JUST GRAZ

This is a city for born romantics, lovers of history and music, and most of all, a reason to celebrate life in all its glory.

Located in the province of Styria, Graz is Austria’s second largest city with an illustrious history that began 900 years ago. It was here that the reigning Habsburgs lived during the medieval and Renaissance periods.

The historical treasures of Graz are among the elite few in Europe to be so well preserved, and two years ago the city center was named a World Cultural Heritage site by UNESCO.

The minute I arrive in Graz I know I am going to have a good time. I am staying at the Romantik Park Hotel on Leonhardstrasse, within walking distance of most of the city center.

On a clear sunny day, the sky is blue and the wind is warm – a perfect day for couples in love or at second best, a photographer’s delight. The hilltop view is captivating – red-tiled roofs in every discernible shape fill my camera frame, as well as two teenagers who are too busy chatting away to notice that they add lovely color to my composition.

The clock tower at Schlossberg is the city symbol and according to local folklore, a witness to countless kisses in its shadow. Incredibly, the clock is still ticking away with its original mechanism intact from 1712, although the hour and minute hands are reversed perhaps as a clockmaker’s joke? Inside the clock tower is one of the oldest and largest bells in Styria, made from 101 Turkish cannonballs in 1382. It also has quite a past - once referred to as “the poor sinner’s bell” when it tolled for executions, it became “the raggedy bell” to announce closing time at the inns.

Schlossberg is an enriching history lesson for visitors. First there was a castle in the 11th century, then there was a fortress. The fortress remained secure until it was blown up by order of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1809. What little is known about this era is written on a sign: “The gate by the “cat” was adjoined by a semi-circular tower dating back to the medieval fortress and the foundations can still be seen today. The term “cat” (German katze, old term for ramparts) refers to the fact that an outwork of the Gothic castle was once located here.”

Plaques on the grounds reveal there was a Turkish well (dug between1554 and1558) located behind an enclosed courtyard and there was evidence of the Schlossberg dungeon. There is the Chinese pavilion, erected in 1890 as a replacement for an older, romantic vine arbor, with the Bishop’s throne and the bronze Hackher lion still standing.

After strolling through the grounds, it’s an exhilarating walk down the Kriegsteig stone steps (from World War II) down to the Schlossbergplatz where antique stores are every collector’s dream. Use the stairs to climb to the top of the Schlossberg, but be careful, it’s a long way up!

Easily overlooked (since there are no signs) but well worth a visit for its historic value is a double spiral staircase, an architectural masterpiece from 1499. I ran up and down the 48 stairs just to see the colors of the sandstone reflected by the sun coming through the windows. Today the Styrian provincial government sits in the late Gothic building.

No one goes by the cathedral and mausoleum without going to see the interior, but they are closed so I must be content with an exterior view. In 1438 Emperor Friedrich III built the Gothic cathedral for the parish and court. After the counter-revolution, Emperor Ferdinand II had court architect, Giovanni Pietro de Pomis design the mausoleum around 1614.

The arcades and turrets dominate the 16th century Landhaus, a Renaissance masterpiece by Domenico dell’Allio located between the Herrengasse and the Schmiedgasse. Getting into the courtyard meant maneuvering around workmen and scaffolding, but nothing could mar the everlasting beauty of the 16th, 17th and 18th century stucco design

If you’re in town for Classics in the City, a classical music film festival, you’re also in for a musical extravaganza: operas, jazz and ballet are performed in the arcade courtyard from June to September. Next door to the Landhaus is the Provincial Armoury packed with over 30,000 items of armor on exhibition. (Please see Farewell to Arms in Graz for the full story.)

When Emperor Ferdinand II bestowed the royal title of “Prince” upon Johann Ulrich von Eggenberg he celebrated his “royalty” by acquiring a luxurious estate. The new prince ordered a chateau “designed as an architectural illustration of the universe, formulated according to concepts of a cosmic harmony.”

By 1625 Pietro de Pomis had completed Chateau Eggenberg with four towers to represent the four seasons, 12 gates for the months and 365 windows for the year. The State Room features Baroque paintings by Salzburg native Adam Weissenkircher, symbolic of the relationship between seven planets and the 12 zodiac signs, but the owner’s family are also portrayed - as rulers of their self-appointed world.

The 24 State Rooms include 600-plus ceiling paintings following the Baroque influence between classical mythology and scenes from the bible, western memorabilia and oriental legends. The Rococo influence surfaces between 1758 and 1765 in the rooms, notably three East Asian cabinets with Chinese painted silk and Japanese paper pictures. There are also a “Porcelain Room” and five rooms with painted walls by Johann Anton Raunacher that re-created the lifestyle of high society such as hunting, gambling and the theater.

Graz is special because it’s Austria’s treasured secret. There is no frenzied rush to get anywhere. I can still smell the roasting chestnuts on the street corners and taste the creamy ice cream cones from Eis-Timmel, Charlie Timmel’s popular parlor on the Herrengasse.

Oh, and I almost forgot my last morning at the farmer’s market on Kaiser-Josef-Platz (Monday to Saturday 5 a.m. to1 p.m.) There were fresh-cut bouquets, lots of them, fresh honey, the hollerbluten syrup that makes a delightful drink with champagne (I even brought a bottle home), meat stalls, vegetable and fruit vendors and families shopping ……a great way to absorb the life of the locals and if you enjoy people watching go ahead, no one’s looking but you!