Graz Walking Tour

The Schlossberg (English: Castle Hill) is a tree-clad hill, and the site of a fortress, in the centre of the city of Graz. The hill is now a public park and enjoys extensive views of the city. It is the site of several entertainment venues, cafés and restaurants, and is managed by Holding Graz, the city owned utility company. The fortification of the Schlossberg goes back to at least the 10th century. In the mid-16th century, a 400 m (1,300 ft) long fortress was constructed by architects from the north of Italy. There are records of a cable-hauled lift being in use between 1528 and 1595 to move construction materials for the fortifications. The castle was never conquered, but it was largely demolished by Napoleonic forces under the Treaty of Schönbrunn of 1809. The clock tower (the Uhrturm) and bell tower (the Glockenturm) were spared after the people of Graz paid a ransom for their preservation. The remains of the castle were turned into a public park by Ludwig von Welden in 1839. The park contains the Uhrturm, the Glockenturm, a cistern (the Türkenbrunnen) and two bastions from the old castle. The Uhrturm is a recognisable icon for the city, and is unusual in that the clock's hands have opposite roles to the common notion, with the larger one marking hours while the smaller is for minutes. The Glockenturm contains Liesl, the heaviest bell in Graz. Near the Uhrturm there is a café with views over the old town. Additionally, on the western side of the Schlossberg, there are two small cafés, one with table service and the other one with self-service. Next to the terminus of the funicular railway there is a hilltop restaurant with views of western Graz. In what was once the cellar of one of the ruined bastions is the Kasemattenbühne, an open-air stage for concerts and performances. Below the Schlossberg hill is an extensive system of tunnels, which were created during the second world war to protect the civilian population of Graz from aerial bombing. Some of these tunnels are still accessible, including a passage from Schlossbergplatz to Karmeliterplatz, and Fairytale Express Graz, a grotto railway for children. Also in the tunnel complex is the Dom im Berg, which was expanded in 2000 to provide a venue space for up to 600 people. The summit of the hill is linked to the city centre by various steep paths and staircases, and by the Schlossbergbahn, a funicular railway. Additionally the recent Schlossberg lift links the summit to the tunnel system and, via that, to Schlossbergplatz. Each year the Elevate Festival, a festival for contemporary music, art and political discourse, is held in various venues in and around the Schlossberg.

The mausoleum of Emperor Ferdinand II next to the Graz Cathedral is a monumental sacral and representative building from the 17th century, which was connected by two different buildings. The 1614 begun and completed after decades Bauunterbrechungen 1714 system consists of St. Catherine and the subsequent grave Chapel for Kaiser Ferdinand II. And his family. Together they form one of the most significant architectural monuments of Austria from Mannerism, the transitional period from the Renaissance to the Baroque. For the complex, two different sacral buildings have been combined in plan and spatial concept: a church dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria and an oval central building adjoining it in the south as a funerary chapel for Emperor Ferdinand II and his family. To the east around the apse was an enclosing formwork around the sacristy and the Mesnerwohnung, which is crowned by a slender tower. The conception of the plant shows the ecclesiastical and dynastic representational intentions of the builder Ferdinand II: The cross-shaped ground plan of St. Catherine's Church points to the Christian belief that the oval shape of the funerary chapel is a symbol of resurrection. The crowning of the domes of St. Catherine's Church and funerary chapel in the form of scepter and imperial eagle with imperial sword and orb symbolize the Habsburg dynasty and its claim to power in the empire. In St. Catherine's Church, the patronal feast of St. Catherine of Alexandria not only refers to a medieval predecessor, but is also in context with the University of Graz, founded in 1585 by Archduke Karl II (the father of Ferdinand II) and led by the Jesuit order the patron saint of St. Catherine of Alexandria (patroness of the sciences). The sandstone figures on the west facade - representing St. Catherine, flanked by two angels and two persons converted to Christianity by her - and the painted copper plaques in the niches depicting the lives of the saints, not only make up the patron saint of the church and University-related program, but show in the converted to the Christian faith Porphyrius and Faustina also a counter-Reformation aspect. Built under the direction of Giovanni Pietro de Pomis, the building shows strong Italian influences on the building. Thus, the oval floor plan with an oval dome of the funerary chapel is the first of its kind outside of Italy.

The Landeszeughaus in Graz was built in the years 1642 to 1647 and was once the central arms depot of Styria. The weapons and accessories stored in it were used to equip the Styrian provincial detachment and supply the military border established in the sixteenth century to defend the Ottoman Empire in today's states of Croatia and Hungary. With its 32,000 exhibits of all kinds, the Landeszeughaus is the largest armory in the world, largely preserved in its original state. The house is today part of the Universalmuseum Joanneum and annually attracts thousands of tourists and lovers of historical weapons from all over the world. Today, the arsenal in Graz with about 32,000 exhibits houses the world's largest historically grown collection of protective weapons (about 3,840 armor, helmets, ring armor and shields ), edged weapons (2,414 pieces), polearms (5,395 pieces), guns (3,867 units), guns (4,259 units) and firearm components of all kinds (alone 3,449 powder and Zündkrautflaschen and cartridges quiver), With this stock it would still be possible to equip around 5,000 men. The focus is armor pieces and weapons for the simple foot and horse soldiers from the 16th and 17th centuries. But also officer weapons can be found in the collection, which - often richly decorated - come from workshops in Innsbruck, Augsburg or Nuremberg.

The Kunsthaus Graz, Grazer Kunsthaus, or Graz Art Museum was built as part of the European Capital of Culture celebrations in 2003 and has since become an architectural landmark in Graz. Its exhibition program specializes in contemporary art from the 1960s onwards. According to The Bartlett School of Architecture at University College London, the Kunsthaus' design sought to be deliberately provocative, innovate museum design by offering a less 'institutional' approach to organising exhibition spaces and employs new materials and manufacturing techniques. The building is an example of blob architecture, and has a skin made of iridescent blue acrylic panels that also double as photovoltaic panels. Owing to its shape contrasting with its surroundings, it is known in local vernacular as the 'Friendly Alien'. Architecture, design, new media, internet art, film, and photography are united under one roof. Kunsthaus Graz was developed as an institution to stage international exhibitions of multidisciplinary, modern and contemporary art from the 1960s to the present day. It does not collect art, maintains no permanent exhibitions and does not have its own depot. Rather, its exclusive purpose is to present and procure contemporary art productions.