| Graz - The Cultural Capital Graz – the second largest City in Austria with 250.000 inhabitants - was selected as it meets the needs for a successful WFC11 in every way. |
| You’ll hardly find another City offering so much variety in such a compact and manageable space – and with the sun and southern feel to top it off. You will appreciate the excellent infrastructure of the ultramodern venue centrally located in the City Centre and enjoy the picturesque Old Town with it’s southern charm, the attractive cultural programme, the quality and diversity of the cuisine. Central Europe’s best preserved City wasn’t added to the UNESCO list of the World Cultural Heritage for no reason. Here you’ll find Renaissance, Gothic and Baroque and ultramodern architecture in blissful harmony. |
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Futuristic architecture alongside medieval houses, alleys and squares, cultural and culinary enticements at every step and all these delights conveniently located near each other. Around each corner you’ll discover something new: hidden alleys, picturesque courtyards, ornate facades and magnificent buildings. |
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| The Old Town of Graz – Exuding Southern Charm Since the middle Ages, a friendly and prosperous town has been growing around the Schlossberg hill; a town cherished by its inhabitants. In fact, it was the unique ensemble of architectural styles spanning from Gothic, Baroque, Renaissance, Art Nouveau to modernity that made UNESCO add Graz to its World Cultural Heritage list. In the narrow lanes, on the bustling plazas and in the tranquil inner courtyards: the relaxed Mediterranean atmosphere can be felt everywhere in this charming City. |
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Graz – A perfect starting point for guided tours in Styria Riegersburg Castle impressively stands in solitary splendour on the remains of a 482m high volcanic mountain. Referred to by the Turks at the time as „the mightiest fortress of christianity“, the imposing appearance of the castle still commands our respect. Originally, the castle served as a fortified bulwark with a castle wall surrounding it. Today, it is a two-storey building with four towers and a beautiful Renaissance courtyard. |
| South Styrian Wine Route Here, beneath poplars and chestnut trees, where the "Klapotetz" (Austrian for scarecrow) beats time, life is centred around wine. An internationally ever more popular variety of local white wine reach the peak of maturity amidst the gentle hills of southern Styria. Wine-tasting and a cellar tour of the 300 year-old episcopal Seggau Castle will help you acquire a taste for it. White Horses – Red Wine Off you go over the hills to the home of the famous white horses of the Spanish Riding School – the Lipizzaner stud farm in Western Styria! This trip is not only for horse enthusiasts, though. It is for anyone who has a taste for the play of the light on the hills, a hearty snack of assorted homemade Styrian delicacies, a glass of the unique Schilcher wine, that glows with the colour of onion skin or the dark glint of pumpkin seed oil. |