| | Off the beaten track, but not that far Many foreigners visiting Austria pursue an east-west axis. They arrive in Vienna, explore this fascinating and ancient city, once the seat of a large and polyglot empire, and push on to Prague, Budapest and other eastern points. Or they want to see more of Austria and head west to Salzburg, Innsbruck and the Tyrolean Alps. I have been part of this pattern myself when I have taken family visitors to Austria. Had it not been for some mountain hiking with my wife in Styria, I would not have seen any part of the southern and southwestern part of the country. That is why I decided to spend several days exploring two provincial capitals, Graz and Klagenfurt, both somewhat neglected by tourists. GRAZ
Graz is the second largest Austrian city with a population of 250,000 which makes it a little larger than Des Moines and smaller than Ottawa. It is the capital of the province (Land) of Styria (Steiermark) and has a somewhat complicated history. Although it is a German speaking city, its name is believed to come from the Slavic “gradec” meaning “ small fortress.” The name Steiermark in turn, dates from the year 1050 (!) during which the territory became an independent margrave under Otokar von Steyer. My dictionary tells me that “margrave,” which sounds like an haute cuisine vegetable, is a title equivalent to a marquis but may also be used to describe the land which the marquis controls. I was intrigued by the statue in the main square which was not one of a familiar Austrian emperor nor the even more familiar empress Maria Theresa. I assumed it was of Otokar von Steyer, but when I asked a passing pedestrian, he informed me that it was a statue of a man whose name I did not catch who had worked hard for Graz. Later I found out it was the Archduke Johann (1782 -1859), the brother of one of the Hapsburgs. The Archduke was not only personally popular when he ran the place from 1811 to 1832, but also energetically promoted industry, mining and agriculture. At his death, he left the city his collection of art and other treasures which became the basis of the Johanneum Museum.  The city has well preserved 17th and 18th century patrician houses and public buildings. Because it was once the seat of the Leopoldine branch of the Hapsburgs, Graz has some architectural evidence of splendour, yet I had never heard of the Leopoldine branch and looked it up in my Encyclopedia Britannica. That led me to two pages of the Hapsburg family tree spreading out over many centuries. At one time or another, the Hapsburgs had their fingers in every European country except Denmark and Sweden. The “branch” factor derives from the fact that the earlier Hapsburgs were given to dividing territories among all the male heirs, although later the oldest son became the principal heir. I can not recommend the study of the Hapsburgs; it is like opening a gilded Pandora’s Box.
 The Old Town has a tiered effect, the top layer being the Schlossberg Park and the Clock Tower (1569) which is all that remains of a large former castle and outbuildings. To be sure there are now more recent structures, a restaurant and a funicular station. The Schlossberg Castle withstood attacks by Hungarian and Turkish invaders , but it was stormed by the Napoleonic armies in 1797. And looking north from the Schlosssberg, one sees a beautiful, rolling mountainous landscape.
Graz is very proud of its opera, theatre, music and art, and its university, founded in 1585, has 27,000 students and an active exchange program with the University of Wisconsin’s Eau Claire campus. One hesitates to make generalizations after a short visit, but I had the impression that the distance from Vienna, which is considerable, and was even more significant formerly, allowed the city to become important in its own right and not as a satellite of the famous federal capital. KLAGENFURT
Graz and Klagenfurt both are capitals of their respective provinces (Länder). In the case of Klagenfurt the “Land” is Carinthia, (Kärnten) a much smaller territory than Styria. As one would expect, it is also a smaller city with its population of 89,000. The ambiance is also very different.  Klagenfurt has a lot less bustle than Graz and even more charm. It is the most southerly of all the capitals and only a short distance from the Slovenian border. One of its significant characteristics is its proximity to a famous and scenic Austrian lake, the “Wörthersee.” Whereas the municipal boundary extends to the eastern end of the lake where there are two municipal beaches, the water is quite far from the city centre and is connected to it by a canal. Klagenfurt as a consequence is not really “on” the lake as are cities such as Geneva, Zürich or Konstanz. When it comes to sports, Klagenfurt has a “Europapark” boasting a beach volleyball centre, facilities for sailing, rowing, indoor and outdoor tennis, golf and a network of hiking trails in the surrounding countryside.
 Klagenfurt University was founded in 1970 and is strong in Information Technology. It has close connections with other Austrian universities as well as foreign ones. Architecturally, Klagenfurt is rich. The principal square laid out in 1518 is called Neuer Platz (New Square). It contains the City Hall (a former palais), a statue of the Empress Maria Theresa, many well preserved patrician houses, and above all, a large sculpture and fountain of a dragon being slain by a friendly giant wielding a club. The dragon by itself or accompanied by the giant are the heraldic figures of the city and are seen everywhere. There are several beautiful churches including the cathedral which was originally built for the Protestant nobility but was ceded to the Catholic Church later. There are a provincial art museum and one housed in the Landhaus containing medieval weapons, armor, costumes and tapestries. The Landhaus (1574-1594) was the seat of the provincial legislature, but not until more recently, a democratically elected one. The building is impressive and has a basement restaurant in which I had an excellent and not particularly expensive dinner with friendly service. But the best part of Klagenfurt is the Alter Platz( Old Square) which one reaches by a narrow street from the New Square and is a pedestrian zone. Many of the houses there have their own history going back many generations. The outstanding state of preservation is such that this part of the city has a dream-like quality.
Both capitals are recommended. If someone brags to you about the delights of Ulan Bator, you can ask them if they have seen the view from the Schlossberg or walked on the cobblestones of the Old Square. | | |
