About this route
Route overview
Graz is Austrias second-largest city (300,000 inhabitants), the capital of Styria and the cultural-academic centre of the region (4 universities, 60,000 students). It is inscribed on the UNESCO list twice — in 1999 as the Graz Old Town (one of the best-preserved Renaissance-Baroque urban ensembles in Central Europe) and extended in 2010 to include Schloss Eggenberg (a Mannerist palace from 1635 with 365 windows symbolising the days of the year, 24 state rooms for the hours of the day and 12 gates for the months). UNESCO City of Design (since 2011) — Graz is the only Austrian city in the UNESCO Creative Cities Design network, known for innovative architecture and design. The Schlossberg — a 473 m hill with a Baroque fortress (destroyed by Napoleon in 1809) and the Uhrturm clock tower of 1561 (the symbol of Graz, preserved despite the demolition for 2987 silver guldens offered by the burghers to Napoleon), reached by the historic Schlossbergbahn funicular of 1894. Hauptplatz with the Rathaus of 1893 (Neo-Renaissance) and the Erzherzog-Johann-Brunnen, the Landhaus of 1565 (the Styrian Renaissance town hall, with the finest arcaded courtyard in Austria), the Zeughaus of 1642 (the Imperial Arsenal with 32,000 original 15th-18th century weapons and armours — the largest preserved armoury in the world). Kunsthaus Graz 2003 — the Friendly Alien designed by Peter Cook and Colin Fournier, an iconic example of blob architecture, a neon medusa-like object on the Mur. Murinsel 2003 — an artificial floating island over the Mur designed by Vito Acconci and linked by two bridges. Schloss Eggenberg 7 km from the centre with a 90 ha park (peacocks, alpacas, sika deer). 200 km via the A2 motorway and the S6 over the Semmering, 2 h - 2 h 30 min. The service runs 24/7. From EUR 750 in a Mercedes E-Class one way, we recommend an overnight (from EUR 1200 with an overnight).