Universalmuseum Joanneum

The Universalmuseum Joanneum spreads across Graz and other Styrian towns, uniting art, science and history under one roof. Its oldest core sits in Graz’s Neutorgasse, where a neobaroque building from the 1890s holds natural-science galleries. Nearby, the Lesliehof houses the Museum of Nature and Science in refurbished rooms. A single underground entrance now links both buildings, creating a continuous route through the collections. The museum began in 1811 when Archduke Johann opened Austria’s first public museum with his private coin cabinet and mineral collection. Friedrich Mohs devised his hardness scale here, and Franz Unger pioneered plant science in its lecture halls. After the Second World War the institution examined its wartime acquisitions and returned looted art to Jewish heirs. Today it employs about 500 staff and cares for more than 4.5 million objects across thirteen departments. Visitors can walk through the Styrian Armory, where 32,000 weapons and suits of armour fill a 17th-century depot. The Folkloric Museum in the Paulustor gate displays rural costumes, photographs and a reconstructed smoking room. The History Museum in the Herberstein Palace shows ducal treasures, a stone coat of arms from Graz Castle and the ducal hat. Temporary exhibitions and the Baroque state rooms add fresh layers to the permanent displays.