The
Exploding
City
1809 – 1914
360 GRAZ The City
in all Times
derlande
Europe in 1908
Russland
Deutsches Reich
In the foreground, the tranquility of the Biedermeier still dominates the
scenery. It can be perceived in the Mühlgang, which powered the main
energy source of the time: the water wheels of the mills. The Schwitzer Mill
of Graz is located to the right, the Rottal Mill with its two high gables
further to the north.
emburg
Prag
Pribram
Lemberg
Krakau
Olmütz
Brünn
Eperies
Österreich - Ungarn
Kaschau
Wien
Salzburg
Preßburg
Bern
Schweiz
Sarospatak
Ungarisch-Altenburg
Leoben
Innsbruck
Graz
Budapest
Czernowitz
Erlau
But what takes center stage is the new machine age. In 1833, the first
Styrian and at the time biggest Austrian chain bridge, the Ferdinand chain
bridge, was built. In order to hold the roadway, two massive brick-built
chain houses on both banks of the Mur River were needed.
Großwardein
Klausenburg
Nagy-Enyed
Fünfkirchen
Agram
Hermannstadt
Rumänien
Republik
San Marino
Bukarest
Belgrad
Sarajewo
Italien
Korsika
Serbien
Montenegro
Border of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy
Rom
Bulgarien
Language Community
Sofia
Cetinje
Language Areas of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy
German
Czech
Polish
dinien
On the left side of the painting there is a raft in the Mur River, which is
still a traffic route for the transportation of goods and passengers.
Debrezin
Pápa
Ketschkemet
naco
Early Industrialization—a Graz Idyll
Magyar (Hungarian)
Slovakian
Ruthenian (Ukrainian)
Slovenian
Serbian
Osmanisches Reich
Romanian
Croatian
Friulian
Ladin
Italian
What we owe to technical masterpieces like this one is also the expansion
of railway lines. Eventually, in 1844, the railway led to Graz.
The modern municipal administration too encouraged industrialization.
Yet the first paper factory that allowed for the mass production of paper from
wood would not be built until the mid-19th century. What is shown in this
Konstantinopel
picture is its precursor, the “Pruggmeiersche Hadernstampfe”, a paper
mill where paper was produced of vegetable fibers and / or old rags and was
spread out to dry in large rooms under the roof and in the garden.
Graz and the Unstable Big Power
Griechenland
Chios
The revolutions of 1848 were about democracy and liberalization.
For Samos
many
Athen
nations under the rule of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy this claim was
linked to their desire for national independence. The Habsburg system came
under pressure.
Malta
Chania
At first, the responsible authorities had no idea how to deal with the
Kreta
nationalities problem and tried to get an overview of ethnic affiliations by
means of population censuses. This was difficult because registered
individuals often did not know themselves which ethnic group and which
language to commit themselves to. For example, many Slovenes from Graz
believed that they had to declare themselves as native speakers of German.
The German-speaking bourgeoisie feared for its influence. With the
conquest of Bosnia in 1878, the Slavonic parts of the population gained
further influence. This strengthened the German National movements.
On the empire’s geographical margins and mixed areas such as the
Sudetenland and Styria they were particularly popular. E.g. in Graz, the
Verein Südmark fought against “Slovenization” as of 1889 and felt
responsible for the German linguistic enclaves right down to the Adriatic
Sea. In 1914, it counted no less than 90,000 members.
2
Zypern
(britisch)
Conrad Kreuzer: Die neuerbaute Kettenbrücke der Hauptstadt Graz – Ansicht vom Schloßberg gegen Westen
(The Newly Constructed Chain Bridge of the Capital of Graz—View from the Schloßberg to the West), 1836
Tempera on paper
GrazMuseum, ACNO MAL05 / 00592
3
A “Windischer” (a Slovene) Brings Mobility to Austria
What would Austrian bicycle manufacturing be without Puch bicycles?
The Puch factories were founded by Janez Puh, a Slovene from Lower Styria.
He soon changed his name into Johann Puch and started his career in
the Graziosa bicycle factory in the Annenstraße. In 1889, he opened his own
business. In 1900, when the racing cyclist Josef Fischer came first in
the Classic cycle trace of Bordeaux-Paris on a bicycle made by Puch, his
products became famous in one swoop. In 1908, the 100,000th Puch
bicycle left the assembly line and the Puch factories already produced
motorcycles and cars.
At the time when Janez Puh moved up the ladder from small craftsman
to factory owner, Graz transformed from a sleepy provincial city into
a vibrant metropolis of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. As it was linked to
the railway network by the route from Graz to Mürzzuschlag in 1844,
the city was catapulted into the Industrial Age. Beside the Puch factories,
other large companies such as the Reininghaus and Puntigam breweries,
the Andritz machine works, the Weitzer railcar factory or the Pollak shoe
factory (today Humanic) tempted thousands of people from the environs
to come to the city.
Staatliche Hauptbildstelle: Panoramic View of Graz, 1919
Film, length: 3:00 min
Filmarchiv Austria
In the Rhythm of the Big City
The film shows an early tracking shot through Graz filmed from the driving
position of a tram car and the Schloßberg Funicular. Such shots were
often created in the early days of film. The moving images were the ideal
medium to visualize modern urban life.
It was technological progress that got the development of the large European
cities going in the 19th century. Factories built in the course of industrialization and the expansion of infrastructure defined the appearance of
cities more and more. They dictated the rhythm of everyday life and
enabled the population—larger and larger masses of it—to follow this rhythm.
The population of Graz also grew from 116,770 inhabitants in 1880
to 210,845 in 1923. The expansion of rail connections brought commuters
to the city, which further increased the need for means of transport.
As of 1878, the first horse-drawn tram linked the Südbahnhof (southern
train station) and Jakominiplatz. In 1894, the Schloßberg Funicular
opened, which was initially powered by a steam engine. Around 1900,
both were electrified. The first film was shown in Graz in 1896, one year
after the Lumière brothers’ first film screening in Lyon, France.
Puch Ladies’ Bicycle, Model VII, frame number 3197, manufactured in 1900
Lampls Fahrradmuseum (Lampl’s Bicycle Museum), Werndorf
4
5
Urbanization and City Planning
Graz until around 1860 / from around 1861
Wien
Südbahn 1854
“Opening” is a term we come across several times in the history of Graz.
But it can take on different meanings. One opening occurred in the
mid-19th century. The old fortifications were either dismantled or razed.
The old town merged more with the parts of the city formerly outside
the fortifications (the “Vorstädte”). But this did not happen in the same
manner everywhere. In the east, universities and Gründerzeit residential
areas were built—tailor-made for the educated classes.
Wien
Mu
Railway lines attracting industry and trade were built in the west—as well
as new working-class districts. The growing city together with all necessary
supply and waste disposal systems was comprehensively planned.
r
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Gösting
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ien
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Ka
Leechwald
tel
Rosenhain
III. Geidorf
Hilmteich
ß
tra
osts
eP
Alt
Mostly bourgeois residential areas,
recreational and educational
functions
Maria
Trost
e
l
ürte
ofsg
nh
Bah
LKH 1912
ße
stra
rich
Hein
IV. Lend
Reserved for industry and trade,
main residential areas for workers
as codified by urban planning
already in 1892
Keplerbrücke 1836
KFU
5
87
e1
aß
rstr
le
Kep
ße
Glacis
Südbahnhof
(heute: Hauptbahnhof)
Schloss Eggenberg
tra
ds
ar
nh
o
Le
I. Innere Stadt
Annenstraße 1846
er Gürtel
Eggenberg
Right Bank of the Mur River:
Population growth through
immigration of workers
II. St. Leonhard
ße
tra
gs
Rin
Southern city limits: concentration
of odor-intensive facilities
(Sturzbrücke, i.e. a bridge where
waste was dumped off into the river,
and poudrette factory—the soap
factory in later years)
TU
V. Gries
Schörge
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M
sse
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VI. Jakomini
18
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–18 8 3
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Gr
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Con
„Sommerfrische”
Wetzelsdorf
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Pos
Alte
e
ürt
ttg
are
Laz
Eggenberg
Gü
First horse-drawn tram in 1878,
electrified as of 1898
ugürtel
Schöna
rtel
r Gü
Karlaue
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ats
Sta hof)
of/ ahn
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ah Ostb
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Population
distribution 1869:
f
ho
Triester
Poudrettefabrik
(später: Seifenfabrik)
Population development:
Sturzbrücke
Straße
Köflach
Graz-Köflacher Bahn 1860
Triest
Südbahn 1857
Budapest
1873 Ungarische Westbahn Fehring
Left Bank of the Mur River
Right Bank of the Mur River
6
7
Graz until around 1860
Graz from around 1861
The foundations for industrialization
and the expansion of the city were laid:
Impact of the Gründerzeit on the
Left Bank of the Mur River:
Impact of Industrialization on the
Right Bank of the Mur River:
Industrialization: Several heavy
industry enterprises with thousands
of workers set up business around
the Südbahnhof (southern railway
station). Industrial enterprises and
working-class districts also emerged
in the neighboring communities of
Eggenberg and Gösting.
Innovations on the
Left Bank of the Mur River:
Innovations on the
Right Bank of the Mur River:
Living: Gründerzeit quarters for
the bourgeoisie and aristocracy were
built on a large scale.
Opening of the inner city:
Martin Kink, head of the regional
building department, was first to
establish the “organic connection”
between the “open” inner city and
its surroundings:
New traffic routes:
The new railway lines codified the
importance of the districts of Lend
and Gries as trade and industrial
districts within the city limits of the
time once and for all.
Education: New university buildings
(Graz University, Graz University
of Technology) were erected in the
living environment of the educated
classes.
So that the Glacis, which was
co-owned by the armed forces,
could be turned into a park, they
received the Feliferhof in exchange.
1844: Opening of the Südbahn line
The town moat, which had once
served as a barrier, became part
of the ring road.
First parceling and homogeneous
construction activities around the
inner city (e.g. in the Glacis area)
Modernization: The infrastructure
was extended (e.g. sewer system,
new traffic routes) and “urban
beautification” was aimed for,
among other things by destroying
older building structure (city gates,
walls, moats).
1860: Opening of the Graz-Köflach
railway line (a feeder line from the
West Styrian brown coal fields which
was highly important for industrial
enterprises in Graz)
Herz-Jesu-Kirche (Church of the
Sacred Heart of Jesus): In 1891,
the city’s largest Catholic church
was inaugurated in the new
bourgeois residential area.
Recreation: Bourgeois places of
recreation (Leechwald, Rosenhain,
Hilmteich) were made accessible.
Public institutions such as the
state hospital (LKH), formerly
general hospital (AKH) in the
Paulustorgasse, were outsourced
from the center (inner city).
Military Bases: Large barracks
were built between the Südbahn railway line and the city limits (Alte
Poststraße, i.e. historic post road).
In the course of the transformation
of the community of Eggenberg
into a workers’ area, the “summer
retreat” Wetzelsdorf broke away.
Beside numerous workers’ organizations a church, the Vinzenzkirche,
opened its doors right in the midst of
the rapidly growing workers’ housing
estates in 1895.
Population Growth: This was also
driven by the moving in of civil
servants, aristocrats and pensioners
(“Pensionopolis” has been a
nickname of Graz since then).
The beltway system planned towards
the end of the 19th century was
mainly fully developed in the area of
the historical Murvorstadt.
District offices: The rapid growth
of the city led to a significant
population loss in the inner city
and resulted in a massive expansion
of the municipal administration.
The inner city was turning more
and more into the center of
administration.
Change of functions: Due to industrialization water power, and
along with it the area along the left
Mühlgang, lost its importance.
The majority of the workers was living
and working on the right bank of
the Mur River now.
8
9
“Right to the City”
Graz today
Wien
The 1960s set the citizens going again. Gone were the times when the
state and the city could regulate everything “top-down”. The people
wanted to participate and co-determine what happened with their living
environment. In Graz, initiatives claiming their “right to the city” were
formed in several districts. At the same time, there was a transition from
the Industrial Age towards a knowledge society. In Eggenberg, along the
Alte Poststraße (the historic post road), the former industrial zone has
increasingly been used by new art, cultural, and educational institutions.
Wien
pange
Nords
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ür
ng
tel
Kalv
cke
rü
rgb
ie
ar
lv
Ka
e
gürt
nhofs
Bah
cke
rbrü
l
le
Kep
Tramway: In 2007, the extension
of the tramway line 6 was realized
after years of discussions and a
survey among the residents.
Hauptbahnhof
rücke
Hauptb
rger Gürte
Eggenbe
Mur power plant: As of 2009,
an intensive debate over the
construction of a new Mur River
barrage in the southern part of
the city area developed which
not least circled around the issue
of sustainability.
Radetzkybrücke
l
ße
ü
ttg
are
Laz
ge
rte
Participation and Initiatives:
l
Geplante Stadtautobahn durch
ße
tstra
Pos
Alte
als
em
Eh
e
ubrück
Schöna
r
Karlaue
ugürtel
Schöna
Selected Participation Procedures
Gürtel
Selected Initiatives
Transition from Industrial
Society to Knowledge Society:
Eggenberg
Seifenfabrik
Triester
Straße
Köflach
tra
els
ürt
G
te
n
pla
Ljubljana
Budapest
Highway: In 1973, the construction
of a planned city highway crossing
the district of Eggenberg was
stopped by a citizens’ initiative
which collected 35,000 signatures.
Extension of the beltway: In 2002,
the “Nordspange”, a connecting
road in the city’s north which had
been a controversial issue among
the population, was opened as
an extension of the Kalvariengürtel
beltway.
10
Urban Graz West: Between 2000
and 2008, new uses for former
industrial enterprises were
initiated in the frame of an urban
development project.
Campus of FH Joanneum –
University of Applied Sciences
Helmut-List-Halle
Start-Up Center Graz West
Shut down factories
11
Graz vs Vienna
What if … Graz had been as densely built-up as Vienna?
In the mid-19th century, the railway conquered Europe. It provided a fast
means of transport that spurred on industrial development. The industry
needed workers, who in their turn needed accommodation.
This development could be felt in both Graz and Vienna. From 1850 to
1910, the total population of both cities increased three- to fourfold.
Ceaselessly, plots were parceled and buildings erected. The new houses
were for the most part building blocks that were closed to the street.
They looked like the townhouses of the nobility from outside, inside they
often contained only small apartments. To have an apartment looking
onto the street was by all means regarded as prestigious as long as the
street was paved and had canalization.
The difference in building in Graz and Vienna is the building density.
In Vienna, the property owners were often financiers and enterprises, they
built blocks of houses with backyards and company buildings. In Graz,
the owners mostly lived themselves in their houses. They cultivated the
Biedermeier concept of the green courtyard. The blocks of houses remained
smaller and lower than in Vienna. Often, not even the allowed maximum
building height was made use of. Today too, Vienna has three times the
population density of Graz.
Graz: Inner city, historical Murvorstadt and
Neustadt (new city area)
© Stadtvermessungsamt Graz
12
Vienna: Western outskirts and suburbs
© MA 41-Stadtvermessung der Stadt Wien
In 1857, the railway line from Vienna to Trieste leading over
the Semmering mountain was completed. That this line ran via
Graz was rather due the imperial court’s fear of a revolution
in Hungary (which was to be crushed in 1849) than Archduke
John’s influence. For fear of this, the originally planned route
via Hungary was discarded. Yet, when the Austro-Hungarian
monarchy was established, the connection with Hungary was of
course desired again. The Ostbahnhof (eastern railway station),
the terminus of the Hungarian Westbahn (western line), which
was built in 1873, bears witness to this.
The Shape
of the City
Everything Revolves around the City
This panorama is characterized by two features: the
unusual perspective—referred to as “fisheye” in today’s
photo technology—and its tremendous attention to
detail despite the small format. The Schloßberg, which
serves as the position point, does not show up in the
actual city view but takes center stage in the picture as
a separate image. The artist’s view captures the city
with the Graz Basin and the ranges of hills delimiting it.
This circular view is hemmed by a ribbon with the caption
surrounding it.
Carl Reichert: Panoramic View of Graz, taken from the Schloßberg,1865
Color lithograph
GrazMuseum, ACNO GRA05 / 00181
Defense against
Internal and External Enemies
The development of Graz towards the city as we know it today
started with a bang in fact, in 1809. This was the key year
of urban development, the year the fortress on the Schloßberg
was blown up. This was what the French occupying forces
insisted on after Major Hackher and his troops had fiercely
resisted under the command of Archduke John of Austria.
Subsequently, a part of the Grazer Burg and—very early
compared to the rest of Europe—many of the old fortifications were razed. They were replaced by the ring road and
the heart of the “garden city” of Graz: the English gardens
on the Schloßberg and in the Stadtpark (city park).
Gründerzeit residential areas were built in close vicinity, in
the districts of Geidorf and St. Leonhard. The noblest
public square of Graz, the classicist Franzensplatz—today’s
Freiheitsplatz—was built on the site of the “Hofgarten”
(court garden).
In parallel, traffic routes were regulated and realigned; modern
large bridges now connected the old town to the districts of
Gries and Lend. The Annenstraße, a main street leading to the
train station, was laid out. Industrial enterprises set up
business in proximity to the railway. Between 1885 and 1900
alone, 1,800 new buildings were erected. With this, Graz as
we know it today was essentially determined and completed.
Anton Sigl’s second and smaller model of the Schloßberg
presents the predominantly bleak Schloßberg about
40 years after it was blasted. Freiherr von Welden had
already begun to turn the former fortress into a total
work of art in the realm of gardening. In addition, the
rudimentary military fortifications can be seen on the high
plateau which the authorities erected due to the riots
of 1848. The Schloßberg was to serve military purposes
for one last time when anti-aircraft cannons were placed
on its back during World War II.
Anton Sigl: Small Model of the Schloßberg,1850
Wood, papier mâché, paint
GrazMuseum, ACNO OBJ05 / 00262
A Life for the City Hill
Anton Sigl (1776 –1863) came from southern Styria
and worked as a gunner and fire watchman on the
Schloßberg. He created two sculptural models of the
Schloßberg of papier mâché and wood which have
offered highly precious clues to the architectural
history of the city hill of Graz up to the present day.
The so-called “large model” owned by GrazMuseum
is presented in the Clocktower at the moment: it
shows the status quo of the fortifications before they
were destroyed by French troops in 1809.
Portrait of Anton Sigl, around 1800
Oil on canvas
Graz, Universalmuseum Joanneum, Alte Galerie, ACNO 1238
15
The Painter’s View Finds Home
This picture belongs to a six-part panorama of the city as
seen from the Schloßberg. Here too, like in the tempera
painting of the “Neuerbaute Kettenbrücke” (newly built
chain bridge) the view is directed northwest over the
Glockengießerhaus (bell foundry). The military swim
school, which was built in 1839, was a new addition.
The chain bridge was one of the first of its kind on the
monarchy’s territory and was regarded as a pioneering
technological achievement. Probably also due to the fact
that Conrad Kreuzer lived with his family in the Ankerhaus on the Lend bank of the Mur River for many years,
the bridge keeps reappearing in his work.
Conrad Kreuzer: View from the Schloßberg to the Northwest with
the Emperor Ferdinand Chain Bridge and the Military Swim School, 1841
Tempera on paper
GrazMuseum, ACNO MAL06 / 00806
Snapshots of City Development
It is considered as almost certain today that these
pictures were commissioned by the municipality of Graz
toward the end of the 19th century to document the
rapid transformation of the cityscape. Contrary to the
focus on the historic building stock of the inner city,
Leopold Bude (1840–1907) took almost two thirds of
the more than 400 pictures we know today in the
outskirts. Already before Bude made a name for himself
as a portrait and art photographer he had owned
Styria’s largest photo studio in today’s Girardigasse.
Leopold Bude: Grenadiergasse and Lazarettgasse, 1893
Photograph
GrazMuseum, ACNO FOT05 / 01359 and GDF-B105 / G
The Open City Turns Green
Under Martin Kink, head of the regional building department, the architecturally delimiting city walls and city
gates were demolished. Parts of the filled up city moat
were transformed into the ring road and a park concept
was drawn up for the Glacis, which had once served
military purposes. With this, Graz wanted to get rid of
its medieval appearance, and modernize and beautify
itself. Kink was also responsible for the construction work
around the demolished Neutor where a monument for
Archduke John was planned.
16
Extension Project of the City of Graz between Neutor and Mur River
according to Kink, 1863
Plan (reproduction, original: 41 x 34.2 cm)
Graz, Steiermärkisches Landesarchiv, ACNO Baupläne Graz M6 / 130
Due to the city’s underdeveloped
transport infrastructure the industrial
revolution initially went ahead very
slowly in Graz. The university and
administrative city was marked by
small and medium-sized businesses
for a long time. Nevertheless,
industrialization, which set in around
1850, was the basis for the fact
that the total population increased
almost threefold until 1900. The
Seifenfabrik (Soap Factory) in the
workers’ district of Liebenau, which
is used for all sorts of events today,
is a monument of industrial history.
But Graz could never at any time be
characterized unequivocally as an
industrial city.
One’s Own
and the Alien
Although State Chancellor Metternich made every endeavor
to suppress it, the liberal spirit also survived the Biedermeier
pre-March era, the time up to the March Revolution of 1848.
The liberalism for which also Archduke John stood marked
the mindsets of the educated people in the Masonic lodges,
the academies, salons and reading circles. The second target
of Metternich’s police state was nationalism: incompatible
with the many peoples of the Habsburg monarchy.
In the second half of the 19th century,
industrial Graz grew westward toward the
railway. Thus the city was ultimately divided
into two halves: in the west, on the other
side of the Mur River, small craftsmen, lower
middle-class and poor people and, farther to
the west—around the factories—the workers’
accommodations. The wealthy educated
classes, which built the Herz-Jesu-Kirche
(Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus) as their
religious center, lived in the east. Inaugurated
in 1895, the Vinzenzkirche in Eggenberg, a
community which was outside the city limits
at the time, was its western counterpart.
In 1848, Metternich was swept away and there were more
and more forceful claims for national self-determination.
The Frankfurt Assembly elected Archduke John, the popular
opponent of Metternich, to become regent. What was aimed
for was a German national state which included Styria. But
John had to resign already after one and a half years.
After 1850, two centers competed for the claim to reorganize
Germany politically: the Prussian Union and the Austriandominated German Confederation. This contributed to the
fact that many German-language citizens pinned all their
national hopes on Prussia—not only in Graz, the monarchy’s
“most German city” in later years.
Attention, Gypsies!
A Square Becomes more German
This criminological typology disguises itself behind
scientific and photographic objectivity in order to veil the
inhumane perspective of the “master race” on the
gypsies, who have to be kept under surveillance. Beside
“peddling Jews”, Romani people who haven’t settled
down have always been prototypes for unwelcome
vagabonds. They formed the largest European minority
and were held as slaves in some parts of Europe right up
to the 19th century. They were discriminated and
expelled, persecuted and murdered—for example by
the Nazis on the outskirts of Graz in 1938.
The square at the south end of Herrengasse has already
had to put up with several name changes. Initially, it was
simply named Eisenthorplatz after the city gate which still
existed at the time, then it was first renamed Auerspergplatz, and then Bismarckplatz in 1899. Already in the years
preceding this, it had become visible how great the influence of the German Nationals had already become, when
on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Austrian
Emperor’s accession to the throne it was not the blackyellow flags of Austria that dominated on the front of the
town hall but the black, red and gold flags of Germany.
Profiles of Gipsy women, around 1900
Photo on cardboard
Hans Gross Kriminalmuseum (crime museum),
University Museums of the University of Graz, ACNO 641 Zig.
Sign, Bismarckplatz, s.a.
Painted cast iron
GrazMuseum, ACNO OBJ05 / 00183
In the “most German” City
When the Austrian Minister-President Badeni announced two language ordinances in 1897 which were
to introduce the bilingualism of all public authorities
in Bohemia and Moravia, there were riots in Graz too.
These could only be ended by deploying the BosnianHerzegovinian Infantry Regiment No.2 whose members
could be recognized above all by means of their
exotic headgear, the fez. As they did not speak German,
there was little danger that they would fraternize with
the German National protesters.
The jurist and honorary citizen of Graz stood up for the
rights of the Slovene population in the fiercely discussed
question of languages. Vincenz Emperger, the spokesman
of the lower middle-class, was also involved in the bloody
end of the revolution in Vienna, for which he was sentenced
to 18 years of fortress detention. He served two years at the
notorious Špilberk Castle in Brno (CZ). He was reprieved and
rehabilitated in 1858 and died as a lawyer in Graz in 1867.
Ignaz Preisegger: “Dr. Vincenz v. Emperger Sprecher der Grazer Bürger
am 15. und 16. März 1848” (Dr. Vincenz v. Emperger, Spokesman of the
Citizens of Graz on March 15 and 16, 1848), 1848
A lithograph by Josef Franz Kaiser
GrazMuseum, ACNO GRA05 / 08039
Fez, end of 19 th c.
Felt
GrazMuseum, ACNO MIL05 / 02550
Handcuff and ankle shackle worn by Dr. Vincenz
von Emperger in prison, mid-19 th c. / Forged iron
GrazMuseum, ACNO OBJ06 / 00730
Graz Citizens are Dreaming of Cotton Fields
For the German Fatherland
The imaginative picture of the cotton plant on a tropical
coast and the shipment of cotton bales hint at the
product range of the former “Current- und Modewarenhandlung Geymayer” in the Luegg House at Hauptplatz
11. Dresses, ribbons, textiles and fashion accessories
were sold in the store that afforded this artistic highquality version of a company nameplate.
The huge festival hall built of wood—50 meters wide,
21.5 meters high and almost 100 meters long—was
erected on the fairground behind the industrial hall in
the Fröhlichgasse on the occasion of the German
Sängerbund Festival. So, long after its era as imperial
residence, Graz was the heart of the German countries
again for a few days in the summer of 1902. More than
15,000 singers and 200,000 visitors participated in
this German nationalist folklore event. When the event
was over, the hall was fully demolished again.
Company nameplate “Zum Wollbaum” (To the Cotton Tree), around 1850
Oil on iron plate
GrazMuseum, ACNO MAL06 / 00791
20
The Revolution in Chains
Oskar Seitz: 6. Deutsches Sängerbundfest (6 th Festival
of the German Sängerbund, i.e. choral association), 1902
Photograph
GrazMuseum, ACNO FOT05 / 00473
21
The Civic
Project
The 19th century is the century of the bourgeoisie. The
nobility and the clergy lost their privileges, the bourgeois
ideals became reality. Equality in the sense of equality
before the law soon became a matter of course; the political
equality of the bourgeoisie was on the increase. Liberty
in the sense of individual freedom and private property laid
the foundations for the development of capitalism. And,
lastly, fraternity was realized in the law—to protect the
weak against the encroachments of the powerful.
The 19th
century was the century of industrialization and the city
the place where it took place. In Graz, it was Archduke
John who fired the starting shot for this. The “civic project”
he initiated soon covered all planes of public life: politics,
culture, economy, education, and infrastructure.
At the turn of the 20th century, the art nouveau buildings of Grand Hotel
Wiesler, Hotel Erzherzog Johann, or the large department store Kastner & Öhler
were among the few hallmarks of international modernity in Graz. The State
Hospital, which also attracted plenty of attention on a supra-regional level,
was another manifestation of this. Due to its location far outside the city center
the project met fierce opposition first but its expansive arrangement of pavilions
with subterranean connecting passages was soon accepted because of its
superior functionality and Secessionist ornaments.
But soon after the Gründerzeit of the 1870s and 1880s the
heyday of liberal bourgeoisie was over. Capitalism produced
a false bottom. A lower middle class that felt threatened was
forming under the only apparent rationality of the capitalist
economic system. It responded by developing a counterworld which was small, easily understandable, and full of
enemy stereotypes.
Graz Steps on the Gas
In 1846, the “Germanische Gazbeleuchtungs-Gesellschaft”, which was headquartered in Paris, put the
first gas plant in Graz into operation on the so-called
“Kühtratte” between today’s Schönaugürtel and
Steyrergasse. The gas was produced using the coal
gasification method. That’s why the plant was outside
the city. Yet by 1900, the area was already densely
built-up and many residents complained about the
smoke and the stench. Not until 1940, a new gas plant
was built in Rudersdorf.
Josef Kuwasseg: The First Gas Plant in Graz, 1846
Watercolor
GrazMuseum, ACNO GRA05 / 01303
Almost Aristocratic, Nearly Holy
The Rochel family belonged to the old-established
merchant families in Graz. In their formation, they
remind of representations of the Holy Family: mother
and child resemble Mary and Jesus. The man is
standing behind them as the patriarch. The golden
receptacle on the table, the carpet and the exotic
parrot reflect the family’s wealth and possibly refer to
their trade relations with distant countries. The jewelry,
their clothes and the red curtain too imitate the selfexpression of the nobility.
Paul Künl: The Merchant Family Rochel in Graz, around 1850
Oil on canvas
GrazMuseum, ACNO MAL05 / 00583
Nestroy as an Employee
Think about it,
a Monument and a Fountain!
Attended by the Emperor, the Archduke John Fountain
at the Hauptplatz (Main Square) was unveiled on
September 8, 1878. Two initially completely separate
initiatives meet in this monument: the legacy of a
Graz nobleman for a monumental fountain at the Hauptplatz and the idea to erect a monument for Archduke
John at the square in front of the Eisernes Tor (Iron Gate).
The municipal council of Graz merged both projects
in a compromise: the monument only needed gargoyles
and a catch basin and the Archduke John Fountain at
the Hauptplatz (Main Square) was ready.
Beer & Mayer: Unveiling Ceremony for the Monument of Archduke John,
September 8, 1878
Photograph
GrazMuseum, ACNO FOT05 / 00400
The Revolution Speaks German
In 1848, bourgeois revolutions took place in many
European cities. Although there were protests in Graz
too, the situation remained relatively peaceful initially.
The temporary revocation of press censorship enabled
the publication of a large number of poems and articles
in magazines critical of the government. The founding
of student fraternities was one of the consequences of
1848. And the German National movement, which aimed
at “German unification”, became stronger.
Aufruf an die Bewohner der Stadt Gratz von Graf Wickenburg
(Appeal to the Residents of the City of Graz by Count Wickenburg), 1848
Print on paper
GrazMuseum, ACNO ARC05 / 370
Johann Nestroy’s career started out at the “Ständisches
Schauspielhaus in Grätz” (the theater of Graz). He was
permanently employed here from 1826 to 1831, first as
the Opera’s bass baritone, then in musical straight
theater. At the time, theaters were the businesses with
the most employees in cities like Graz. Sugar factories
or breweries came in only later. In the Biedermeier period,
merchants and bankers took higher profits than factory
owners. But when Nestroy died in Graz in 1859, the
theaters as big employers already faced competition by
the industry.
Johann Nestroy as Jupiter, around 1860
Wooden figurine, with surround and fabric covering
GrazMuseum, ACNO SKU05 / 00102
24
25
The Subtle
Differences
The heyday of the city and the bourgeoisie came with
industrialization. The educated and wealthy bourgeoisie
became the leading segment of society. Many cities reached
a population and extension as never before.
In 1885, Graz transformed from a bourgeois
liberal to the “most German city of the
monarchy”. Mayor Franz Graf was a hero
acclaimed all over the “German countries”—
for violent demonstrations which were staged
as a struggle of races between the Teutons
and the Slavs. In the case of representative
buildings, such as the Städtische Amtshaus
(municipal district offices building) of 1904,
the nationalistic element directly or indirectly
encouraged a building attitude which aimed
at going through all styles in an (old) German
manner. Liberals preferred Renaissance,
German Nationals the Gothic style.
The people moved to the city to find work. As housing space
was scarce, a new one was built—and often only makeshift
accommodations. Thus a vast majority of people who had to
live in poor circumstances and secure the wealth of only a
few emerged under the thin layer of wealthy bourgeoisie. The
path to social revolution was predetermined. The workers
organized themselves to claim fair wages, fair working hours
and basic social services.
As many men were poorly paid, more and more women
had to work—and were often paid even less. But their work
in offices or factories, the urban environment as such,
offered liberties that were unthinkable for, for example,
domestic servants. The new atmosphere of departure fueled
a large number of groups advocating more rights and selfdetermination for women.
Industrialization on Rails
The Middle-class Woman Cooks
In 1854, Johann Weitzer (1832–1902) opened a
smithy in Graz where he produced carriages assisted by
three journeymen. In 1861, he relocated his meanwhile
large carriage factory near the train station and
produced railcars from that time on. Thus Weitzer was
one of the first entrepreneurs in Graz who recognized
the railway’s potential and focused their business on
it. Subsequently, numerous large industrial enterprises
settled down along the railway. As thousands of workers
settled down and found work here, a workers’ district
developed here in decades following.
Until 1957, “Die süddeutsche Küche” (“The Southern
German Cuisine”) or “Die große Prato” were published
in 80 editions and were translated into 16 languages.
The author of this popular cookbook, Katharina
Pratobevera, collected recipes and, along with cooking
instructions, she also gave advice on homemaking and
the manners of middle-class housewives. That she has
been one of the best known women from Graz up to the
present day has on the one hand to do with her bourgeois
origins, and on the other with the great popularity
cookbooks enjoy.
Wagen- und Maschinenfabrik Joh. Weitzer
(Weitzer Railcar and Machinery Factory) in Graz, s.a.
Paper (reproduction, original: 47.8 x 59.3 cm)
Graz, Steiermärkisches Landesarchiv, ACNO OBS Graz I G B 6 C 001
Portrait of Katharina Pratobevera, 1846
Oil on cardboard
Kulturamt Graz
Women in the Counting House
Due to the tight financial situation of many middleclass families young women had to work before they
married—e.g. as a stenotypist or typist. As soon as
a larger number of women worked in this profession,
it lost its reputation and one was paid less—this
was typical for office jobs for women. But the working
women began to organize themselves. And the
bourgeois women’s movement was created parallel
to the educational associations for workers.
Women’s Work in the Office of the Zankl Paint Factory, 1912
Photograph
GrazMuseum, ACNO 659 / 82-64
Sportive Emancipation
At first, cycling for women was a controversial affair as
it was considered improper for bourgeois women—and
only for these this expensive piece of sports equipment
came into question—to show physical strain, a sweaty face,
their ankles or even their calves in public. The fashion
of time too—floor length dresses with corsets—was
rather inconvenient for cycling. In 1893, Elise Steiniger,
Vicenza Wenderich and others founded the Ladies’
Bicycle Club where the wives and daughters of the gentlemen of the Graz Bicycle Club regularly met.
Erster Grazer-Damen-Bicycle-Club (First Ladies’ Bicycle Club in Graz)
Wiener Mode, 11th issue, vol. XIV, March 1, 1901, pp. 444– 445
GrazMuseum, ACNO 710
28
The First Women Students in Styria
As of 1897, women were accepted for a course of
study at the Faculty of Philosophy. Just like Maria
Schulmeister, Oktavia Rollett, the daughter of the
Rector of the University, was one of the first regular
women students in Graz in 1900. In 1905, she finished
her medical studies with distinction. Being the first
practicing woman doctor in Styria, she was soon very
popular and often treated her patients for free. AignerRollett was active in numerous associations of the
bourgeois women’s movement.
Maria Schulmeister and Oktavia Aigner-Rollett working at the Medical
Department in their years of study in Graz from 1900 to 1905
Photo on metal (reproduction, original: 9 x 7 cm)
Graz, Steiermärkisches Landesarchiv, ACNO A-Aigner Reinhold K10 H108
Education for Housewives and Mothers
The initiative for a girls’ high school in Graz was
taken by men and women of the middle class and
lower nobility who shared liberal and anticlerical
views. Their daughters should be turned into educated
housewives and mothers by means of a general and
rather humanistic education. As of 1885, the girls’ high
school was managed by the municipal administration.
Yet attending the six-year high school did not entitle
them to study at the university.
Curriculum of the Girls’ High School, 1901
Ink on paper (reproduction, original: 34 x 31.1 cm)
Stadtarchiv Graz, Faszikel Mädchenlyzeum (fascicle of a girls’ high school)
6 / 1894 / 96457
29
Graz is Female and Serves
Within around sixty years, the total population of Graz
tripled in the 19th century. This was above all due to
work migration. The many domestic servants turned
Graz into a predominantly female city. Moreover, the
bilingual identity card hints at a multi-lingual Styria.
Nevertheless, the fear of foreign infiltration cannot
be explained by the share or influence of Slovenianlanguage residents of Graz. According to census data
they only made up a few percent of the total population
and belonged almost all to the poorer sections of the
population.
Domestic Servant’s Identity Card, Slovenian / German, 1898
Bound paper
“recycled history” – Joachim Hainzl Collection
The Fireman as a Painter
This series of fire paintings comprising in all nine
individual pictures was probably created by a fireman.
Up to the mid-19th century the municipal fire
extinguishing service was in the hands of the estate
gunners and the chimney sweeps. Several major fires
and the discontinuation of the previous fire alarm
through gunshots fired from the Schloßberg caused
the municipal authorities of Graz to set up a separate
“Pompier-Korps“ (corps of firemen).
Schielden: Hauptansicht des Brandes im Feldhof (Main View of the Fire at the
Feldhof), 1891, Brand der Fabrik Weitzer (Fire in the Weitzer Factory), 1899,
Brand der Mälzerei der Bierbrauerei von Reininghaus (Fire in the Malthouse of
the Reininghaus Brewery), 1890
Crayons on paper
GrazMuseum, ACNO GRA06 / 10071; GRA06 / 10058; GRA06 / 10055
30
The private residential building—not the one located within the group
of houses of a housing estate but the one immediately adjacent to
the public street in a positive relationship—this urban pattern of the
Gründerzeit is still most in demand according to the real estate price
index. The peak of this is represented by the area around the HerzJesu-Kirche (Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus), the neo-Gothic brick
work building planned by Georg Hauberisser Jr., which dominates the
architecture of the eastern part of the city. Today, its southwest tower,
which was completed in 1887, is one of the highest ones in Austria.
Due to environmental protection considerations,
the GrazMuseum also offers this folder for download
as a PDF document at www.grazmuseum.at.
www.grazmuseum.at