Graz

Raven Travel Guides Europe’s Graz travel guide covers a city with beauty and one of the strangest stories in central Europe.

Graz has unforgettable sights and this guide has all you need to know about visiting the UNESCO world-heritage city. 

Graz has a rich architectural legacy, making it one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. 

A blend of all historical styles is complemented by a striking modern art museum, an artificial island and a giant rock that dominates the old town. A medieval clocktower on top is the most obvious reminder of the fortress that once stood on the prominent cliff. 

The fortress has been replaced by a public park, heritage zones and entertainment areas connected with the city by funicular railway. 

Graz’s Renaissance Landhaus and the Landeszeughaus, an extraordinary armoury of weapons, belong to the centuries when the threat of the Ottoman empire was alive and the city was in the front line. 

The city's Baroque inheritance includes the striking palace Schloß Eggenberg not far from the town centre, the mausoleum for the emperor Friedrich II, and the pilgrimage churches of Mariatrost and Mariahilf. Gothic features remain in the cathedral and city palace. 

A plague-era mural paid for by fearful residents stands almost side by side with a vast ceiling reshaped into a propaganda document by the Habsburgs, the rulers who dominated Graz for centuries. 

Citizens and rulers were sometimes at odds. A city that was once led by Protestants was turned upside-down during the Counter-Reformation by a determined imperial family that invited the Jesuits to take over its educational institutions and banished all religious opposition. 

When Graz's fortress held out against Napoleon, the vengeful ruler blew it up in an effort to banish its memory from history. Graz’s leading art museum is a work of art in itself, but different enough to be called ‘the friendly alien’ by locals. Visitors to both can see each other. 

The Renaissance armoury that was one of the secrets of the city’s strength remains today with more than 30,000 weapons, suits of armour and other pieces of war gear, the most remarkable arsenal of its type in Europe. Take the tour or just wander its floors with an audio guide. 

Graz’s biggest palace was created by the Eggenbergs, a powerful family second only to the Habsburgs. Today Schloß Eggenberg maintains its allure with vast painted ceilings, an extraordinary arcaded courtyard and delicate Rococo touches. This was the playground of powerful statesmen and their guests, the people who reshaped Europe. 

But city palaces only a little less impressive have been turned into museums that explain the story of this unusual city. 

Enjoy a rich Graz travel experience affordably. The 15-page Raven Travel Guides Europe Graz travel guide is your pass to a travel experience you won’t forget.