Monuments & Fountains In Graz

The Marian columns were built at three different locations: Karlauplatz in 1762, Marienplatz in 1680, and the Iron Gate between 1666 and 1670.

Erected in 1680 are the plague columns on Karmeliterplatz, Lendplatz, and Griesplatz. The people kindly contributed these columns as votive offerings in reaction to enemy invasions or plague epidemics.

Known by another name, “Am Damm,” the Plague Memorial is a magnificently constructed chapel-shaped memorial that dates back to 1680. About 1680, plague columns and memorials started to be built as a sincere way of thanking Graz for ending a terrible plague epidemic. Over 3,500 people died and over one-fifth of the population was lost when a terrible pandemic tore through the city.

In the center square stands the September 8, 1878, Archduke Johann Fountain. The site has a magnificent bronze monument of Archduke Johann together with sculptures of the four rivers Mur, Enns, Drau, and Sann. Franz Pönnninger designed the fountain.

At every four corners of the fountain bowls are boundaries. Allegorical bronze reliefs decorate the bases. The fountain was supposed to go at the Iron Gate or in the Joanneum Garden at first. Fountains give the parks and squares of Graz a lot more visual appeal.

Constructed on the Schloßberg, the Major Hackher Monument, also called the Hackher-Löwe, dates from 1909. This poem honours Colonel Hackher, who bravely defended the Schloßberg in 1809 against Napoleon’s army.

Otto Jarl produced the original lion sculpture in 1909 to mark the centennial. Regretfully, in 1943 the original sculpture melted down, and it wasn’t replaced until 1966. Wilhelm Gösser filled the gap in the sculpture by creating a bronze version during this year.

Several squares with prominent personal memorials embellish the Graz city center.Standing as a striking reminder of the past is the Emperor Franz I monument on Freiheitsplatz. Construction of it, which lasted from 1838 to 1841, demonstrated the skill and commitment of its builders.

On the Opernring lies a second magnificent bronze bust of Joseph II. Together with the magnificent rosarium fountain, the Roseggergarten houses Wilhelm Gösser’s personality monument of Peter Rosegger. Numerous busts and monuments, including the magnificent Welden memorial, adorn the municipal park, Schloßberg, and the area around the opera theater.

First erected on the main bridge (today known as the Archduke Johann Bridge), the bronze sculptures of Austria and Styria by Hans Brandstätter have been moved next to the Stadtpark fountain (1873). Human rights are advanced in large part because of these people.

Within the city park is also the Moritz Ritter von Franck monument.On Tegetthoffplatz lies the Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff memorial. There’s the Maria Grüner memorial close by, which has a terracotta vase atop a column. Verse by Anastasius Grün, Louis Bonaparte, and Castelli are also included in the memorial. It is next to Mariagrüner Church.