The Baroque is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1740s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including the Iberian Peninsula it continued, together with new styles, until the first decade of the 19th century. It followed Renaissance art and Mannerism and preceded the Rococo and Neoclassical styles. It was encouraged by the Catholic Church as a means to counter the simplicity and austerity of Protestant architecture, art, and music, though Lutheran Baroque art developed in parts of Europe as well.
Graz is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562. In 2018, the population of the Graz larger urban zone (LUZ) stood at 652,654, based on principal-residence status. Graz is known as a college and university city, with four colleges and four universities. Combined, the city is home to more than 60,000 students. Its historic centre (Altstadt) is one of the best-preserved city centres in Central Europe.
Styria is a state (Bundesland) in the southeast of Austria. With an area of 16,401 km2 (6,332 sq mi), Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and clockwise, from the southwest, by the Austrian states of Carinthia, Salzburg, Upper Austria, Lower Austria, and Burgenland. The state capital is Graz.
Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach was an Austrian architect, sculptor, and architectural historian whose Baroque architecture profoundly influenced and shaped the tastes of the Habsburg Empire. His influential book A Plan of Civil and Historical Architecture (1721) was one of the first and most popular comparative studies of world architecture. His major works include Schönbrunn Palace, Karlskirche, and the Austrian National Library in Vienna, and Schloss Klessheim, Holy Trinity Church, and the Kollegienkirche in Salzburg.
David William Bauer was a Canadian ice hockey player and coach, educator and Catholic priest. He was offered a playing contract by the Boston Bruins at age 15, but declined on the advice of his father to complete a proper education. The experience of not pursuing his dream of playing professional hockey was traumatic for Bauer, who then committed himself to look for more meaning in life and play a role in world peace. After he served as captain of the Toronto St. Michael's Majors for two seasons and won the 1944 Memorial Cup, he became ordained as a Catholic priest in the Congregation of St. Basil and taught at St. Michael's College School. He coached multiple levels of hockey at St. Michael's, sat on the junior ice hockey council for the Ontario Hockey Association, lobbied for a shortened playing schedule for students athletes, and coached the St. Michael's Majors to victory in the 1961 Memorial Cup. Bauer was reassigned to St. Mark's College at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in 1961, then coached the UBC Thunderbirds for two seasons and led them to the finals at the 1963 CIAU University Cup.
Mariazell is an Austrian city in the southeastern state of Styria. Well known for being a hub of winter sports, it is located 143 kilometres north of Graz. It is picturesquely situated in the valley of the Salza, amid the north Styrian Alps.
Neresheim Abbey or the Abbey of Saints Ulrich and Afra, Neresheim is located above the town of Neresheim in Baden-Württemberg, southern Germany. It is now a Benedictine monastery and is part of the Beuronese Congregation.
Mariazell Basilica, also known as Basilica Mariä Geburt, is a Marian basilica in Mariazell, Austria. It is the most important pilgrimage destination in Austria and one of the most visited shrines in Europe. In the church, a miraculous wooden image of the Virgin Mary is venerated.
The Upper Swabian Baroque Route is a tourist theme route through Upper Swabia, following the themes of "nature, culture, baroque". The route has a length of about 500 km. It was established in 1966, being one of the first theme routes in Germany. There is an extension to the route into Switzerland and Austria around Lake Constance.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Graz-Seckau is a diocese comprising the Austrian state of Styria. It is part of the ecclesiastical province of Salzburg.
Philipp Jakob Straub was an Austrian sculptor from a well-known family of German Baroque sculptors. His father Johann George Straub and his brothers Johann Baptist, Joseph, and Johann Georg Straub were also sculptors, as was his nephew Franz Xaver Messerschmidt.
The Universalmuseum Joanneum is a multidisciplinary museum with buildings in several locations in the province of Styria, Austria. It has galleries and collections in many subject areas including archaeology, geology, paleontology, mineralogy, botany, zoology, history, art and folk culture. It is the oldest museum in Austria as well as the largest universal museum in central Europe with over 4.5 million objects in 13 departments and 12 locations in the Styrian cities of Graz, Stainz, Trautenfels, and Wagna. To reflect this status and its growth over the last two centuries, as well as to present a more recognizable image internationally, the Landesmuseum Joanneum was officially renamed to Universalmuseum Joanneum on 10 September 2009.
Rein Abbey is a Cistercian monastery in Rein near Gratwein, Styria, in Austria. Also known as the "Cradle of Styria", it is the oldest surviving Cistercian community in the world.
Eggenberg Palace in Graz, is the most significant Baroque palace complex in the Austrian province of Styria. With its preserved accouterments, the extensive scenic gardens, as well as some special collections from the Universalmuseum Joanneum housed in the palace and surrounding park, Schloss Eggenberg ranks among the most valuable cultural treasures of Austria. Eggenberg Palace is situated at an elevation of 381 meters on the Western edge of the city. Its architectural design and the still visible imprint of centuries of history continue to bear witness to the vicissitude and patronage of the one-time mightiest dynasty in Styria, the House of Eggenberg.
Eggenberg was the name of an Austrian noble family from Styria, who achieved princely rank in the 17th century. The family's last male heir died in 1717, bringing an end to the House of Eggenberg.
The Graz tramway network is a network of tramways forming an important part of the public transport system in Graz, which is both the capital city of the federal state of Styria, Austria, and the second largest city in Austria.
The Tramway Museum Graz is a transport museum in the Austrian city of Graz, specialising in the history of the Graz tramway network. It is located in the former tram depot at the Mariatrost terminus of Graz tram route 1.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Graz, Austria.
A pilgrimage church is a church to which pilgrimages are regularly made, or a church along a pilgrimage route, like the Way of St. James, that is visited by pilgrims.
Styriarte is an annual summer festival of classical music in Graz and Styria, Austria, established in 1985. It is focused on Early music, Baroque music and music of the Classical period. Intended to showcase the work of Nikolaus Harnoncourt in his hometown, it grew to locations in the region and survived his death.
