Editing Graz (section)

==History==
{{For timeline}}
{{multiple image|perrow=2
| image1 = Vischer - Topographia Ducatus Stiria - 110 Graz.jpg|width1=200|caption1=Graz, Georg Matthäus Vischer (1670)
| image2 = Kuwasseg Leopold, Panorama von Graz und Umgebung - um 1830 - J.F.Kaiser Lithografirte Ansichten der Steiermark 1830.jpg|width2=200|caption2=Graz, 1830 – Lith. J.F. Kaiser
| image3 = Graz-Neutor vor 1883-Neutorgasse.jpg|width3=185|caption3=Neutor in 1883
| image4 = Graz - Universität, Hauptgebäude (a).JPG|width4=210|caption4=[[University of Graz]]
}}
The oldest settlement on the ground of the modern city of Graz dates back to the [[Copper Age]]. However, no historical continuity exists of a settlement before the Middle Ages. The city was originally called "Bayrischgraz" or "Bavarian Graz" (i.e. German Graz) by the German founders to distinguish it from the elder "Windischgraz" or "Slovenian Graz". Bavarian Graz, however, soon eclipsed its Slovenian counterpart and henceforth Graz always referred to the German one.

During the 12th century, dukes under [[Babenberg]] rule made the town into an important commercial center. Later, Graz came under the rule of the [[Habsburg]]s and, in 1281, gained special privileges from King [[Rudolf I of Germany|Rudolph I]].

In the 14th century, Graz became the city of residence of the [[Inner Austria]]n line of the Habsburgs. The royalty lived in the [[Schlossberg (Graz)|Schlossberg]] castle and from there ruled [[Styria (duchy)|Styria]], [[Carinthia (duchy)|Carinthia]], most of today's Slovenia, and parts of Italy ([[Carniola]], [[Gorizia and Gradisca]], [[Trieste]]).

In the 16th century, the city's design and planning were primarily controlled by Italian Renaissance architects and artists. One of the most famous buildings representative of this style is the [[Landhaus]], designed by [[Domenico dell'Allio]], and used by the local rulers as a governmental headquarters.
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| image1 = IMG 0412 - Graz - Landhaushof.JPG|caption1=Landhaus
| image2 = Graz-hauptplatz01s.jpg|caption2=Hauptplatz
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The [[University of Graz]] was founded by Archduke [[Charles II of Austria|Karl II]] in 1585, it is the city's oldest university. For most of its existence, it was controlled by the [[Catholic Church]], and was closed in 1782 by [[Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor|Joseph II]] in an attempt to gain state control over educational institutions. Joseph II transformed it into a lyceum where civil servants and medical personnel were trained. In 1827 it was re-established as a university by Emperor [[Franz I of Austria|Franz I]], and was named 'Karl-Franzens Universität' or 'Charles-Francis University' in English. More than 30,000 students are currently enrolled at this university.

Astronomer [[Johannes Kepler]] lived in Graz for a short period beginning in 1594. He worked as district mathematician and taught at the Lutheran school, but still found time to study astronomy. He left Graz for [[Prague]] in 1600 when [[Protestant]]s were banned from the city.

[[Ludwig Boltzmann]] was Professor for Mathematical Physics from 1869 to 1890. During that time, [[Nikola Tesla]] studied electrical engineering at the [[Graz University of Technology|Polytechnic]] in 1875.

Nobel laureate [[Otto Loewi]] taught at the University of Graz from 1909 until 1938. [[Ivo Andrić]], the 1961 Nobel Prize for Literature laureate obtained his doctorate at the University of Graz. [[Erwin Schrödinger]] was briefly chancellor of the University of Graz in 1936.

Graz is centrally located within today's ''[[States of Austria|Bundesland]]'' (state) of [[Styria]], or ''Steiermark'' in German. ''Mark'' is an old German word indicating a large area of land used as a defensive border, in which the peasantry is 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 historically a target of invaders, such as the Hungarians under [[Matthias Corvinus]] in 1481, and the [[Ottoman Turks]] in 1529 and 1532. Apart from the [[Riegersburg Castle]], the Schlossberg was the only fortification in the region that never fell to the Ottoman Turks. Graz is home to [[Landeszeughaus|the region's provincial armory]], which is the world's largest historical collection of late medieval and Renaissance weaponry. It has been preserved since 1551, and displays over 30,000 items.

From the earlier part of the 15th century, Graz was the residence of the younger branch of the Habsburgs, which succeeded to the imperial throne in 1619 in the person of [[Emperor Ferdinand II]], who moved the capital to Vienna. New fortifications were built on the Schlossberg at the end of the 16th century. [[Napoleon]]'s army occupied Graz in 1797 and, in 1809 the city withstood another assault by the French army. During this attack, the commanding officer in the fortress was ordered to defend it with about 900 men against Napoleon's army of about 3,000. He successfully defended the Schlossberg against eight attacks, but they were forced to give up after the Grande Armée occupied Vienna and the Emperor ordered to surrender. Following the defeat of Austria by Napoleonic forces at the [[Battle of Wagram]] in 1809, the fortifications were demolished using explosives, as stipulated in the Peace of [[Schönbrunn Palace|Schönbrunn]] of the same year. The belltower (Glockenturm)<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://austria-forum.org/af/AEIOU/Graz_Glockenturm |title=Graz Glockenturm|website=Austria-Forum|language=de|access-date=26 November 2019}}</ref> and the civic clock tower (''Uhrturm''),<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://austria-forum.org/af/AEIOU/Graz_Uhrturm |title=Graz Uhrturm|website=Austria-Forum|language=de|access-date=26 November 2019}}</ref> which is a leading tourist attraction and serves as a symbol for Graz, were spared after the citizens of Graz paid a ransom for their preservation.<ref name="graz-sh"/>

Archduke [[Charles II of Austria|Karl II]] of Inner Austria had 20,000 [[Protestant]] books burned in the square of what is now a mental hospital, and succeeded in returning Styria to the authority of the [[Holy See]]. [[Archduke Franz Ferdinand]] was born in Graz in what is now the Stadtmuseum (city museum).

On 2 April 1945, while the heaviest Allied bomb raid of Graz occurred, the Gestapo and Waffen-SS committed a massacre against resistance fighters, Hungarian-Jewish forced laborers, and POWs at the SS barracks at Graz-Wetzelsdorf.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.oeaw.ac.at/41tage/41-tage-kriegsende-1945-english |title=41 Tage. Kriegsende 1945 English |access-date=10 March 2021 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414134512/https://www.oeaw.ac.at/41tage/41-tage-kriegsende-1945-english |url-status=dead }}</ref>