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Graz is the capital of Styria, a county in the southeast
corner of Austria. The city is located in between rolling
hills, to the north, east and west, only open to the south.
The first settlements date back to 800 AD and through the
medieval times, the Styrian landowners, took over the town
and turned it into a flourishing trading center. Because of
its easily fortified and nearly invulnerable Schlossberg in
the city core, Graz has always been a very important strategic
point. Throughout the reign of the Babenbergers and the Habsburgs
the city was considered a second capital to Austria.
The city's architecture is dominated largely by the struggle
of the Reformists and the Habsburgs' Counter Reformation.
Protestant buildings like the Landhaus and many different
palais encounter buildings like the old University, the Mausoleum
and the Minoritenkirche, erected to represent Catholic believe.
The Counter Reformation was very successful putting Protestants
in a minority till today.
The most important building of baroque architecture in Graz
is without doubt the Schloss Eggenberg. A very significant
city mark is the romantic Uhrturm, a tower still using the
original clockwork from 1712 and a popular first kiss area
for many inhabitants. The fortress on the Schlossberg has
big influence on the townscape of the city and contains the
largest collection of early modern weaponry and suits of armour
throughout Europe. In the 19th century Graz grew to a large
city and many representative buildings like the Karl-Franzens-University,
the city hall and the opera house were erected.
Today Graz is the second largest city in Austria and home
to about 230.000 people. It presents a great deal of cultural
events, like the Styriade, an annual exhibition, dedicated
to contemporary art, theatre and performances.
German Language School
in Graz!
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