Schloßberg
The view from the summit of Graz's midtown mountain takes in the city and much of central Styria. A zigzagging stone staircase, beginning at Schlossbergplatz, leads to the top. It's 260 steps, so you may prefer to use the Schlossbergbahn funicular railway ( Kaiser-Franz-Josef-Kai 38 €3) or a 30-second elevator ride through the rock face ( Schlossbergplatz €2.20). The Schlossberg, a Romanesque castle with Gothic elements turned Renaissance fortress, constitutes only a portion of this site, and is one of the few places not conquered by Napoléon. A few steps east of the funicular station at the top is the Glockenturm (bell tower), an octagonal structure from 1588 containing Styria's largest bell, the four-ton Liesl, in the upper belfry. Its 101 chimes resound three times daily, at 7 am, noon, and 7 pm. The Open-Air Theater, to the north, is built into the old casements of the castle and has a retractable roof. Both opera and theater performances are presented here in summer. There are ruins of the older structure, and many a modern café here, too.
