Article: Graz
Graz – A city full of surprises
Have you ever been do Graz?
It´s the second largest city in Austria and “Europe´s cultural capital 2003”
Graz has to offer many interesting sights, historical buildings and great restaurants. In the old city centre you will find for example the “Landhaus”- courtyard with beautiful arcaded corridors and next to the “Landhaus” there is the armoury.
Today it´s the largest historical collection of weapons in the world, containing over 30000 exhibits. Two famous houses are the “Painted House” and the “Luegghaus”. The “Painted House” shows Greco – Roman mythology and in the magnificent stucco facade of the “Luegghaus” several faces are hidden.
Maybe you find them? A perfect example for wooden shop-facade is the Edegger-Tax bakery. It´s crowned with a gilded double-headed eagle. There you can buy exquisite confectionary. Not far away from the bakery are three important buildings, the Grazer crown. It consists of the castle-“Burg”-, the cathedral and the “Mausoleum”.
The castle houses a unique double spiral staircase, which dates from the end of the gothic period. Another attraction is the “Glockenspiel” on Glpckenspielplatz square. At certain times two windows and a pair of carves wooden figures in traditional costume dance to the sound of the “Glockenspiel”.
However, the heart of the city are the “Hauptplatz” – the main squre – and the town hall. At the centre of the “Hauptplatz” stands the archduke Johann fountain. “Hauptplatz” and the “Jakominiplatz” are linked by the most famous and popular shopping street – the “Herrengasse”.
It houses a cafe and an amphitheatre. The form of the “Kunsthaus” is often associated with the bubble of a chewing gum. There are temporary exhibitions. This modern building is located among many old houses so there is a tension between tradition and avant-garde. The occasion I’ve in mind is when I did in primary school the old town round walk in Graz.
I visited all these amazing sights I´ve already pointed out and many more. You may not agree with me, but I think the most famous and impressive attraction of Graz is the “Schlossberg” – a mountain in the middle of the city. Once you are on top of the “Schlossberg” there´s a lot to discover and you can enjoy a fabulous view all over the city.
From here you can see the red roofs of the houses, the hills and the mountains in the distance. On “Schlossberg” there is the landmark of the capital of Styria – the Clock Tower. Three bells strike in the tower and three crests adorn it´s walls. Another building is the bell with Graz´s most famous bell, the “Liesl”.
An interesting trip outside of the city centre is, for instance “Schloss Eggenberg”. It´s a journey into the universe because there are many macro comic symbols. For example there are four towers for the season, twelve gates for the month and 365 windows for the days of the year.
The Schloss also houses the “Alte Galerie” and a wonderful park where you can see peacocks. You can imagine that there are many more interesting sights outside of the centre, for example the double – towered church – the “Mariatroster Basilica” – and the castle ruins of “Gösting”.
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