Graz - hotels, accommodation, car rental

Later, relatives of today's Slovenes built a small castle called "Gradec".The German name of the city - Graz - was first used in 1128 during the reign of the dukes of the Babenberg.Graz experienced a big boom under the rule of the Habsburg Dynasty, when it became an important trade center.In 1281, the city gained special privileges from the emperor Rudolph I. From the town fortification, the Habsburgs controlled the area of today's Styria, Carinthia and a part of northern Italy and Slovenia as far as toTrieste .In the 16th century, a university was founded and the Renaissance Landhaus and the clock tower were built as well.For centuries, the city successfully defended itself against Turkish raids and later on the Napoleon's army.The local fortress Schlossberg proved to be very strong in the fights.Unfortunately, after the capture of Vienna , Graz had to capitulate as well.The French soldiers ruined and destroyed many monuments.However, the locals adored the symbol of their city – the tower clock - to such extent that they decided to pay the French a great amount of money for not ruining it.The city experienced further attacks during the war, when many houses were torn down..

Trade and cultural center

Nowadays, Graz is a trade, cultural and political center of the region.The dominant feature of the city is the 120-meters high hill Schlossberg with a complex of buildings and fortifications on its top.The most famous monuments are the local clock tower and fortification, which dates back to the 9th century.You will find the local fortress in the Guinness Book of Records as the most difficult fortress to seize.The hill forms the historic center of Graz which was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999.

Clock tower

The clock tower (Uhrturm) is the symbol of the Graz .The original tower comes from 13th century but the today's tower dates back to 1560.Originally, only the hour hand was installed for the sake of better visibility, and the minute hand was installed much later.The oldest of the three bells in this tower comes from 1382.The bizarre chambers at the three corners of the roof were used by fire guards who signaled from their windows where the fire was coming from, using red flags and navigating the firemen who were moving in the streets.

Landhaus, armory and Glockenspiel

Other important monuments in the city are, for example, the Landhaus (regional town hall) , which belongs to the most significant Renaissance monuments in Central Europe , the armory Landeszeughaus from 1645 with a collection of 32 thousand pieces of armory from the Thirty Years' War and the folksy astronomical clock Glockenspiel on the Glockenspielplatz Square from 1905, financed by the trader Gottfried Maurer.It still works today at 11 am and 3 and 5 pm.Other significant monuments are the court bakery Hofbäckerei, the Gothic Dome from the 15th century, the cathedral Herzen Jesus and the basilica Mariatrost.

Kunsthaus

Kunsthaus (House of Arts) is a significant modern building and a unique architectonic pearl.Its architects were the Englishmen Peter Cook and Colin Fournier, whose aim was to create a modern building symbolizing living matter.There are various exhibitions and expositions in it.Kunsthaus is opened daily, except for Monday, from 10 am to 6 pm.The entrance fee is 6 euros for adults and 3 euros for children.

Murinsel Island

Another interesting building in Graz is the artificial island on the Mur River – Murinsel.The remarkable construction of the artificial island in the shape of a seashell was designed by a New York designer and photographer Vito Acconci.The Murinsel island is connected with both banks of the river Mur.There is a two-story restaurant and a cozy amphitheater.Another interesting feature of the city is that there the local warm climate that brings wind currents from the Mediterranean, the so-called Foehn wind to the island as well as the whole city.

Universities

Graz is an important university city.Nowadays, there are 6 universities with ca.50 thousand students from all over the world.

Culture and events

Many cultural events and festivals take place in Graz throughout the year.The best renowned of them are the music festival Jazz Summer (regularly taking place from the half of July to the first week of August) and the festival of open air street theater called La Strada (at the turn of July and August) .In 2003, Graz was proclaimed the capital of European culture.It has about 260,000 inhabitants.

GPS: 47.0691280027, 15.4387092590  Edit

Altitude: 364 m  Edit

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	Kunsthaus Graz Museums, 0.4 km	Add to the plan
	Uhrturm Clock Tower 0.7 km	Add to the plan
	Eggenberg Castle 3.6 km	Add to the plan
	Castle ruin Gösting 5.8 km	Add to the plan
	St Radegund bei Graz Ski resorts, 13 km	Add to the plan
	Burg Ehrenfels 13 km	Add to the plan
	Schloss Gutenberg 18.7 km	Add to the plan
	Schloss Rabenstein 22 km	Add to the plan

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