Graz () is the capital of the Austrian state of Styria and the second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2026, Graz had a population of around 307,912 to 345,391 including residents with a secondary residence. In 2023, the population of the Graz functional urban area was 660,238. The city is an important centre of higher education, with four universities and four other higher education institutions; together, they had more than 63,000 students as of 10 June 2023. Its historic centre (Altstadt) is considered one of the best-preserved urban centres in Central Europe.
The earliest documented mention of Graz dates from the 12th century, when it developed as a fortified settlement under the rule of the Babenbergs. During the Late Middle Ages, the city became an important commercial and administrative centre. From the 14th century onward, it served as the residence of the Inner Austrian branch of the Habsburg dynasty, a role that contributed to its political, cultural and architectural development. Many Renaissance and Baroque buildings from this period remain part of the cityscape. Graz also held strategic military importance as a stronghold against the Ottoman Empire, particularly through the fortifications on the Schlossberg. In the 19th and 20th centuries, industrialisation and urban growth helped establish Graz as a major industrial, educational and cultural centre in southern Austria.
In 1999, the historic centre of Graz was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites; in 2010, the designation was expanded to include Eggenberg Palace () on the western edge of the city. Graz was designated the European Capital of Culture in 2003 and became a City of Culinary Delights in 2008. It is also recognised as a City of Design within UNESCO's Creative Cities Network.
Etymology The name of the city, Graz, formerly spelled Gratz and also formerly known as Grätz, most likely derives from Slavic 'small castle'. Some archaeological finds point to the erection of a small castle by Alpine Slavic people, who settled in the region after the barbarian invasions drove out the original Celts, as well as the Romans. In Slovene, still means 'small castle', a hypocoristic derivative of Proto-West-South Slavic *gradьcъ, which descends via liquid metathesis from Common Slavic *gordьcъ and via the Slavic third palatalization from Proto-Slavic *gardiku, originally denoting 'small town, settlement'. The name thus follows the common South Slavic pattern for naming settlements grad. Despite the Slavic root of the name, however, the city of Graz was founded by Bavarian settlers who arrived shortly after the Slavs, with whom they intermixed. The city's name first appears in records in 1128; a record of Grez from 1091 is disputed.
History
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. The city was originally called "Bayrischgraz" or "Bavarian Graz" (i.e. German Graz) by the German founders to distinguish it from the elder "Windischgraz" or "Slovenian Graz". Bavarian Graz, however, soon eclipsed its Slovenian counterpart and henceforth Graz always referred to the German one.
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 representative of this style is the Landhaus, designed by Domenico dell'Allio, and used by the local rulers as a governmental headquarters. The University of Graz was founded by Archduke Karl II in 1585, it is the city's oldest university. 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-established as a university by Emperor Franz I, and was named 'Karl-Franzens Universität' or 'Charles-Francis University' in English. Almost 30,000 students are currently enrolled at this university as of 2025.
Astronomer Johannes Kepler lived in Graz for a short period beginning in 1594. He worked as district mathematician and taught at the Lutheran school, but still found time to study astronomy. He left Graz for Prague in 1600 when Protestants were banned from the city. 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 Andrić, 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 is centrally located within today's state () of 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 historically a target of invaders, such as the Hungarians under Matthias Corvinus in 1481, and 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. 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 and, 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. 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 (Glockenturm) and the civic clock tower (Uhrturm), which is a leading tourist attraction and serves as a symbol for Graz, were spared after the citizens 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 (city museum). On 2 April 1945, while the heaviest Allied bomb raid of Graz occurred, the Gestapo and Waffen-SS committed a massacre against resistance fighters, Hungarian-Jewish forced laborers, and POWs at the SS barracks at Graz-Wetzelsdorf.
Geography
Graz is situated on both sides of the river Mur in southeast Austria. It is about southwest of Vienna (Wien). The nearest larger urban centre is Maribor (Marburg) in Slovenia, which is about to the south. Graz is the capital of Styria and the largest city in the federal state, a green and heavily forested region on the eastern edge of the Alps. It is located in the Graz Basin and surrounded by mountains and hills to the north, east and west. The city centre sits at an elevation of , the highest point is Plabutsch mountain with at the western border. The mountain Schöckl is just a few kilometres to the north and surmounts the city by .
Climate According to the Köppen climate classification, Graz has an oceanic climate (Cfb) or humid continental climate (Dfb) depending on the isotherm and station used. Wladimir Köppen himself was in town and conducted studies to see how the climate of the past influenced the Continental Drift theory. Due to its position southeast of the Alps, Graz is shielded from the prevailing westerly winds that bring weather fronts in from the North Atlantic to northwestern and central Europe. The weather in Graz is thus influenced by the Mediterranean, and it has more hours of sunshine per year than Vienna or Salzburg and also less wind or rain. Graz lies in a basin that is only open to the south, causing the climate to be warmer than would be expected at that latitude.Graz-Universität Klimadaten Plants are found in Graz that normally grow much further south.
average temperatures: Graz Airport / Karl-Franzens University average rainfall: with on average 92 days of rain (Karl Franzens University) average hours of sunshine: 1,989 (Karl Franzens University)
Neighbouring municipalities These towns and villages border Graz: to the north: Gratkorn, Stattegg, Weinitzen to the east: Kainbach bei Graz, Hart bei Graz, Raaba to the south: Gössendorf, Feldkirchen bei Graz, Seiersberg to the west: Attendorf, Thal, Judendorf-Straßengel
Districts Graz is divided into 17 municipal districts ():
Demographics
As of 1 January 2026, the city has a total population of 307,912 (with primary residence status or Hauptwohnsitz), out of which are 215,776 (70%) with Austrian citizenship, 43,718 (14%) with EU citizenship, and 48,418 (16%) non-EU nationals.
+ Largest groups of foreign nationals, 2024 Nationality Population11,4638,9857,7397,5786,0234,3514,2834,0133,4352,8582,571 1,9341,8521,8481,1321,0971,0481,032989888
Slovene minority Graz, being the capital of the then multiethnic Duchy of Styria, was also a centre of Slovene culture, especially from the establishment of the University of Graz in 1586 until the establishment of the University of Ljubljana in 1919. In 1574, the was published in Graz, and in 1592, Hieronymus Megiser published in Graz the book Dictionarium quatuor linguarum, the first multilingual dictionary of Slovene.
In the 19th century the student associations in Graz were a crucible of Slovene nationalism and some Slovene students there were more nationally aware than other Slovenes. This led to fierce anti-Slovene efforts by the German supermajority in Graz before and during World War II. Slovenes only ever constituted a tiny minority in the city. This is also why Peter Kozler defined the Slovene territory based on ethnic grounds in his map. In the 21st century, Some Slovenian Styrians study and some have found employment there, whiles being formerly unemployed in Slovenia.
A symposium on the relation of Graz and the Slovenes was held in Graz in 2010, at the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the establishment of the first and oldest chair of Slovene. It was established at the Lyzeum of Graz in July 1811 on the initiative of . A collection of lectures on the topic was published. The Post of Slovenia commemorated the anniversary with a stamp.
Sights