Preservation of the Historic Town of Graz

The protection of the historic city centre of the Styrian capital has been institutionalised since 1974 and is laid down in the Styrian State Law on the Preservation of the Historic Town of Graz (Landesgesetz zur Grazer Altstadterhaltung, GAEG 2008) as amended. It attaches special value to the assets of building culture in the designated protection zones that are rooted in history, and to their preservation for future generations.

The efforts to protect the historic city centre of Graz aim to preserve the valuable and historically grown urban structure, its monuments - their building fabric and aesthetics - and the various urban functions; they are also designed to promote special architectural design quality when construction work is carried out on existing buildings.

The focus of these efforts is on preserving the external features and characteristics not only of the individual monuments, but also of ensembles, neighbourhoods and the whole cityscape that is of historic significance.