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Offered languages
- German
- English
Graz Under National Socialism
Walk the streets where one of Austria's darkest chapters unfolded. This self-guided audio tour traces Graz's role during the Nazi era and the Second World War — from the Anschluss and the persecution of Jewish and political communities, to the Allied bombing raids that left scars still visible today. Hear the personal stories behind the buildings and squares you pass, told with the historical depth this period demands. A serious walk, at your own pace.
How It Works
No human person for guiding (tourguide), this is self-guided audio tour. You use your own smartphone to navigate and listen. No app download is required—just click the access link in your ticket to begin instantly. This route explores the free public sights, so no entrance tickets are needed or included.
Tour Details
* Duration: 2h walking, 30m audio
* Stops: 8
* Start: Am Eisernen Tor
* End: Uhrturm Graz
* Languages: EN, DE
What's Included
Meeting and pickup
Please note: There is no human person (tourguide) to meet you here. Simply open the link provided in your ticket on your smartphone to start the audio guide and navigation entirely on your own.
Optional: You don't have to make the climb!
Itinerary
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1Am eisernen Tor
A gilded Baroque column to the Virgin Mary marks the southern gateway into Graz's old town. In 1938 the National Socialist regime sheathed it in a towering propaganda obelisk to crown the city it had named 'City of the People's Uprising'.
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
2Church of the Franciscans (Franziskanerkirche)
A medieval friary church whose narrow Gothic chancel was gutted by an Allied bomb in the last winter of the war. Its tall tower still rises over the old town as a quiet witness to the destruction of 1945.
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
3Altstadt von Graz
The medieval heart of Graz, framed by the grand Rathaus and the bronze Archduke Johann Fountain. In 1938 this square became a stage for Nazi mass rallies and was renamed Adolf-Hitler-Platz.
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
4
The grand artery of the old town, lined with arcaded shops and the Renaissance Landhaus, the seat of Styrian power. It also runs through the heart of what was once Graz's Jewish quarter, whose community was shattered in 1938.
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
5Grazer Burg
A late-Gothic ducal residence begun for Friedrich III in 1438, today the seat of the Styrian provincial government. Under National Socialism the same halls of power housed the apparatus of Gauleiter Siegfried Uiberreither.
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
6
The building beside the Paulustor that housed the Graz Gestapo from 1938 to 1945, where thousands were interrogated and tortured. Today only a small plaque in the inner courtyard of the police detention centre marks what happened here.
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
7Schlossberg
A network of more than six kilometres of tunnels driven into the hill above you, dug from 1943 onward by prisoners of war and forced labourers to shelter Graz from Allied bombs. Today people glide through the rock in a glass lift, but the stone remembers the hands that hewed it.
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
8Uhrturm
The beloved clock tower crowning the Schlossberg, where the people of Graz once paid a ransom to save it from demolition. From the summit, the whole rebuilt city spreads out beneath you.
10 minutes • Admission ticket free
Additional info
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Tags
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Cancellation Policy
- For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
- If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
- Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
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