Museums In Graz
After the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, the Universalmuseum Joanneum in Styria is not only the second-largest museum in Austria but also the oldest. Its vast collections and broad focus make it highly respected among Austrian state museums.Archduke Johann, who kindly donated his personal artifacts in 1811, is honored by the museum name. Encouragement of study and curiosity among visitors was his aim.The natural sciences and technology were deeply valued by the archduke.
A scientific school was first proposed in 1775 by Leopold Biwald, a former Jesuit.Among the many things Archduke Johann wanted to do was buy the Lesliehof, which he eventually dubbed the Old Joanneum, and keep up a lyceum. Still, building a state archive was his main objective.Josef Wartinger, the first Joanneum archivist, was able to put together a succinct history of Styria because of his collecting efforts.Under the sponsorship of the archduke, the Universalmuseum Joanneum was established with the purpose of collecting, researching, preserving, and disseminating knowledge. Its major objective is to provide a comprehensive summary of the ecological, historical, artistic, and cultural evolution of Styria.
Among the most well-known exhibition venues in Graz is the Old Gallery in Schloss Eggenberg. Its excellent collection of European art spans the German and Italian Renaissances as well as the Romanesque and Gothic periods. Important Baroque artifacts are housed in nicely kept cases in the gallery.Notable collections of 19th, 20th, and 21st century fine art are housed at the New Gallery.The museum, combined with two other museums—the multimedia collections and the Natural History Museum, which opened in March 2013,—has been housed in the Joanneum Quarter since 2011.
Leading Baroque castle complex Eggenberg Castle is located in Styria, Austria. Being one of Austria’s greatest treasures, it has significant cultural value. Among the many treasures kept at the castle are the old gallery, currency cabinet, and archeological museum, along with a sizable landscape garden.Situated outside of the reconstructed Joanneum area is the Kunsthaus, or “Friendly Alien.”The largest and oldest folklore collection in Styria is housed in the folklore museum on Paulustorgasse.The Herrengasse-based State Armory has been transformed into a museum housing a sizable collection of firearms. The largest historical armament collection in the world, it has around 32,000 distinct items in perfect condition.
Landeszeughaus
Built between 1642 and 1647, the Landesarsenal at Graz served as Styria’s main armament storage site. It held equipment for 16,000 personnel and was designed by Anton Solar. The arsenal’s main function changed, nevertheless, in 1699 when a solid boundary with the Ottoman Empire was established. The whole stock of the armory was sold to Vienna after it closed in 1749. The concept to preserve the armory as a whole was brought forth by Maria Theresia, who centered the army in hereditary territories. It was included to the Universalmuseum Joanneum in 1892.
The museum was evacuated during World War II, and every weapon was moved to isolated Styrian fortresses. The British occupying force helped with the return transportation, and in 1946 the Landesarsenal reopened. 2013, saw the completion of the biggest renovation since the Arsenal’s construction, opening up access to the arsenal to everyone.
At almost 32,000 displays, the Landesarsenal is the world’s greatest collection of defensive weaponry. The assortment consists of rifles, pistols, shields, edged weapons, pole weapons, helmets, ring armor, and different weapon attachments. The principal emphasis is on commanders’ weapons from factories in Innsbruck, Augsburg, or Nuremberg as well as armor and weaponry used by infantry and cavalry warriors in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Kunsthaus Graz
The Joanneum Universal Museum branch Kunsthaus Graz was finished in 2003 as a major contribution to Graz’s year as the Capital of Culture. Known by its nickname, “Friendly Alien,” it is a component of the modern art from the last 50 years exhibition program at the Joanneum Universal Museum.
Biomorphic, circular elements that contrast with the baroque roof landscape set the structure apart, as do its unique design and materials. Although its odd pneumatic appearance has led to its description as blob architecture, the Kunsthaus Graz is really structurally perforated.
The Kunsthaus Graz plans to host international exhibitions of modern, transdisciplinary, and contemporary art from the 1960s to the present. Incorporating light components into a particular section of its curved façade allows the building’s exterior skin to be used as a screen.
The east side facade, dubbed “BIX,” is composed of 930 individually controlled, 40-watt fluorescent lamps that are ring-shaped and widely accessible.
The low resolution and limited visibility of edge zones of the concavely curved surface hinder its usefulness.
Frida & Fred - Children's museum
Spelled FRida & freD, the Frida & Fred children’s museum is located in the Graz Augarten.Building construction was overseen by architects Hemma Fasch and Jakob Fuchs in 2003.
With its interesting exhibits and engaging activities, the museum is especially geared toward kids ages 3 to 12.
The exhibits are designed with the slogan “Hands On – Minds On” to motivate children to participate fully and explore with a range of activities.
An association of European children’s museums called Hands On Europe is happy to have Frida & Fred as a member.
In addition to its regularly changing yearly exhibitions, Frida & Fred offers a variety of weekly classes and children’s theatrical productions.
An integral part of the program has been a laboratory dedicated to several exhibition topics like water, optics, medicine, energy, food, aviation, and genetics since 2010.
Concurrent with the exhibitions are a number of workshops. One Saturday workshop, for instance, starts at 2:00 p.m.
Apart from that, there are other holiday and special events to choose from, including the yearly summer academy that spans the nine-week summer break.
Natural History Museum
Part of the Universalmuseum Joanneum, the Natural History Museum in Graz opened in 2013 and has a permanent exhibition of items from zoology, geology, paleontology, minerals, and botany. Among the museum’s many unique features are a rare mineral classification derived from Tschermak’s nineteenth-century work, a laboriously carved Styrian relief made between 1890 and 1905 at a scale of 1:37,500, and an intriguing display mine from the first half of the 20th century.
The museum was established in 1811 and functioned as a museum as well as a scientific and technical school at that time. Lesliehof, the main building, is used for education and collection storage. Built after the museum was founded, the botanical garden was closed in the late 1880s.
With Franz Unger, the “founder of paleobotany,” creating one of the earliest display collections, natural history collections and exhibition venues grew significantly during the nineteenth century. In the 1880s, a makeshift seawater aquarium was built and the museum and teaching departments were divided.
A renovation of the Natural History Museum was carried out in the 1990s, and the Joanneumsviertel construction project was finished in 2010–2013. This plan created an underground cultural center by combining the Styrian State Library, the neo-baroque museum Neutorgasse, and the main structure.
Austrian Open-Air Museum Stübing
Ten kilometers northwest of Graz, the capital of Styria, in the Enzenbachgraben valley, lies the Austrian Open-Air Museum Stübing.
Well-known European institution the open-air museum is committed to protecting, studying, and promoting Austria’s historical rural culture throughout the federal zone.
Covering an amazing 65 hectares, the museum is home to 103 artifacts. Trailing the Enzenbach valley, it is 1.4 kilometers long. Among the buildings on the site are farms, shops, workshops for crafts, and religious monuments. Home furnishings are unique to each building.
Apart from Vienna and South Tyrol, the buildings are from every federal state of Austria. Real historical buildings as well as almost exact copies and reconstructions are included in the collection. They are six centuries old buildings.
The earliest totally finished building, a granary in Großstübing, was built in 1452. The old buildings were measured and disassembled precisely, then painstakingly rebuilt in Stübing.
The museum is pleased to be an International Council of Museums member and a founder member of the Association of European Open Air Museums.
Johann Puch Museum Graz
The Johann Puch Museum Graz is a museum in Graz, Styria, that records the significant changes in the history of local mobility during the last century. Founded in 2012, it offers a thorough history of the shift from bicycles to motorbikes and cars and is housed in the final authentic hall of the Johann Puch factory. Starting with the introduction of the first bicycles some 150 years ago, the museum’s displays offer a comprehensive picture of the history of local mobility.
There are thematic sections of the handicapped accessible museum. Prototypes, successful models, thorough plans, fan articles, cars, posters, little models, and antiques from earlier industries are all on display for visitors. The museum also presents the a century-long history of Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG, which has made a major contribution to the motorization of our everyday lives.
The Johann Puch Museum in Graz is a multifaceted tribute to a remarkable person who advanced from a Keuschler child to an industrialist. It mainly presents the rich traditions and industrial processes of Styria through the eyes of innovators, craftsmen, and engineers as it visually illustrates almost a century of mobility history.
Additionally on display in the museum are a vast and varied collection of bicycles, mopeds, and scooters, including both pre- and post-World War II models, sports motorcycles owned by Franz Tantscher, and unusual engines. Originally produced in Graz, mopeds may have been distributed all across Europe and America or produced under license in many different places.
Graz Tramway Museum
Situated at the Mariatrost terminal of tram line 1 of Graz Linien lies the Graz Tramway Museum. About thirty retired tramcars from Vienna and Graz, together with sidecars and running cars, are on display at the museum. The aim of the volunteer association is to inform next generations about tram history.
Gerhard Schweyer was hired by Graz Electric Railway founder Erwin Franz in 1969 to rehabilitate historic trams. The first historic cars restored by Graz Linien, the sidecars 191 B and 60B, were on show at the museum.
The main objective of the 1971 founding of the Tramway Museum Graz was to protect the old cars of Graz. The museum scheduled its first special excursions in 1971, the year line 2 was canceled.
After the Graz tram network was closed, the museum relocated to its current site in Mariatrost in 1980, and the hall was cut off from the network. Restoration of the hall and the provision of a home for antique automobiles required large investments.
End of the 1990s saw the installation of horse-drawn trams, and in the 2000s the club gained more and more popularity. Special excursions were planned annually, and in 2011 railcar 206 and many sidecars were brought back from Amsterdam. The museum is yearly open and will commemorate its 50th anniversary in 2021.
Museum Of Perception
The Museum of Perception, or MUWA, is a Graz museum. It was founded in 1996.Works examining the phenomena of perception are included from several fields, including literature, philosophy, architecture, music, and art.The building housing the facility was formerly a public bathhouse owned by the municipality.
Built in 1904 following plans by the municipal building department, the dropper pool in Friedrichgasse is situated on the eastern side of the Augarten in Graz. January 16, 1905, was its official opening day.This drip bath has an octagonal main construction with a central spherical fireplace.The number of tourists fell as living standards improved in the second half of the 20th century because of less requirement.
Werner Wolf founded the museum, which opened in 1996 following conversion and renovation by architect Kocher in association with the Federal Monuments Office. After first test runs in containers in the town park, the museum is currently housed in an amazing upper-story structure.
A smaller tub remained in the basement and was enlarged in 1999 as a component of the Elmas EU project. The addition included the installation of a floating samadhi bath.First prize in a competition went to the design by architect Anna Popelka.
Graz Diocese Museum
For the Graz-Seckau Diocese, the Graz Diocese Museum is the official museum, situated in Graz.
There are two main goals of the institution. It is mostly used as the museum of the Styrian Catholic Church. Secondly, it serves as the diocesan conservatory, in responsibility of preserving Styrian religious monuments.Recognising its broad and excellent museum activities, the Graz Diocesan Museum has been awarded the Austrian Museum Seal of Quality continuously since 2002.
In 1932 the Diocesan Museum was founded by Ferdinand Stanislaus Pawlikowski, the Prince Bishop of Seckau at the time. His collaboration in founding the museum was with theologian and art historian Johannes Mandl.
The Barbara Chapel, the Friedrich Chapel, and the Romuald Chapel make up the museum, which is housed within Graz Cathedral.Political issues forced the museum to close in 1938. Moreover, starting in 1942, it was sealed to prevent air raids.Repaired after the war, the facility reopened in 1948.Moving to the Minorite Monastery in Graz in 1974, the museum stayed there until 2008.The museum is now situated in Bürgergasse 2 in the heart of the city. It is housed in the newly restored historic Jesuit college.
Stadtmuseum Graz
The Graz Museum, formally Stadtmuseum Graz, is an Austrian cultural-historical museum situated in Graz. Rich history of the city is the focus of the museum’s collections and exhibitions. Graz’s political, economic, and social past is comprehensively and in-depth shown in the permanent display “360 GRAZ | A history of the city.” The museum is housed in the magnificent baroque Palais Khuenburg, where the Austrian heir apparent, Franz Ferdinand von Österreich-Este, was born in 1863.
Insufficient depots and spaces within the municipal hall presented challenges for the 1928-founded museum in storing its collection. It moved to Palais Attems, joined the Joanneum State Museum, and in 1969 it made a comeback to the township and downtown. 1972 saw the museum relocate permanently to Palais Khuenburg.
In 1995–1997 the museum underwent a refurbishment procedure headed by Gerhard M. Dienes. Significant displays were “Water,” “trans local: Nine Cities on the Net,” and “The Laws of the Father.” The museum changed significantly in 2005 when it became the Stadtmuseum Graz GmbH, a separate company wholly owned by the city of Graz. The institution entered a new phase when Otto Hochreiter was named its head.
Both locally and abroad, the 2012 conversion of the former Graz City Museum into the Graz Museum brought about a great deal of attention. Recognised for its outstanding architecture, the 2020 opening of the Graz Museum Schloßberg branch. It received the renowned Styrian Architecture Prize in 2021 and was a 2023 nominee for the coveted European Museum of the Year Award.
Austrian Aviation Museum
Josef Gaisbacher and Wilhelm König founded the Austrian Aviation Museum in 1979. Situated at Airport of Graz-Thalerhof. A private association presently oversees the Austrian Aviation Museum. The main goal of the museum is to compile and display aircraft from all eras and categories, with a concentration on Austrian aviation. .
Nestled in the southeast corner of Graz Airport, the museum has a small shop, a hangar, and an outdoor space. The museum used to be located in the northern part of the airport, more precisely close to the present northern apron area.
The second site was south, more precisely in the vicinity of the parking structure that is there now. Heavy snowfall in 1996 brought the hall down, damaging multiple displays. The new hangar was finished building at its present site in 1997.
An Erwin Musger Mg 19A glider was the first display at the museum when it opened in 1981. With time, the museum has added a wide variety of aircraft and displays to its collection.
Currently housed at the facility are thirteen jet aircraft, two helicopters, and a large number of gliders and propeller planes. A broad variety of objects, including aircraft, turbines, uniforms, ejection seats, a flight simulator, models, an apron bus, and aircraft tractors, are on display. Several displays are being restored right now.
Graz Museum Schlossberg
Year-round open, the GrazMuseum Schlossberg gives guests the opportunity to peruse its collections. Family-friendly, the experience delivers educational information on the geology and history of the city hill. Part of the GrazMuseum, the building is located on Sackstraße. It serves to link the city and the hill.
Otto Hochreiter, Martina Zerovnik, and Ingrid Holzschuh carefully oversee the GrazMuseum branch located on the Schlossberg. For people who like taking long walks, the area provides a tranquil setting encircled by nature. Offering a variety of services designed to satisfy the needs of those who are blind or visually challenged, the museum guarantees complete accessibility.
The new GrazMuseum Schlossberg was created with a hospitable atmosphere in mind by WG3 architecture. A friendly entry to the Stable or Cannon Bastion’s ancient courtyard is provided by the foyer area with its roof and surrounding trees. Accessible from the lobby, the courtyard is open to the public.
In the modern architectural design, the ring-shaped planting and pavement help to connect the historical barrier with the former “barracks yard.” The museum finds its inspiration in the historical defense and fortification community that flourished between the 16th and the 19th century. Its goals are to draw in both historical buffs and contemporary leisure seekers.
A modern exhibition and graphic design by BUERO41A offer a distinctive viewpoint on Schlossberg’s rich history, examining its development over several centuries from a European perspective.
Arnold Schwarzenegger Museum
The official and upscale museum honoring Arnold Schwarzenegger’s birthplace is located in Thal, close to Graz.
Strong supporter of it is the performer himself.
Since 2011, the museum has allowed guests to explore the life and accomplishments of Austria’s highly valued figure while seeing the former forester’s lodge of Count Herberstein.
A spectacular curriculum vitae that highlights significant life turning points is on show at the event.
The turning points in his life include his early years and teenage years, his bodybuilding endeavors, his prosperous film career, and his tenure as governor.
Prepare to experience Arnold Schwarzenegger’s interesting biography and the exciting world of Terminator & Co.
Linakstrasse 9
A-8051 Thal Austria
office@arnieslife.com
Tel.: +43 (0) 316 571 947
CoSA – Center of Science Activities
The public was first welcomed at CoSA, formerly known as the Center of Science Activities, in October 2019.
Situated in the Joanneum area, CoSA has become well-known as a centre of scientific research and knowledge.
Scientific wonders and technology are skillfully combined by the institution into a compelling story.
This enthralling trip takes place across an amazing 1,200 square meter space in 13 well planned chambers.
CoSA distinguishes itself by its commitment to interaction, enabling viewers to go beyond passive observation and take part in the exciting discovery process.
By the use of augmented reality, the displays become an engrossing voyage into the depths of human knowledge.
Adult tickets cost €17.00; students between the ages of 19 and 26 as well as school kids pay the same price.
Under-19 year olds get free admission.
Hans Gross Museum of Criminology
Hans Gross (1847–1915) was a lawyer who established the “Criminal Museum at the Regional Court for Criminal Matters” in Graz in 1895.
Mostly “corpora delicti” made up the collection.
The original set of instructional materials made it possible to train students, attorneys, and investigators using artifacts from well documented criminal cases.
Weapons, missiles, poisons and animal and human preparations including crushed bones and blood traces were among the many things found in the fundus.
First first access to the complex collection in virtual environment.
Among the collection, the crime scene case is one noteworthy item.
This speaks about the tools Hans Gross used to carry out painstaking investigations at crime scenes.
Gross established his claim to be the creator of criminalistics by methodically developing and broadening the method of solving crimes.
Heinrichstraße 18, 8010 Graz
kriminalmuseum@uni-graz.at
gams.uni-graz.at
House of Music and Music Theatre (MUMUTH)
Modern aural investigation and avant-garde architectural architecture are concentrated at the House of Music and Music Theatre (MUMUTH) in Graz, Austria.
A hub for experimental music and a supportive atmosphere for budding musicians and media artists, the design by architects Ben van Berkel and Caroline Bos skillfully blends music and media art.
The auditoriums at MUMUTH are expertly designed with state-of-the-art acoustic engineering to provide an immersive experience. Through its flowing lines and cutting-edge materials, the building improves the acoustics and transports visitors on a multisensory adventure.
Because of its embracing of technology, MUMUTH has become a lively musical playground with interactive sound installations and immersive projection systems.
Scholars and artists gather here to explore the realms of multimedia performances, interactive installations, and electroacoustic music. A broad spectrum of tastes and interests is catered to by MUMUTH’s varied programming, drawing viewers from all around the world.
One of the main components of MUMUTH’s artistic identity is its dedication to encouraging cooperation throughout disciplines. It acts as a centre for the collaboration of technologists, media artists, composers, and musicians to produce engaging and thought-provoking events. Through this partnership, avant-garde compositions that push the boundaries of music and art are produced.
