GRAZ

city, capital of Bundesland (federal state) Steiermark, southeastern Austria. The country's second largest city, it lies on the Mur River between the Styrian Alps and a wide, fertile valley, the Grazerfeld. In the 9th century there was probably a fortress on the Schlossberg, a rocky cone (1,552 feet ) that dominates the city. The name Graz is derived from gradec, a Slavic word meaning "small fortress." It received town rights about 1240 and became the centre of Steiermark (Styria) during the Middle Ages and the residence of the Leopoldine Habsburgs after 1379. Its fortifications, built in the 15th-16th century, successfully withstood numerous sieges by the Hungarians and the Turks. Protestantism was established in Graz about 1530 and flourished until oppressive measures by the archduke Charles of Inner Austria (Styria, Carinthia, Carniola) restored the authority of Rome. During the Napoleonic Wars, Graz was held by the French in 1797, 1805, and 1809. A trade centre in the 17th and 18th centuries, it developed even more rapidly in the 19th century through the interest of the archduke John and was constituted a city in 1850. The Schlossberg fortifications were blown up by the French in 1809, and the site was laid out with parks after 1839. The clock tower (1561) and the belfry (1588) survive as prominent landmarks. The most notable buildings are in the old part of the town and include the Renaissance Landhaus (the meetinghouse of the Styrian estates); the armoury (1643-45), with a unique historical collection of armour and weapons; the town hall (1888-93); the 11th-century castle with 15th-century additions, now used as government offices; St. Aegidius Cathedral (1438-62), with Baroque decorations and fine stained-glass windows; and the adjacent mausoleum (1614-1714) of Ferdinand II. Among the city's institutions are Graz University (Karl-Franzens-Universitt Graz; 1585), Graz Technical University (1811), and the Joanneum Provincial Museum (Steiermrkisches Landesmuseum Joanneum), founded in 1811 by the archduke John and containing historical and art collections. The University of Music and Dramatic Art in Graz was founded in 1963. A rail and industrial centre, Graz has ironworks and steelworks, breweries, and railway workshops, and the city manufactures precision and optical instruments, machinery, leather, paper, textiles, and chemicals. There is an active trade in cereals, fruit, and wine from the nearby hills, and tourism is also important. Pop. (1991) 232,155.