Last Saturday I decided it was finally time to become Katie the Touristin for the day and explore the Sehenswürdigkeiten (sights), camera in tow. After doing a bit of research during a particularly chilled day at the office, I planned to purchase the Joanneum 24-hour ticket for the mighty price of €4,50, which would grant me access to the Schloss Eggenberg (top of my list) as well as most of the other museums in Graz. With the 24-hour tram/bus ticket costing just €5, it was set up to be a pretty packed but inexpensive day (good job as I my bank card still hasnt arrived!).
After an initial hiccup with buying my tram ticket (turns out the machines only accept coins and Austrian cards), teamed with the slightly dodgy weather, I decided to start with the indoor museums and keep my fingers crossed that the sun would come out.
Joanneumsviertel
Fun fact: The Joanneums quarter has been an important cultural and educational centre since its opening in 1811 with one of Europe’s oldest museums. In 2011 it was redeveloped for the bicentennial anniversary (I think) and now has a rather flashy entrance with an escalator leading down an opening in the ground.
First stop, the Neue Galerie. Just a quick looks, seeing as I could go in for free. Particularly enjoyed the modern art by a variety of Austrian artists on the top floor.
This building also contains the Naturkundemuseum (Natural History Museum), so another quick look. Although the taxidermy and fossils were not really my thing, the ‘Out to Sea?’ exhibition (displaying piles of plastic rubbish and shocking facts about our wasteful society) was worth the visit. I also particularly enjoyed the ‘Shifting Landscapes’ exhibition with beautiful photos of the Alps and information about volcanic activity.
Schloss Eggenberg
Visiting the Schloss Eggenberg (Eggenberg Palace) requires a tram journey followed by a quick transfer to the bus, but it’s definitely worth it. The beautiful grounds with wandering peacocks were a perfect lunch and book-reading spot (the sun had finally made its appearance), before I explored the palace.
The Alte Galarie contains a very colourful exhibition (lots of shiny gold!) with pieces dating back to the Middle Ages and there is also an Archäologiemuseum and a Münzkabinett (coin cabinet) but I didn’t want to over do it on the museum front.
Entry to the Prunkräume (state rooms) is only possible with a guided tour, but costing only €2,50 was still within my yet-to-be-paid-Praktikantin budget (although you may want to check this, as the prices seem to have changed online). Despite originally planning to go on the German tour, I ended up on the English tour with three other visitors as opposed to the thirty or so on the German one – so a private and peaceful tour! In contrast to the modest exterior, the 24 state rooms are intricately furnished and full of splendour.
Fun fact: The Schloss contains 4 corner towers, 24 state rooms with 52 doors, 31 rooms on each floor and exactly 365 windows corresponding to the seasons, hours, weeks in a year, days in a month and days in a year and designed as a reflection of the universe.
Yep, another fun fact: The Planetensaal (planetary room), arguably the highlight of my visit, contains paintings by Hans Adam Weissenkircher with references to the 4 elements, 7 days of the week and 12 signs of the zodiac.
Kunsthaus Graz
Known to locals as “the Friendly Alien,” the Kunsthaus opened in 2003 to mark Graz’s year as European Capital of Culture.
I stopped off here for two reasons (well three if you include looking at the art). The first was to visit the Kunsthauscafé, which lived up to it’s expectations of having a friendly and artsy atmosphere. Perfect for a pitstop… although maybe avoid the cheesecake, unless warm cheesecake is your thing. The second was for the view. The top floor, called ‘The Needle’ provides lovely views of Graz, especially when the sun is shining!
Museum im Palais
Despite being relatively small, I think this was my favourite museum of the day. Palais apparently means townhouse in this context, but whatever you chose to call it, Palais Herberstein is a beautiful location for a museum. Definitely worth a visit, with highlights including Frederick III’s Gothic state coach (from around 1452) and artefacts relating to court education.
Landeszeughaus
I have to admit, I was going to skip this… an Armoury…surely not my thing. I was, however, pleasantly surprised. The most impressive thing about this museum, is the sheer amount on display. In fact, it turns out that it’s the largest historic Armoury in the world. So if it’s free, then why not have a quick look – although with four floors full of suits of armour, swords, artillery etc, I’ll be impressed if your ‘look’ really is ‘quick’.
Don’t forget to take a peek out of the windows at the view of the Landhaushof, that I mentioned in my previous post.
Volkskundemuseum
Unfortunately, I didn’t make it here during my whirlwind museum tour. Lots of people have recommended the Folk Life Museum to me as a good place to discover more about the local history and culture. So, to do it justice, I decided to save it for another day.
Top tip if you’re worried about over doing the museums: Instead of buying the 48-hour ticket, why not stick with the 24-hour ticket, but start your 24 hours in the afternoon and spread things out over two days. After buying my ticket, I was told that I had 24 hours to enter any of the museums i.e. once you are in a museum, it doesn’t matter if your 24 hours run out. You might want to check this, but in theory it means that on the second day you can head to Schloss Eggenberg at about lunch time and spend all afternoon there! There are also a few museums outside of Graz, so spreading the ticket over two days gives you the option to visit them too.
Katie im Ausland 