The Universalmuseum Joanneum () is a multidisciplinary museum with buildings in several locations in the state of

Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. It has galleries and collections in many subject areas including

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

, geology,

paleontology Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure ge ...

mineralogy Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical mineralogy, optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifact (archaeology), artifacts. Specific s ...

botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

, history, art and

folk culture Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as tales, myths, legends, proverbs, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also includes mat ...

. 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 Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

, Stainz, Trautenfels, and Wagna ( Flavia Solva). 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. Graz Altes Joanneum Innenhof

History

The Landesmuseum Joanneum was established in 1811 by Archduke Johann. It was Austria's first museum as well as a center for continuing education and scientific research. Notably, the Coin Cabinet and the mineralogical collection were extensive, private collections belonging to the archduke. They form the heart of the museum's departments in disciplines from both the

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

and the

natural science Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...

s. Around this core of collections, some of the best scientists of the era taught and conducted research: Friedrich Mohs developed the

Mohs scale of mineral hardness The Mohs scale ( ) of mineral hardness is a qualitative ordinal scale, from 1 to 10, characterizing scratch resistance of minerals through the ability of harder material to scratch softer material. The scale was introduced in 1812 by the Ger ...

there and Franz Unger, a pioneer in

paleobotany Paleobotany or palaeobotany, also known as paleophytology, is the branch of botany dealing with the recovery and identification of plant fossils from geological contexts, and their use for the biological reconstruction of past environments ( pal ...

plant physiology Plant physiology is a subdiscipline of botany concerned with the functioning, or physiology, of plants. Plant physiologists study fundamental processes of plants, such as photosynthesis, respiration, plant nutrition, plant hormone functions, tr ...

, phytotomy and soil science, taught here. In 1864, the Joanneum entered the ranks of the "k.k. technical colleges". Following the decision to raise the institution into the ranks of imperial colleges, as well as for organizational reasons and the need for more space, the institution was split in 1887. The college became the Graz University of Technology, and the collections of the Joanneum, both scientific and cultural-historical, were combined into the Landesmuseum Joanneum. The Joanneum show collections occurred in the "Lesliehof" along the Raubergasse in Graz just off the main square. However, the collections soon outgrew the confines of the residence. A new museum building was erected between 1890 and 1895, along the Neutorgasse in Graz directly behind the Lesliehof. This building, designed in the neobaroque style by August Gunold, became the "New Joanneum".

The Joanneum during the Nazi era

After Anschluss with Nazi Germany, Jews were persecuted and their property seized, including the artworks that belonged to Jewish art collectors. Many of these artworks, often seized via the Vugesta Nazi looting organisation, ended up in the possession of museums, including the Universalmuseum Joanneum. In April 1998, the Joanneum was one of the first museums in Austria to set up a working group on "Acquisitions and provisions from Jewish property 1938–1955". According to the official report published by the museum in 2010, in the post-war period, looted cultural assets in the museum remained despite restitution laws. Provenance research was begun and some artworks restituted to the heirs of the Jewish collectors who had been looted.

21st century

Beginning in 2009, both buildings, as well as the open ground between them, underwent extensive renovation and construction. A new, central, underground entrance and three-story, underground depot adjoining both buildings and the Styrian Provincial Library, which was also part of the original 1811 Joanneum, was constructed creating. During the Joanneum's bicentennial in 2011, in the renovated Neutorgasse building, the ''Neue Galerie'' art museum and the multimedia collection opened. Thereafter the Museum of Nature and Science enjoyed a redesign in its original, albeit renovated, location in the Lesliehof. Until 2003, the Joanneum was governed by the Styrian regional government. In 2003, coinciding with the designation of Graz as the sole

European Capital of Culture A European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union (EU) for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong pan-European dimension. Being a European Capital of Culture can ...

for that year, the Joanneum was spun off into a

GmbH (; ) is a type of Juridical person, legal entity in German-speaking countries. It is equivalent to a (Sàrl) in the Romandy, French-speaking region of Switzerland and to a (Sagl) in the Ticino, Italian-speaking region of Switzerland. It is a ...

(

Limited Liability Company A limited liability company (LLC) is the United States-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of ...

). While the Joanneum gained some autonomy in business, marketing and budgetary decision-making with this move, the Province of Styria remains the successor of Archduke Johann and retains all ownership and property rights to the buildings and collections. The museum is the largest of its kind in central Europe and second only to the

Kunsthistorisches Museum The Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien ( "Vienna Museum of art history, Art History", often referred to as the "Museum of Fine Arts, Vienna") is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on the Vienna Ring Road, i ...

in Vienna in size for

n museums in general. The Joanneum employs an international team of about 500 people across fields from visitor services to acquisitions, conservation and preservation to scientific research. The more than 4.5 million objects among the various collections as well as historical buildings and locations form the basis of a multifaceted exhibition program. Steeped in tradition, the Joanneum collects, preserves, conserves, researches and conveys a broad spectrum of information dealing with the nature, history, culture and art of Styria in an international context with an eye towards the future.

Locations and collections

Graz

Styrian Armory

The Landeszeughaus originally was the central weapons depot of the

Duchy of Styria The Duchy of Styria (; ; ) was a duchy located in modern-day southern Austria and northern Slovenia. It was a part of the Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 1806 and a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary until its dissolution i ...

during the Ottoman Wars. It is the only remaining armory of its type in the world. The installation remained largely unchanged for nearly 400 years and provides the atmosphere of an authentic armory of the 17th century. 32,000 exhibits are housed in the collection; suits of armor, coats of mail, helmets, melee weapons, firearms and other engines of war. The military history of Styria is illustrated with its own exhibition in the cannon hall.

Folkloristic Museum

The Volkskundemuseum houses the oldest and most extensive collection of folkloristic and

objects in

. It was opened in 1913, and is located in a former Capuchin

cloister A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...

just inside Graz's only remaining

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

city-gate, the ''Paulustor'' (St. Paul's Gate), erected under Ferdinand II. The library of

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

contains over 14,000 individual volumes as well as an archive of original material and over 20,000 slides and historic photographs documenting the life of rural Styria. The exhibits offer insights into the rural culture and lifestyle of pre-industrial Styria. The collection emphasizes the life, fashion and beliefs of the Styrian people, showing the social and cultural relations between the person and the objects left behind. Specific features of the collection are the original smoking room and the

tracht ''Tracht'' () refers to traditional garments in German-speaking countries and regions. Although the word is most often associated with Bavarian, Austrian, South Tyrolean and Trentino garments, including lederhosen and dirndls, many other Germa ...

hall. The complex also includes the ''Antoniuskirche'' (Church of St. Anthony) with original paintings by Giovanni Pietro de Pomis and Hans Adam Weissenkircher where the traditional "Styrian Shepherds' and Nativity Songs" are presented annually along with new compositions by local composers.

Museum im Palais

The Styrian Treasury holds the

cultural history Cultural history records and interprets past events involving human beings through the social, cultural, and political milieu of or relating to the arts and manners that a group favors. Jacob Burckhardt (1818–1897) helped found cultural history ...

collection of the Joanneum and encompasses around 35,000 objects from all areas of the aesthetically informed way of life – from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

up to the present-day: They bear witness to

n history and offer examples of life among Styrian royalty and nobility as well as the domestic life of the aristocracy and middle-class; artisans' crafts in metal, wood, ivory, ceramic, glass and textiles as well as collections of wrought iron objects,

and musical instruments are presented. The Styrian ducal hat, the magnificent coach of Emperor Frederick III and a stone coat of arms from the

Castle count among the most significant objects in the collection. To coincide with the Joanneum's bicentennial year, the cultural history collection opened the Museum im Palais in Summer 2011 in the former Herberstein city palace along the Grazer Sackstrasse and presents a newly designed permanent exhibition complemented by special exhibitions. The Museum im Palais is housed in the former ''Palais Herberstein'' and, in addition to the show collection and temporary exhibitions, also opens the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

staterooms to visitors. The Palais Herberstein was originally renovated into a Baroque city palace for the Princes of Eggenberg by Austrian architect Joseph Hueber. The palace passed into the possession of a branch of the Herberstein family in 1774 after the extinction of the male line of Eggenberg heirs.

Joanneum Quarter

The Joanneum Quarter () includes the original Joanneum building on the Raubergasse as well as the Neutorgasse building and the Styrian Provincial Library. A grand entrance provides access to all three buildings. A three-story deep, subterranean depot for the library's collections between the three buildings.

= Neue Galerie

= The Neue Galerie Graz originated in 1941 with the division of the Provincial Art Gallery founded in 1811 as part of the Joanneum into the Alte Galerie–comprising

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

artworks up to 1800–and the Neue Galerie Graz–comprising works beginning with

Neoclassicism Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative arts, decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiq ...

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

, Realism and

Modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradit ...

. The museum has an extensive collection of pedagogic art from the 19th and 20th centuries featuring works by Austrian artists including Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller,

Egon Schiele Egon Leo Adolf Ludwig Schiele (; 12 June 1890 – 31 October 1918) was an Austrian Expressionist painters, painter. His work is noted for its intensity and its raw sexuality, and for the many self-portraits the artist produced, including nude sel ...

, Gustav Klimt, Maria Lassnig and Arnulf Rainer as well as international artists such as

Marcel Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, ; ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, Futurism and conceptual art. He is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Pica ...

Robert Rauschenberg Milton Ernest "Robert" or "Bob" Rauschenberg (October 22, 1925 – May 12, 2008) was an American painter and graphic artist whose early works anticipated the Pop art movement. Rauschenberg is well known for his Combine painting, Combines (1954� ...

and Fred Sandback. The gallery focuses on procuring and exhibiting an ever-growing collection of

contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...

. The Neue Galerie Graz houses an extensive collection of some 40,000 graphics as well as photographs, film and video collections. Like the Künstlerhaus Graz and the KHG, the Neue Galerie Graz provides a venue for contemporary artists, both local and international, with a variety of temporary exhibitions. Among these contemporary artists, controversial Styrian artist Günter Brus was to have his own permanent exhibition space, called the ''Bruseum'', in the newly renovated "Neutorgasse" building in the Joanneum Quarter.

= Multimedia collections

= The

multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms, such as Text (literary theory), writing, Sound, audio, images, animations, or video, into a single presentation. T ...

collections (formerly known as the Picture and Tone Archives) were established in 1960 to collect photographic, film and audio material relating to

for research and educational purposes and to make these materials available to the general public. The collection presently consists of more than 2.5 million photographs, tens of thousands of audio recordings and thousands of films that document the development of the '' Bundesland'' of Styria from the dawn of the era of photography, film and audio recording.

= Museum of nature and science

= In 2009 the scientific departments of the Joanneum moved to the Center for Natural History in the Andritz district of

. This center cares for the collections and continues scientific research with contemporary means. Steeped in tradition, these departments form the core of the original Joanneum established by Archduke Johann. It offers

interdisciplinary Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several fields such as sociology, anthropology, psychology, economi ...

exhibitions of

, geology and

, and

. CoSA - Center of Science Activities The Center of Science Activities (CoSA) is a science center in the natural history museum of the

Joanneumsviertel, in which technology and natural sciences are taught in a low-threshold way. It was opened in 2019 after a four-year planning phase as a joint project of the Graz Children's Museum FRida & freD and the Universalmuseum Joanneum.

Botany

Ferns, flowering plants, mushrooms and mosses–dried, pressed, stretched and packed in paper capsules. The core of the botanical collection consists of more than half a million well-preserved plants. Special collections of fruits and seeds as well as models of fruits and an extensive xylotheque (library of woods) complement the

herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant biological specimen, specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sh ...

, which shows a comprehensive archive of

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

and the base for research projects on local vegetation. Franz Unger did some of his early teaching and research in this department while he resided in Graz.

Zoology

The collection encompasses about 850,000 specimens typical of their respective habitats.

Vertebrates Vertebrates () are animals with a vertebral column (backbone or spine), and a cranium, or skull. The vertebral column surrounds and protects the spinal cord, while the cranium protects the brain. The vertebrates make up the subphylum Vertebra ...

take up the largest portion of the collection. Examples from other regions—from the seashores to the original

fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

of Australia—round-out the collection inventory. The primary focuses of the scientific collections are, among other things, insects and

mollusk Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The ...

s among the

invertebrate Invertebrates are animals that neither develop nor retain a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''spine'' or ''backbone''), which evolved from the notochord. It is a paraphyletic grouping including all animals excluding the chordata, chordate s ...

animals as well as skeletons and bird's eggs among the

vertebrate Vertebrates () are animals with a vertebral column (backbone or spine), and a cranium, or skull. The vertebral column surrounds and protects the spinal cord, while the cranium protects the brain. The vertebrates make up the subphylum Vertebra ...

Geology and paleontology

500 million years Styrian history are gathered here: Fossilized remains of earlier living beings reveal information about

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

s, tropical seas, ancient forests and marshes. Beside the mammoths and mastodons, the cave bears and the giant deer,

coral Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important Coral ...

mussel Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and Freshwater bivalve, freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other ...

s and fish are found among the core specimens of the collection. Since 1998 the department of Geology and Paleontology has organized fossil digs with schools.

Mineralogy

As with the coin cabinet collection, the mineralogical collection traces its origin to the private collection of Archduke Johann, which encompassed several thousand pieces at that time. Today the inventory has grown to about 80,000 specimens. The collection presents minerals from across the world as well as a

n regional collection. The mineralogy department of the Joanneum was where Friedrich Mohs developed the

which remains authoritative. He was the first curator of the Joanneum.

Schloss Eggenberg

= Staterooms and gardens

= Schloss Eggenberg was added to the registry of the Graz Old Town as a UNESCO

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

in 2010. Schloss Eggenberg is the most significant

palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

ensemble in

and is surrounded by an extensive, scenic garden.''Das Joanneum – Österreichs Universalmuseum'' ocumentary film DVDBy Günther Schilhan (director) & Helmut Gesslbauer (producer), Austria: ORF Steiermark, 2006. The palace, designed by court architect Giovanni Pietro de Pomis, according to the inspiration of the Spanish

El Escorial El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial (), or (), is a historical residence of the king of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, up the valley ( road distance) from the town of El Escorial, Madrid, El ...

, is both an opulent residence intended to convey the wealth, might and status of owner-builder Hans Ulrich von Eggenberg as well as a complex

allegory As a List of narrative techniques, literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a wikt:narrative, narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a meaning with moral or political signi ...

of the

cosmos The cosmos (, ; ) is an alternative name for the universe or its nature or order. Usage of the word ''cosmos'' implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity. The cosmos is studied in cosmologya broad discipline covering ...

. Central to the multifaceted conception are an ensemble of historic interior rooms. The cycle of 24 staterooms with original accouterments and period furnishings from the 17th and 18th centuries counts among the most significant ensembles of historic interiors in Austria. The climax of this piano nobile is the Planetary Room, which owes its name to the cycle of ceiling and wall paintings (completed in 1685) that adorn it, by court painter Hans Adam Weissenkircher. His elegant melding of astrological and hermetic images,

numerology Numerology (known before the 20th century as arithmancy) is the belief in an occult, divine or mystical relationship between a number and one or more coinciding events. It is also the study of the numerical value, via an alphanumeric system, ...

and family mythology into a complicated allegory of the "Golden Age" of the

House of Eggenberg The House of Eggenberg was the name of an influential Austrian nobility, Austrian noble family from Styria, who achieved Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, princely rank in the 17th century. The family's last male heir died in 1717, bringing an end ...

is counted among the most important and impressive systems of early

room-art in Central Europe. Nine hectares of gardens, mostly overgrown and lost through decades of neglect by the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, were restored or reconstructed as a living monument to

and bear the influence of the last gardener to own the palace, Jérôme Count Herberstein. In the early 19th century, Count Herberstein had the palace grounds transformed into a picturesque English garden.

= Alte Galerie

The collections of the Alte Galerie Graz contain works by

old master In art history, "Old Master" (or "old master")Old Masters De ...

s of European art from the

through the 18th century. The 22-room show collection in Schloss Eggenberg follows a thematic design by subject matter. Objects of

Romanesque art Romanesque art is the art of Europe from approximately 1000 AD to the rise of the Gothic Art, Gothic style in the 12th century, or later depending on region. The preceding period is known as the Pre-Romanesque period. The term was invented by 1 ...

such as the "St. Nicholas Sacristy Door",

Gothic art Gothic art was a style of medieval art that developed in Northern France out of Romanesque art in the 12th century, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, and much of Northern Europe, Norther ...

including the St. Lambrecht Votive Altarpiece, the world-renowned "Admont Madonna" and the "Death Portrait of Maximilian I" or a portrait of his first wife Mary, Duchess of Burgundy and the Greater and Lesser Miracle Altars of Mariazell are among the collection of

medieval art The medieval art of the Western world covers a vast scope of time and place, with over 1000 years of art in Europe, and at certain periods in Western Asia and Northern Africa. It includes major art movements and periods, national and regional ar ...

. Beginning with the

and going through

Mannerism Mannerism is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, when the Baroque style largely replaced it ...

to the late

, works by

Lucas Cranach the Elder Lucas Cranach the Elder ( ; – 16 October 1553) was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving. He was court painter to the Electors of Saxony for most of his career, and is known for his portraits, both of German ...

Dosso Dossi Giovanni di Niccolò de Luteri, better known as Dosso Dossi ( 1489–1542) was an Italian Renaissance painter who belonged to the School of Ferrara, painting in a style mainly influenced by Venetian painting, in particular Giorgione and early Tit ...

Sofonisba Anguissola Sofonisba Anguissola ( – 16 November 1625), also known as Sophonisba Angussola or Sophonisba Anguisciola, was an Italian Renaissance painter born in Cremona to a relatively poor noble family. She received a well-rounded education that ...

, Bartholomeus Spranger,

Pieter Brueghel the Younger Pieter Brueghel (also Bruegel or Breughel) the Younger ( , ; ; between 23 May and 10 October 1564 – between March and May 1638) was a Flemish painting, Flemish painter known for numerous copies after his father Pieter Bruegel the Elder's ...

, Martin Johann Schmidt and

Angelica Kauffman Maria Anna Angelika Kauffmann ( ; 30 October 1741 – 5 November 1807), usually known in English as Angelica Kauffman, was a Swiss people, Swiss Neoclassicism, Neoclassical painter who had a successful career in London and Rome. Remembered prima ...

are on display in the

early modern period The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...

collection. The inventory of the printroom of the Alte Galerie Graz is extensive and contains hand drawings and print graphics from 1500 till the end of the 18th century. Among these are extensive works by

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...

Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer ( , ;; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer or Duerer, was a German painter, Old master prin ...

and Giambattista Piranesi.

= Coin cabinet

= The Coin Cabinet also traces its origin to the private collection of Archduke Johann. With over 70,000 objects, it is currently the second largest, public coin collection in Austria. Through a combination of state-of-the-art technology and historical items, the coins, currency and equipment related to minting trace the history of regional coin circulation and minting from the

prehistoric Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...

era to the

eurozone The euro area, commonly called the eurozone (EZ), is a Monetary union, currency union of 20 Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro (Euro sign, €) as their primary currency ...

. Among the most significant pieces are coins from finds in and around

that were in circulation at the time of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

. Additionally, Friesacher and Grazer ''

Pfennig The pfennig (; . 'pfennigs' or 'pfennige' ; currency symbol, symbol pf or ₰) or penny is a former Germany, German coin or note, which was an official currency from the 9th century until the introduction of the euro in 2002. While a valua ...

s'' from the

and coins and medallions from the Inner Austrian mints in

, Klagenfurt and St. Veit an der Glan as well as from other lands of the Austro-Hungarian Empire are on display. The collection traces the history of coin mintage and names from around the world with prehistoric

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

coins from the region, shells, early forms of paper currency and the euro in addition to international coins of historic significance minted in Africa, the US, and by the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...

among others. The permanent collection, with an additional room for temporary exhibitions, is fittingly situated in the oldest portion of palace dating to the late

and once belonging to Balthasar Eggenberger, mint master and financier to Emperor Frederick III in the early days of

Mercantilism Mercantilism is a economic nationalism, nationalist economic policy that is designed to maximize the exports and minimize the imports of an economy. It seeks to maximize the accumulation of resources within the country and use those resources ...

= Archaeology Museum and Lapidarium

= The Archaeology museum and lapidarium is Located adjacent to the Planetary Garden and

Lapidarium A lapidarium is a place where stone (Latin: ) monuments and fragments of archaeological interest are exhibited. They can include stone epigraphy, epigraphs; statues; architectural elements such as columns, cornices, and acroterions; bas relief ...

at Schloss Eggenberg. It hosts an array of over 1200 objects from past social environments. The second largest archaeological collection of Austria unites evidence of human existence from "

prehistory Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use ...

with findings from

Classical Antiquity Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...

, the

Ancient Near East The ancient Near East was home to many cradles of civilization, spanning Mesopotamia, Egypt, Iran (or Persia), Anatolia and the Armenian highlands, the Levant, and the Arabian Peninsula. As such, the fields of ancient Near East studies and Nea ...

and

Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

. A unique attraction is the Cult Wagon of Strettweg, found among

grave goods Grave goods, in archaeology and anthropology, are items buried along with a body. They are usually personal possessions, supplies to smooth the deceased's journey into an afterlife, or offerings to gods. Grave goods may be classed by researche ...

from the

Hallstatt culture The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Western Europe, Western and Central European archaeological culture of the Late Bronze Age Europe, Bronze Age (Hallstatt A, Hallstatt B) from the 12th to 8th centuries BC and Early Iron Age Europe (Hallst ...

.It underwent an extensive restoration. One of the most significant Roman

stonemasonry Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using rock (geology), stone as the primary material. Stonemasonry is the craft of shaping and arranging stones, often together with Mortar (masonry), mortar ...

collections of the eastern

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

is in the adjacent

: 96 stones, including gravestones, monuments, medallions and round sculptures, three large remnants of

mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

floors as well as a prominent exhibit, the nearly three meter high grave

stele A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...

of L. Cantius. Akin to the archaeology museum is the Roman Museum of Flavia Solva near the southern Styrian town of Wagna. (see below)

= Museumsakademie Joanneum

= The Museumsakademie Joanneum encourages further education, training and research in

museology Museology (also called museum studies or museum science) is the study of museums. It explores the history of museums and their role in society, as well as the activities they engage in, including curating, preservation, public programming, and ed ...

museum planning Museum Planning is the creation of documents to describe a new museum’s vision, the visitor experience and an organizational plan for a new institution, or one undergoing a major expansion or change in focus. Museum plans may include some or all ...

, interpretive planning, exhibit design and museum management..It is headquartered in one of the Eggenberg garden houses and works with an international network of museums and local institutions including the University of Graz and the Graz University of Technology, It provides a platform and resources for discussions with international researchers in museology and museological theory in order to promote the continuing development of both the Joanneum and of museological practices and research around the world.

Exhibition houses

= Künstlerhaus Graz

= Opening in 1952, the Künstlerhaus Graz (Artists' House) has served for six decades as a venue for promoting contemporary artists from

. It is located between the Grazer Old Town and the University Quarter just outside Graz's only remaining Gothic city gate, the "''Burgtor''" (Castle Gate). It was erected under Frederick III, H.R.R. Künstlerhaus Graz provides a space for contemporary artists from in and around

to engage the public with their work. As part of the preparations for the city of Graz's tenure as the 2003

it was integrated into the Universalmuseum Joanneum and continues to serve this function.

= Kunsthaus Graz

= Kunsthaus Graz presents architecture, design, new media, CGI, film and photography under one roof. The "facility was dubbed "Friendly Alien" by its designers Peter Cook and Colin Fournier. It offers spectacular architecture and exhibitions by international, contemporary artists from the late 20th century onwards. A special highlight of this blob architecture building is the "Needle": a glass viewing platform that looks out across the Mur River towards the Graz city center and the Grazer Schlossberg. The BIX façade on the eastern (Mur) face of the KHG serves as an "urban screen" with 925 programmable fluorescent lamps that display messages and moving patterns of light on the surroundings.

Austrian Sculpture Park

More than 60 sculptures are embedded in a seven-hectare park with rose mounds, lotus blossom ponds and labyrinths on the southern outskirts of Graz. Since its founding in 2003, the Austrian Sculpture Park offers visitors a scenic overview of—mainly Austrian, but also international—contemporary sculpture and sculptural art as well as the rolling gardens of Swiss landscape architect Dieter Kienast. In 2008 the collection was extended by the donation of the ''Painting to Hammer a Nail in / Cross Version'' by artist

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono (, usually spelled in katakana as ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up in Tokyo and moved to New York ...

Throughout Styria

Roman Museum

Flavia Solva is the most significant

Roman era In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

find in modern-day

. It is located near a hill on the edge of the town of Wagna, overlooking the Mur River. The town developed near an existing settlement of

Celts The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...

centered on the nearby hill, the Frauenberg near

Leibnitz Leibnitz (; ) is a city in the Austrian States of Austria, state of Styria and on 1 Jan. 2023 had a population of 13,014. It is located to the south of the city of Graz, between the Mur (river), Mur and Sulm (Austria), Sulm rivers. The town is ...

. It gained full status as a Roman city by grant of a municipal charter by

Vespasian Vespasian (; ; 17 November AD 9 – 23 June 79) was Roman emperor from 69 to 79. The last emperor to reign in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for 27 years. His fiscal reforms and consolida ...

in 70 AD. The settlement expanded and the Celtic populations adopted Roman ways and technology. It offers a viewing platform and showroom built overlooking excavated Roman ruins. This museum offers visitors a glimpse into the everyday life, worship, and death cults of what was once the most cultured town of the Roman province of

Noricum Noricum () is the Latin name for the kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were the Danube to the north, R ...

Schloss Trautenfels

The

of Schloss Trautenfels is situated at the foot of the Grimming on a protruding cliff in the municipality Pürgg-Trautenfels. In the

the cliff protrusion held a small damn on the Enns River until the 16th century. In 1664 the area was bought by the Styrian provincial governor, Count Siegmund Friedrich von Trauttmansdorff and subsequently converted and expanded by him into an early

residence that bears his name. The staterooms feature both

and

frescoes and paintings as well as the Antler Room of the Counts of Lemberg, and the stunning Marble Hall all of which are open to visitors.

= Regional Landscape and Folkloristic Museum

= Beginning in the 1950s a concerted effort was made to collect objects relating to the natural and cultural history of the Ennstal region of Upper Styria and the Styrian

Salzkammergut The Salzkammergut (, ; ) is a resort area in Austria, stretching from the city of Salzburg eastwards along the Alpine Foreland and the Northern Limestone Alps to the peaks of the Dachstein Mountains. The main river of the region is the Traun (r ...

. Both the splendor of the landscape and the palace itself are on display. Objects of geological interest as well as the rural domestic life of the region are on display. The exhibition also displays exhibits recollecting the historic transitions and their impact on the people, such as the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

and

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...

. The permanent show collection presents about 1000 exhibits relating to both the land and the people over the course of history in of the Ennstal Valley as well as the Ausseerland from the Middle Ages to the early modern era.

Schloss Stainz

Schloss Stainz is a former Augustinian

Canons Regular The Canons Regular of St. Augustine are Catholic priests who live in community under a rule ( and κανών, ''kanon'', in Greek) and are generally organised into Religious order (Catholic), religious orders, differing from both Secular clergy, ...

monastery purchased by Archduke Johann in 1840 and remains in the estate of his heirs, the Counts of Meran. Various rooms, terraces and arcades are available to rent for private functions. The former monastery houses two collections:

= Hunting Museum

= The design of this exhibition treats the hunt as a historical, sociological and philosophical-ethical phenomenon. It offers the visitor a chance to examine the connections of hunting, ecology and nature. The

approach to this exhibition combines

animal trophies, historical tools and weapons, paintings and artwork with state-of-the-art technology and museum design to illustrate the development of the hunt from the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

through Roman times up to the time of nobles and the early days of the middle-class.

= Agriculture Museum

= The main focus of the agriculture collection is to show the rural farming,

husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, management, production, nutrition, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. ...

and

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

techniques prior to the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

as well as related implements and photographic evidence. Original room furnishings from the 17th and 18th centuries provide a view into the different dimensions of rural life in Styria. The open areas hold a smithy, a cabbage pit, herb garden, an orchard and a small field to demonstrate various aspects of this

pre-industrial Pre-industrial society refers to social attributes and forms of political and cultural organization that were prevalent before the advent of the Industrial Revolution, which occurred from 1750 to 1850. ''Pre-industrial'' refers to a time befor ...

, rural lifestyle.

Bibliography

* Van Uffelen, Chris. ''Contemporary Museums - Architecture, History, Collections'', Braun Publishing, 2010, , pages 132–141.
Restitutionsbericht Universalmuseum Joanneum, Graz 2010

References

Further information

* ''Das Joanneum – Österreichs Universalmuseum'' (2006) VDBy Günther Schilhan (director) and Helmut Gesslbauer (producer), Austria: ORF Steiermark * (English Edition) or (German Edition) * (English edition) * * * * ''Eggenberg – Geschichte und Alltag''. By Gerhard M. Dienes and Karl Kurbinzky et al. Graz: Stadtmuseum Graz, 1999. * * * * *

External links