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| The Grandma visits Graz, Styria |
Today, Joseph de Ca'th Lon and The Grandma are visiting Graz. They have been waiting for the arrival of Claire Fontaine who came from Ljubljana, Slovenia.
They are going to visit this wonderful city that has an incredible history and is the current reflex of the convivence of different cultures, especially Slovene.
Before Claire's arrival, The Grandma has studied a new lesson of her Elementary Language Practice manual (Grammar 62).
More information: It and There as subjects
Graz is the capital of Styria and the second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. Graz has a long tradition as seat of universities: its six universities have almost 60,000 students. Its historic centre is one of the best-preserved city centres in Central Europe.
For centuries, Graz, in Slovene Gradec, was more important to Slovenes, both politically and culturally, than the capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana, and it remains influential to this day.
In 1999, Graz was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites, and the site was extended in 2010 with Eggenberg Palace, in German Schloss Eggenberg.
More information: UNESCO
Graz is situated on the Mur river in southeast Austria. It is about 200 km southwest of Vienna. The nearest larger urban centre is Maribor in Slovenia which is about 50 km away. Graz is the capital and largest city in Styria, a green and heavily forested area.
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| Claire Fontaine has arrived to Graz |
The oldest settlement on the ground of the modern city of Graz dates back to the Copper Age. However, no historical continuity exists of a settlement before the Middle Ages.
During the 12th century, dukes under Babenberg rule made the town into an important commercial center. Later, Graz came under the rule of the Habsburgs and, in 1281, gained special privileges from King Rudolph I. In the 14th century, Graz became the city of residence of the Inner Austrian line of the Habsburgs. The royalty lived in the Schlossberg castle and from there ruled Styria, Carinthia, most of today's Slovenia, and parts of Italy, Carniola, Gorizia and Gradisca, Trieste.
During the 12th century, dukes under Babenberg rule made the town into an important commercial center. Later, Graz came under the rule of the Habsburgs and, in 1281, gained special privileges from King Rudolph I. In the 14th century, Graz became the city of residence of the Inner Austrian line of the Habsburgs. The royalty lived in the Schlossberg castle and from there ruled Styria, Carinthia, most of today's Slovenia, and parts of Italy, Carniola, Gorizia and Gradisca, Trieste.
In the 16th century, the city's design and planning were primarily controlled by Italian Renaissance architects and artists. One of the most famous buildings built in this style is the Landhaus, designed by Domenico dell'Allio, and used by the local rulers as a governmental headquarters.
More information: Graz Tourism
Karl-Franzens-Universität, also called the University of Graz,
is the city's oldest university, founded in 1585 by Archduke Karl II.
For most of its existence, it was controlled by the Catholic church, and
was closed in 1782 by Joseph II in an attempt to gain state control
over educational institutions. Joseph II transformed it into a lyceum
where civil servants and medical personnel were trained. In 1827 it was
re-instituted as a university by Emperor Franz I, thus gaining the name Karl-Franzens Universität.' Over 30,000 students currently study at this university.
The astronomer Johannes Kepler lived in Graz for a short period. There, he worked as a math teacher and was a professor of mathematics at the University of Graz, but still found time to study astronomy. He left Graz to go to Prague when Lutherans were banned from the city.
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| Johannes Kepler |
Ludwig Boltzmann was Professor for Mathematical Physics from 1869 to 1890. During that time, Nikola Tesla studied electrical engineering at the Polytechnic in 1875. Nobel Laureate Otto Loewi taught at the University of Graz from 1909 until 1938. Ivo Andric, the 1961 Nobel Prize for Literature Laureate obtained his doctorate at the University of Graz. Erwin Schrödinger was briefly chancellor of the University of Graz in 1936.
Graz lies in Styria,
or Steiermark in German. Mark is an old German word indicating a large
area of land used as a defensive border, in which the peasantry is
taught how to organize and fight in the case of an invasion. With a
strategic location at the head of the open and fertile Mur valley, Graz
was often assaulted, unsuccessfully, by the Hungarians under Matthias Corvinus in 1481, and by the Ottoman
Turks in 1529 and 1532. Apart from the Riegersburg Castle, the
Schlossberg was the only fortification in the region that never fell to
the Ottoman Turks.
More information: Austria
Graz is home to
the region's provincial armory, which is the world's largest historical
collection of late medieval and Renaissance weaponry. It has been
preserved since 1551, and displays over 30,000 items.
From the earlier part of the 15th century, Graz was the residence of the younger branch of the Habsburgs, which succeeded to the imperial throne in 1619 in the person of Emperor Ferdinand II, who moved the capital to Vienna.
New fortifications were built on the Schlossberg at the end of the 16th century. Napoleon's army occupied Graz in 1797. In 1809, the city withstood another assault by the French army. During this attack, the commanding officer in the fortress was ordered to defend it with about 900 men against Napoleon's army of about 3,000. He successfully defended the Schlossberg against eight attacks, but they were forced to give up after the Grande Armée occupied Vienna and the Emperor ordered to surrender.
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| Joseph de Ca'th Lon visits the belltower |
Following the defeat of Austria by Napoleonic forces at the Battle of Wagram in 1809, the fortifications were demolished using explosives, as stipulated in the Peace of Schönbrunn of the same year.
The belltower and the civic clock tower, often used as the symbol of Graz, were spared after the people of Graz paid a ransom for their preservation.
The belltower and the civic clock tower, often used as the symbol of Graz, were spared after the people of Graz paid a ransom for their preservation.
Archduke Karl II of Inner Austria had 20,000 Protestant books burned in the square of what is now a mental hospital, and succeeded in returning Styria to the authority of the Holy See. Archduke Franz Ferdinand was born in Graz, in what is now the Stadtmuseum.
More information: The Telegraph
Politically, culturally, scientifically and religiously, Graz was an important centre for all Slovenes, especially from the establishment of the University of Graz in 1586 until the establishment of University of Ljubljana in 1919. In 1574, the first Slovene Catholic book was published in Graz, and in 1592, Hieronymus Megiser published in Graz the book Dictionarium quatuor linguarum, the first multilingual dictionary of Slovene.
The Styrian Slovenes did not consider Graz a German city, but their own, a place to study while living at their relatives' homes and to fulfill one's career ambitions. The student associations in Graz were a crucible of the Slovene identity and the Slovene students in Graz were more nationally aware than some others. This led to fierce anti-Slovene efforts of German nationalists in Graz before and during World War II.
Many Slovenian Styrians study there. Slovenes are among the professors at the Institute for Jazz in Graz. Numerous Slovenes have found employment there, while being formerly unemployed in Slovenia. For the Slovene culture, Graz remains permanently important due to its university and the Universalmuseum Joanneum archives containing numerous documents from the Slovenian Styria.
The diversity of the phenomena of nature is so great,
and the treasures hidden in the heavens so rich,
precisely in order that the human mind shall never be
lacking in fresh nourishment.
Johannes Kepler
I stay really surprise with your story, I stay surprise want know what happens in the life of this persons in Grazz, I like the relation that you has in your story with this three subjects, and how you have information of really interestings entities, I want follow your stories when you follow this
ReplyDeleteJordi, welcome to The Grandma's stories. It's a pleasure for us reading your comments. We have decided to visit Austria because it is a country with an interesting history, beautiful places and nice people.
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