Tramway Museum Graz

The Graz Tramway Museum is situated in the former depot of the Graz-Mariatrost narrow-gauge railway. It can be found at the Mariatrost terminus of tram line 1, operated by Graz Linien.The museum is home to retired tram cars from Graz and Vienna.The museum possesses a collection of more than 30 railcars, including sidecars and working cars.The objective of the voluntary association is to preserve the history of trams and transmit it to future generations.

In 1969, Gerhard Schweyer received a commission from Erwin Franz (1915–2010), the founder of the Graz Electric Railway – Maria Trost, to recover historic trams from Graz.The museum showcased the 191 B and 60B sidecars as the first vintage cars.The Grazer Verkehrsbetriebe, now known as Graz Linien, restored the two sets back to their original state.

During the spring of 1970, two sidecars embarked on a special journey along the road.

The Tramway Museum Graz association was founded in 1971, a year after the successful completion of this special trip.Vintage trams from various parts of the world were initially brought to Graz, where they underwent restoration and were subsequently added to the museum’s collection.In order to accommodate the limited space available, it was decided to primarily include vintage cars from Graz.However, there is still one vintage car preserved today from New York and another one from Vienna.

The Graz public transport company discontinued line 2 on January 16, 1971.The Tramway Museum Graz organized its inaugural special trips during this period.

In the subsequent years, the association arranged numerous special trips that were highly appreciated by the public.

The museum relocated to its current location in Mariatrost in 1980.The Graz Electric Railway was the last to use this hall. However, when the railway was terminated, the hall became disconnected from the Graz tramway network.In the subsequent years, significant investments were made towards the refurbishment of this hall.Furthermore, two covered roofs have been constructed to provide shelter for vintage cars as well.

Horse-drawn trams were first introduced at the end of the 1990s.

During the 2000s, the club gained increasing attention.Every year, special trips were organized.In 2011, railcar 206 and several sidecars were transported back from Amsterdam.

The Tramway Museum Graz is open every year and draws a large number of visitors. The museum celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2021.