Palais Dietrichstein, Graz

The Palais Dietrichstein is a former city palace in Graz’s Innere Stadt district, standing in Burggasse at number nine. Its origins go back to the 16th century, when the Herberstein family first owned the building. Later the Galler family took possession before the Dietrichsteins held it from 1635 to 1803 and gave it the name it still carries. After 1827 the Fraydenegg family became owners, followed in 1879 by the Conrads. The palace therefore reflects more than three centuries of aristocratic life in the city. Architect Joseph Hueber redesigned the three-storey structure in 1785, creating a staircase hall with a fine stucco ceiling and wrought-iron balustrade completed between 1770 and 1775. This space marks the shift from Rococo to Classicism. The grand hall on the third floor has a barrel vault adorned with frescoes of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, attributed to Franz Stainpichler. Rich stucco ornament in leaf, ribbon and lattice patterns further enriches the room. Visitors today find the palace’s main staircase and upper hall preserved exactly as Hueber conceived them. The plasterwork and ironwork remain in place, showing the refined craftsmanship of the late 18th century. The building’s layered history can still be read in its walls, from the original 16th-century core to the later embellishments. It stands as a quiet witness to Graz’s aristocratic past in the heart of the old town.