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Graz (formerly also Gracz, Greze, Grätz or Bayrisch-Grätz) is the capital of Styria and with 292,630 inhabitants the second largest city in the Republic of Austria. The city is located on both sides of the Mur River in the Graz Basin. With 642,134 inhabitants (as of 2020),[2] the metropolitan region of Graz is the third largest metropolitan region in Austria after the metropolitan regions of Vienna and Linz. The Graz metropolitan area has been the fastest growing metropolitan area in Austria over the past decade.

The Grazer Feld was a densely populated agricultural landscape in Roman imperial times. In the 6th century, a castle was built here, from which the name Graz is derived (Slovenian gradec means small castle). Graz received its coat of arms in 1245. From 1379 to 1619, the city was a Habsburg residence and resisted several Ottoman attacks during this period. In 2003 Graz was the European Capital of Culture; in 2015 it became the European Reformation City.

Graz has developed into a university city with a total of nearly 60,000 students (as of January 2, 2017). It was chosen as the Human Rights City and is the winner of the Europe Prize. The old town of Graz and Eggenberg Palace have been UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1999 and 2010, respectively. Graz is the episcopal see of the diocese of Graz-Seckau. Since March 2011, Graz has been part of the Creative Cities Network as a UNESCO City of Design.