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Communities
.A.S.A.,
a truly
exemplary
company in the
Graz business
sector
Graz, the capital of the federal state of Styria, has
a population of 294,000 of which 263,000 have
principal residence status. The second most im-
portant city in Austria, Graz is situated on the
banks of the Mur River in the centre of the Grazer
Becken valley.
Graz has become a university city being
the home of six universities and more than
45,000 students. The city was named “City
of Human Rights” and was awarded the
“Europe Prize”.
Its historic district and the Eggenberg Cast-
le were added to the UNESCO World He-
ritage List. It is also the head of the Graz-
Seckau dioceses. Since March 2011, Graz
was also named the “City of Design” by
UNESCO and is a member of the Creative
City Network.
In 1999, the historic centre was included
in the UNESCO World Heritage list due
to the harmonious co-existence of typical
buildings from different periods and archi-
tectural styles. The historic centre, which
spreads throughout the entire Innere Stadt
district and several adjacent areas, is the
home of most of the city’s landmarks. The
city is dominated by the Schlossberg hill
which gives its name to the small castle
which was used as a fortress from 1125
until 1809.
The very steep Sporgasse Street is on the
southern side of the hill. This is the site of
the Palais Saurau, the Stiegenkirche (the
Church of the Stations of the Cross) and
the Deutschorden courthouse. Sackstras-
se is another street similar to Sporgassed.
The second largest opera house in Austria,
the Graz Opera is close by. It was built in
the nineteenth century and designed by
the Viennese architects Fellner und Helmer,
and is close to the city’s park, the Stadpark.
Franziskanerkirche (Franciscan Church) is