Museum of history

Proud Styrian citizens created their own stages

Representative Gründerzeit buildings in Herrengasse(Bild: UMJ/Multimediale Sammlungen)

In the impressive exhibition "Stages of the Bourgeoisie", the Graz Museum of History shows how much society changed in the 19th century and how much this still influences us today.

The 19th century was the age of the bourgeoisie. Industrialization created new needs that changed hierarchies and coexistence, but also the appearance of cities. Ulrich Becker and Walter Feldbacher at the Graz Museum of History show the extent to which this period still shapes us today.

Curators Ulrich Becker (right) and Walter Feldbacher with museum director Bettina Habsburg-Lothringen.(Bild: UMJ/J. J. Kucek)

"Stages of the Bourgeoisie" is the title of the exhibition, and Styrian townspeople did indeed create numerous places of representation. Thanks to the new railroad, railroad stations were among the most important. They were magnificently decorated and were the gateway to the city.

The train station as a gateway to the city and to the exhibition.(Bild: UMJ/J. J. Kucek)

In the Museum of History, they are also the gateway to the exhibition tour, which highlights not only the status symbols of the bourgeoisie, but also their prestigious meeting places. Theaters (even in small towns) and opera houses were among them, as were coffee houses, restaurants and grand hotels.

Magnificently decorated functional buildings
"It was a time of engineers and decorators," Becker sums it up. Every functional building was magnificently designed, craftsmanship was upgraded and showpieces could be found in the new museums (the Joanneum also dates from this period).

But the citizens were not only concerned with representation. They were investors when it came to the railroads and conquered trade with multi-storey department stores. For the first time, there were fixed prices and catalogs. The modern organizational structure and hierarchies still have an impact today - and not just in phrases like "Come back soon".

Early Kastner catalogs(Bild: UMJ/J. J. Kucek)

Birth of the local emperors
The bourgeoisie also conquered education: The Technical University was established at this time, as were many schools. Numerous towns were given town halls at the time. "It was the birth of the local emperors," emphasizes Becker. Journalism was also a child of the 19th century, with newspaper editorial offices springing up everywhere. And there was suddenly free time to be used. Spas, parks and sports clubs were founded, and summer resorts revitalized the Alps and the upper Adriatic.

Sports equipment from the 19th century(Bild: UMJ/J. J. Kucek)

Self-confident to the last
Even the last path was upgraded: Families erected pompous crypts and funerary monuments. In the epilogue of the exhibition, designed by Robert Rüf and Larissa Cerny and well worth seeing, Stefan Zweig has his say with his "World of Yesterday".

The "Stages of the Bourgeoisie" can be seen from February 14 to November 2 at the Graz Museum of History.