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Donauschwaben in den USA |
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VISITING AUTHOR/EDITOR ARTICLE FEBRUARY 2009
Trenton Club Member Study in Graz
Forwarded From Trenton Donauschwaben
Lyla Lenyo, dance group member and active club member, is a sophomore currently
studying
Graz is Austria’s second largest city, it’s the capital of the state of
Steiermark (Styria),and We wish Lyla all the very best as she embarks on this adventure.
Auf Wiedersehen bis Juli,
Graz, Austria
A panoramic view of the old town from the Graz Schlossberg
Graz
is the 2nd largest city in Austria, after Vienna.
Its population is 290,000 as of 2008. It is the capital of the federal state of Steiermark.
The city is situated on the
Mur river, in the south east of Austria. Due
to its position south east of the Alps, Graz is shielded from the prevailing
westerly winds that bring weather fronts in from the North Atlantic to north
western and central Europe. Due to this factor the weather in Graz is
Mediterranean influenced. Graz therefore has more hours of sunshine per year
than Vienna or Salzburg and also less wind or rain. The oldest settlement on the ground of the modern city of
Graz dates back to the Copper Age. However, there is no historical continuity of
a settlement before the Middle Ages. The name of the city, and some archaeological finds point
to the erection of a small castle by South Slavic people, which in time became a
heavily defended fortification. In Slovene, gradec literally means
"small castle", a hypocoristic derivative of Proto-West-South Slavic *gradъ
"settlement, enclosure, city", thus originally probably denoting
"small town". Grad or gorod (Cyrillic: град, город) or gord is a Slavic word for town or city. The ancient Slavs were known for building wooden fortified settlements. The reconstructed Proto-Slavic word for such a settlement is *gordъ, related to the Germanic *gard.
Example of Reconstructed Iron Age Wooden Fortified Settlement
The German name 'Graz' was first used in 1128, and during
this time dukes under Babenberg rule made the town into an important commercial
center. Later Graz came under the rule of the Habsburgs, and in 1281 gained
special privileges from King Rudolph I. Karl-Franzens
Universität, also referred to as the University of Graz , is the city's oldest
university, founded in 1585 by Archduke Charles II.
In the 14th century Graz became the city of residence of the Inner
Austrian line of the Habsburgs. Graz
was also a city that famous astronomer Johannes Kepler lived in for a short part
of his life. Mark is an old German word indicating a large area of land used as a defensive
border, in which the peasantry are taught how to organize and fight in the case
of an invasion. With a strategic location at the head of the open and fertile
Mur valley, Graz was often assaulted (unsuccessfully), e.g. by the Hungarians
under Matthias Corvinus in 1481, and by the Ottoman Turks in 1529 and 1532.
Graz Dom und Mausoleum Herz-Jesu Kirche Graz Clock Tower
View of the Rathaus Kunsthaus Graz (museum of contemporary art)
Landhaushof
Google Map
Utube Video Graz Austria http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDrIBxShUCw 2 min 45 sec
Graz Austria Sister Cities
Info Source: Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graz
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