking nucleus emerged as the Republic of Austria after the dissolution of the Dual Monarchy in the end of World War I . The federal states of Upper Austria and Lower Austria are essentially equivalent to what were
1311-509: Is something of an anomaly due to its small size, isolated location and distinct Alemannic culture. Each Austrian federal state has an elected legislature , the federal state parliament , and a federal state government ( Landesregierung ) headed by a governor ( Landeshauptmann or Landeshauptfrau ). Elections are held every five years (six years in Upper Austria ). The federal state constitution, among other things, determines how
1380-682: The Domini di Terraferma of Venice . The Imperial Free City of Trieste on the Adriatic Coast linked to assorted smaller possessions in the March of Istria around Pazin and the free port of Rijeka (later corpus separatum of Fiume) in Liburnia . The Styrian lands had already been ruled in personal union by the Babenberg dukes of Austria since 1192 and were finally seized with
1449-506: The 2005 election , marking their first appearance in an Austrian provincial parliament in 35 years; they have retained their seats in the subsequent 2010, 2015, and 2019 elections. The 2021 municipal election saw a collapse in the ÖVP's popularity, allowing the KPÖ, once again led by Elke Kahr , to become the largest party with 29% of votes. She was subsequently elected mayor in November, leading
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#17327654753891518-632: The Castle Hill lift (Schlossberg lift) , a vertical lift, link the city centre to the Castle Hill (Schlossberg) . From the central train station ( Hauptbahnhof ), regional trains link to most of Styria. Direct trains run to most major cities nearby including Vienna , Salzburg , Innsbruck , Maribor and Ljubljana in Slovenia , Zagreb in Croatia , Budapest in Hungary , Prague and Brno in
1587-573: The Copper Age . However, no historical continuity exists of a settlement before the Middle Ages. The city was originally called "Bayrischgraz" or "Bavarian Graz" (i.e. German Graz) by the German founders to distinguish it from the elder "Windischgraz" or "Slovenian Graz". Bavarian Graz, however, soon eclipsed its Slovenian counterpart and henceforth Graz always referred to the German one. During
1656-655: The Czech Republic , Zürich in Switzerland , as well as Munich , Stuttgart , Heidelberg , and Frankfurt in Germany . Trains for Vienna leave every hour. In recent years many railway stations within the city limits and in the suburbs have been rebuilt or modernised and are now part of the Styria S-Bahn , a commuter train service connecting the city with its suburban area and towns nearby. Graz Airport
1725-932: The Habsburg hereditary lands south of the Semmering Pass , referring to the Imperial duchies of Styria , Carinthia and Carniola and the lands of the Austrian Littoral . The residence of the Inner Austrian archdukes and stadtholders was at the Burg castle complex in Graz . The Inner Austrian territory stretched from the northern border with the Archduchy of Austria on the Alpine divide over Upper and Lower Styria down to Carniola , where
1794-956: The Lower and White Carniolan lands (the former Windic March ) bordered on the Habsburg Kingdom of Croatia . In the west, the Carinthian lands stretched to the Archbishopric of Salzburg and the Habsburg County of Tyrol , while in the east, the Mur River formed the border with the Kingdom of Hungary . In the south, the County of Görz , which had passed to the House of Habsburg in 1500, and Duino ( Tybein ) bordered on
1863-543: The North Atlantic to northwestern and central Europe. The weather in Graz is thus influenced by the Mediterranean, and it has more hours of sunshine per year than Vienna or Salzburg and also less wind or rain. Graz lies in a basin that is only open to the south, causing the climate to be warmer than would be expected at that latitude. Plants are found in Graz that normally grow much further south. Graz, being
1932-639: The Princely County of Tyrol ; these three federal states had to cede territories to Czechoslovakia , Italy , and Yugoslavia when Austria emerged in its present form. The federal state of Vorarlberg is made up of territories acquired by the House of Habsburg in the 14th and 15th centuries, and was a semi-autonomous part of the County of Tyrol from 1861. The 1815 Congress of Vienna saw most of these areas lose their autonomy. Federal state charters were put in place in 1861, although power remained with
2001-749: The Stadthalle - a multifunctional space for e.g. conventions and concerts -, the Children's Museum ( Kindermuseum ), the Helmut-List-Halle , the Museum of Contemporary Art ( Kunsthaus ) and the Island in the Mur ( Murinsel ). Buildings in Graz which are at least 50m tall: SK Sturm Graz is the main football club of the city, with Four Austrian championships, 5 Austrian Cup wins and 4 participations in
2070-529: The 0 °C isotherm, the same occurs in a borderline humid continental climate ( Dfb ) according to the Köppen climate classification . Wladimir Köppen himself was in town and conducted studies to see how the climate of the past influenced the Continental Drift theory . Due to its position southeast of the Alps , Graz is shielded from the prevailing westerly winds that bring weather fronts in from
2139-739: The 12th century, dukes under Babenberg rule made the town into an important commercial center. Later, Graz came under the rule of the Habsburgs and, in 1281, gained special privileges from King Rudolph I . In the 14th century, Graz became the city of residence of the Inner Austrian line of the Habsburgs. The royalty lived in the Schlossberg castle and from there ruled Styria , Carinthia , most of today's Slovenia, and parts of Italy ( Carniola , Gorizia and Gradisca , Trieste ). In
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2208-954: The 1386 Battle of Sempach against the Old Swiss Confederacy , the Leopoldian heritage fell to his eldest son Duke William the Courteous , who upon the death of his uncle Albert III in 1395 also raised claims to the Archduchy of Austria against Albert's only son and heir Duke Albert IV . Both sides came to an agreement to maintain the Neuberg division but also to assert the common rule over the Habsburg lands. Therefore, from 1404 William acted as Austrian regent for his minor nephew Albert V . The Tyrolean and Further Austrian lands passed to William's younger brother Duke Leopold IV
2277-489: The 16th century, the city's design and planning were primarily controlled by Italian Renaissance architects and artists. One of the most famous buildings representative of this style is the Landhaus , designed by Domenico dell'Allio , and used by the local rulers as a governmental headquarters. The University of Graz was founded by Archduke Karl II in 1585, it is the city's oldest university. For most of its existence, it
2346-567: The Archduchy of Austria (as Ferdinand III) and as Holy Roman Emperor in 1619. His intentions to translate the absolutist and anti-reformationist Inner Austrian policies to the Crown of Bohemia sparked the Thirty Years' War . The Further Austrian/Tyrolean line of Ferdinand's younger brother Archduke Leopold V survived until the death of his son Sigismund Francis in 1665, whereafter all territories ultimately returned to common control with
2415-580: The Austrian lands by the Habsburg king Rudolph I of Germany upon his victory in the 1278 Battle on the Marchfeld . In 1335 Rudolph's grandson Duke Albert II of Austria also received the Carinthian duchy with the adjacent March of Carniola at the hands of Emperor Louis the Bavarian as Imperial fiefs. When in 1365 Albert's son Duke Rudolf IV of Austria suddenly died at the age of 26, Emperor Charles IV enfeoffed his younger brothers Albert III with
2484-609: The Champions League (where they were 1st in the first group stage in 2000/01 and therefore got promoted to the round of 16 as the first Austrian club ever). Grazer AK also won an Austrian championship, but went into administration in 2007 and was excluded from the professional league system. In ice hockey, ATSE Graz was the Austrian Hockey League champion in 1975 and 1978. EC Graz was runner-up in 1991–92, 1992–93 and 1993–94. Graz 99ers has played in
2553-812: The Fat . When Duke William died without issue in 1406, the Leopoldian line was further split among his younger brothers: while Leopold IV assumed the regency in Austria, the Inner Austrian territories passed to Ernest the Iron , while the Tyrolean/Further Austrian passed to the youngest brother Frederick of the Empty Pockets . In 1457 the Leopoldian line again could assume the rule over the Austrian archduchy, when Ernest's son Duke Frederick V of Inner Austria succeeded his Albertine cousin Ladislaus
2622-595: The Inner Austrian line founded by his younger son Archduke Charles II , the lands became a centre of the Counter-Reformation , carried out by the Jesuits with great determination. The cadet branch prevailed again, when Charles' son and successor as regent of Inner Austria, Archduke Ferdinand II , was crowned King of Bohemia in 1617, King of Hungary in 1618, and finally succeeded his cousin Matthias in
2691-536: The Pigtail and Leopold III the Just , who however began to quarrel about the Habsburg heritage. By the 1379 Treaty of Neuberg they finally split late Rudolf's territories: The elder Albertinian line would rule in the Archduchy of Austria proper (then sometimes referred to as "Lower Austria" ( Niederösterreich ), but comprising modern Lower Austria and most of Upper Austria ), while the younger Leopoldian line ruled
2760-412: The Posthumous who had died without issue. 1490 saw the reunification of all Habsburg lines, when Archduke Sigismund of Further Austria and Tyrol resigned in favour of Frederick's son Maximilian I . In 1512, the Habsburg territories were incorporated into the Imperial Austrian Circle . The dynasty however was split up again in 1564 among the children of deceased Emperor Ferdinand I of Habsburg . Under
2829-432: The Romans. In literary Slovene , gradec still means "small castle", forming a hypocoristic derivative of Proto-West-South Slavic *gradьcъ, which descends via liquid metathesis from Common Slavic *gardьcъ and via the Slavic third palatalisation from Proto-Slavic *gardiku, originally denoting "small town, settlement". The name thus follows the common South Slavic pattern for naming settlements as grad . Despite
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2898-422: The Schlossberg against eight attacks, but they were forced to give up after the Grande Armée occupied Vienna and the Emperor ordered to surrender. Following the defeat of Austria by Napoleonic forces at the Battle of Wagram in 1809, the fortifications were demolished using explosives, as stipulated in the Peace of Schönbrunn of the same year. The belltower (Glockenturm) and the civic clock tower ( Uhrturm ), which
2967-419: The Slavic root of the name, however, the city of Graz was founded by Bavarian settlers who arrived shortly after the Slavs, with which they intermixed. The city's name first appears in records in 1128, a record of 'Grez' from 1091 is disputed. Graz is situated on both sides of the river Mur in southeast Austria. It is about 150 km (93 mi) southwest of Vienna ( Wien ). The nearest larger urban centre
3036-402: The Styrian, Carinthian and Carniolan duchies, then subsumed under the denotation of "Inner Austria". At that time their share also comprised Tyrol and the original Habsburg possessions in Swabia , called Further Austria ; both collectively referred to as "Upper Austria" ( Oberösterreich ) in that context, also not to be confused with the modern state of that name. When Leopold III was killed in
3105-406: The University of Graz from 1909 until 1938. Ivo Andrić , the 1961 Nobel Prize for Literature laureate obtained his doctorate at the University of Graz. Erwin Schrödinger was briefly chancellor of the University of Graz in 1936. Graz is centrally located within today's Bundesland (state) of Styria , or Steiermark in German. Mark is an old German word indicating a large area of land used as
3174-480: The capital of Austria, plays a double role as a city and a federal state. The mayor has the rank of a federal state governor, while the city council also functions as a federal state parliament. Under the municipal constitution, however, city and federal state business must be kept separate. Hence, while the city council and the federal state parliament have identical memberships, they hold separate meetings, and each body has separate presiding officers. When meeting as
3243-411: The capital of the then multiethnic Duchy of Styria, was also a centre of Slovene culture, especially from the establishment of the University of Graz in 1586 until the establishment of the University of Ljubljana in 1919. In 1574, the first Slovene Catholic book [ sl ] was published in Graz, and in 1592, Hieronymus Megiser published in Graz the book Dictionarium quatuor linguarum ,
3312-401: The case of the Semmering Base Tunnel , a railway tunnel being built under the Semmering . Austrian federal states are formally and practically endowed with a much smaller degree of autonomy than American states or German lands . Even so, Austrians tend to identify passionately with their respective federal state and often defend what little independent governance their federal state has. It
3381-415: The central government. Following the First World War , the federal state governments declared themselves part of the Republic of German-Austria . Negotiations at this time between the federal state governments and the national governments resulted in the agreement to form a federation, with a nationally elected lower house and an upper house representing the provinces . The city-federal state of Vienna
3450-447: The city is home to more than 60,000 students. Its historic centre ( Altstadt ) is one of the best-preserved city centres in Central Europe. In 1999, the city's historic centre was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites and in 2010 the designation was expanded to include Eggenberg Palace ( German : Schloss Eggenberg ) on the western edge of the city. Graz was designated the Cultural Capital of Europe in 2003 and became
3519-474: The first division since 2000. UBSC Raiffeisen Graz plays in the Austrian Basketball League . Graz Giants play in the Austrian Football League (American Football). The city bid for the 2002 Winter Olympics in 1995, but lost the election to Salt Lake City . Graz hosts the annual festival of classical music Styriarte , founded in 1985 to tie conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt closer to his hometown. Events have been held at different venues in Graz and in
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#17327654753893588-596: The first multilingual dictionary of Slovene. In the 19th century the student associations in Graz were a crucible of Slovene nationalism and some Slovene students there were more nationally aware than other Slovenes. This led to fierce anti-Slovene efforts by the German supermajority in Graz before and during World War II. Slovenes only ever constituted a tiny minority in the city. This is also why Peter Kozler did not include it in his map . Nowadays, some Slovenian Styrians study and some have found employment there, whiles being formerly unemployed in Slovenia. A symposium on
3657-498: The heaviest Allied bomb raid of Graz occurred, the Gestapo and Waffen-SS committed a massacre against resistance fighters, Hungarian-Jewish forced laborers, and POWs at the SS barracks at Graz-Wetzelsdorf. These figures only include those with primary residence status (" Hauptwohnsitz "). As of 1 January 2024, the city had a total population of 339,810, of which 36,196 (10.7 %) held secondary residence status and 344 had no residence. Graz has an oceanic climate ( Cfb ), but due to
3726-418: The highest point is Plabutsch mountain with 754 m (2,474 ft) at the western border. The mountain Schöckl is just a few kilometres to the north and surmounts the city by 1,100 m (3,600 ft). These towns and villages border Graz: Graz is divided into 17 municipal districts ( Stadtbezirke ): [REDACTED] The oldest settlement on the ground of the modern city of Graz dates back to
3795-498: The historic centre are: For much of its post-war history Graz was a stronghold of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ), but since the late 1990s the party has lost most of its support on a local level. It was overtaken by the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) in 2003, which remained the largest party in the city council ( Gemeinderat ) until 2021. With the decline of the SPÖ, the Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ) has become highly popular in Graz, despite its negligible presence on
3864-405: The limits of the constitution, and each federal state has representatives in the main Austrian parliament. The majority of the land area in the federal states of Upper Austria, Lower Austria, Vienna, and Burgenland is situated in the Danube valley and thus consists almost completely of accessible and easily arable terrain. Austria's most densely populated federal state is Vienna, the heart of what
3933-506: The numerous dialects of Graz and Styria in general and to cultivate the pride many Styrians hold for their local culture. Two reasons for a melding of these dialects with Standard German : the influence of television and radio bringing Standard German into the home and the industrialization causing the disappearance of the single farmer since the farming communities are seen as the true keepers of dialect speaking. An extensive public transport network makes Graz an easy city to navigate without
4002-421: The outer districts buildings are predominantly of the architectural styles from the second half of the 20th century. In 1965 the Graz School ( Grazer Schule ) was founded. Several buildings around the universities are of this style, e.g. the green houses by Volker Giencke and the RESOWI Centre by Günther Domenig. Before Graz became European Capital of Culture in 2003, several new projects were realized, such as
4071-427: The person of Emperor Ferdinand II , who moved the capital to Vienna. New fortifications were built on the Schlossberg at the end of the 16th century. Napoleon 's army occupied Graz in 1797 and, in 1809 the city withstood another assault by the French army. During this attack, the commanding officer in the fortress was ordered to defend it with about 900 men against Napoleon's army of about 3,000. He successfully defended
4140-416: The region that never fell to the Ottoman Turks. Graz is home to the region's provincial armory , which is the world's largest historical collection of late medieval and Renaissance weaponry. It has been preserved since 1551, and displays over 30,000 items. From the earlier part of the 15th century, Graz was the residence of the younger branch of the Habsburgs, which succeeded to the imperial throne in 1619 in
4209-413: The relation of Graz and the Slovenes was held in Graz in 2010, at the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the establishment of the first and oldest chair of Slovene. It was established at the Lyzeum of Graz in July 1811 on the initiative of Janez Nepomuk Primic [ sl ] . A collection of lectures on the topic was published. The Slovenian Post commemorated the anniversary with a stamp. For
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#17327654753894278-401: The respective province, which makes this post an important political position. Furthermore, federal state competences include zoning laws, planning issues and public procurement on the regional level, which adds considerable weight to federal state politics. As a practical matter, there have been cases where federal states have been able to delay projects endorsed by the national government, as in
4347-414: The seats in the federal state government are assigned to political parties, with most federal states having a system of proportional representation based on the number of delegates in the federal state parliament in place. The governor is elected by the federal state parliament , though in practice the governor is the leader of the majority party or coalition in the federal state parliament. Vienna ,
4416-401: The surrounding region. Referred to as Steirisch by locals, Graz belongs to the Austro-Bavarian region of dialects, more specifically a mix of Central Bavarian in the western part of Styria and Southern Bavarian in the eastern part. The Grazer ORF , the Graz subsidiary of Austrian Broadcasting Corporation, launched an initiative in 2008 called Scho wieda Steirisch g'redt to highlight
4485-405: The two halves of the Archduchy of Austria , a principality which formed the empire's historic heartland. Salzburg is coterminous with the former Austro-Hungarian Duchy of Salzburg (the former Archbishopric ). Similarly, the federal state of Carinthia descends from the Duchy of Carinthia , the federal state of Styria descends from the Duchy of Styria , and the federal state of Tyrol descends from
4554-424: The year that Graz was Cultural Capital of Europe , new structures were erected. The Graz Museum of Contemporary Art (German: Kunsthaus) was designed by Peter Cook and Colin Fournier and is situated next to the Mur river. The Island in the Mur is a floating platform made of steel. It was designed by American architect Vito Acconci and contains a café, an open-air theatre and a playground. The historic centre
4623-399: Was a part of Lower Austria up until 1921. The federal state of Burgenland is made up of the predominantly German-speaking area that the Kingdom of Hungary ceded to the First Austrian Republic after World War I as a result of the Treaties of Trianon and Saint-Germain-en-Laye . The nine federal states ( Bundesländer ) of Austria are: For the purpose of the above list, a city
4692-503: Was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999 due to the harmonious co-existence of typical buildings from different epochs and in different architectural styles. 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 historic centre consists of over 1,000 buildings, their age ranging from Gothic to contemporary. The most important sights in
4761-513: Was controlled by the Catholic Church , and was closed in 1782 by Joseph II in an attempt to gain state control over educational institutions. Joseph II transformed it into a lyceum where civil servants and medical personnel were trained. In 1827 it was re-established as a university by Emperor Franz I , and was named 'Karl-Franzens Universität' or 'Charles-Francis University' in English. More than 30,000 students are currently enrolled at this university. Astronomer Johannes Kepler lived in Graz for
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