CONNECTIN
RAZ TECHNOLOGY, COMMUNICATION& TRANSPORTATION in the History of Graz
In Graz there still remain two transportation routes from ancient times: the “strata hungarica“ and todays “Alte Poststraße“, which lies on the way from A&O hostel to GIBS. Around the year 1122 the Slavs built a “grad” or “gradec” signifying castle on top of “Schlossberg” in the middle of Graz, giving the city its name. About a hundred years later, the settlement was still expanded and a wall around the market constructed. In the year 1585, during the long rule of Habsburg Monarchy, the first university of Graz was founded. Twice in the year 1809 the French occupied Graz and still in the same year, a peace treaty was signed. The castle on “Schlossberg“, which had never been defeated, was to be destroyed. Only the famous clock-tower, the “Uhrturm“ was saved. Shortly after, the settlement evolved into a blooming city, which lasted until the end of monarchy. Culture, thriving economy and new technological advancements filled the period of promoterism. Many important and still in current times successful companies were founded and the new train connection made Graz an international junction for trade. Numerous museums, libraries, universities, as well as water and sewage pipelines were built. Within Graz, the first horse-trams transported the population to and from the inner city. After World War I, Graz was cut off of many important supply areas due to the treaty of Saint-Germain and became the border town of a small state. Thousands of still illegal National Socialists took part in protests in the beginning of 1938. When Austria joined Nazi-Germany, the local National Socialists took control of Graz and its airport even before the troops arrived. Immediately the inner city was full of swastika flags, for which Graz was also called “Stronghold of National Socialism”. In 1940 Styria was officially declared “free of Jews”. Within Austria, Graz was bombarded the most. However, in relation to the number of bombs, few people lost their lives. The tunnels within “Schlossberg” were extended and many civilians found shelter during the attacks. In 1945 Soviet and British troops took over Graz for ten years. Later, the city started to flourish again and in the year 1999 the old town of Graz was declared World Cultural Heritage. In 2001 it became the first Human Rights City in Europe and last November, the UNESCO decided to establish the worldwide second UNESCO-Human-Rights-Centre in Graz. Today, we have about 130km of bike lanes and wide pedestrian areas. Still, private cars amount to half of the city’s transportation. About 17368 companies reside in Graz with many of worldwide importance, like Magna Steyr, a leading company in car industry.