GRATZ, or GRAZ, is the name of an ancient town in the duchy of Styria, situated on the river Muehre. The town of Gratz is well built, the streets spacious and well laid out, and the houses, which are almost all of stone, are neat and commodious. The town, properly so called, is very small, and is surrounded with walls, ditches, and 'fortifications; but the suburbs are very large, and have lately increased with rapidity. The suburbs lie round the town like distinct villages, and are intermingled with gardens and vineyards. The citadel is situated within the town, on a very steep hill, about 600 or 700 feet above the level of the river, and has a well communicating with the Muehre. It was once a place of considerable strength ; but it has been so much neglected, that in the year 1797, it offered no resistance upon the approach of the French. One of the principal objects of interest at Gratz is the imperial mausoleum of Ferdinand II. who was born in this town in 1578. The architecture is not in the best style; but its interior is richly ornamented with sculpture. The life of the Emperor Leopold is represented on the roof, in several emblematic paintings. On the top of the mausoleum is an observatory, which was once well fur nished with astronomical instruments. The cfnperor's second son John Charles, and Mary Anne, Duchess of Bavaria, his consort, are buried along with Ferdinand in the circular chapel in the lower part of the mausoleum.
The assembly-room and the theatre, which are both tinder one roof, form a very extensive building. The
arsenal, the house of the states, and the private residen ces of the Count Sauran, Loibel, and Wermbrand, are the other buildings deserving of notice. The castle, which was formerly the residence of the Dukes of Styria, is now the dwelling of the governors, and the seat of the regency. The house in which Bonaparte resided is very spacious, and is now shown as one of the curiosities of the town. Gratz is the see of a bishop, who generally resides at it about eight months in the year.
At no great distance from the town are several hand some villages, and the intermediate space between them and the suburbs is covered by country houses, large and small, farm houses, and detached cottages, so that the whop, of this tract, when seen from the citadel, forms a rich and pleasing picture, and not only occupies a plain of above 13 square miles, but encroaches even upon the neighbouring hills. These hills are of a moderate height, and are partly covered with wood, and partly occupied with fields, vineyarils, and meadows, up to their very sum mits. The population of Gratz has been stated in some statistical tables at 40,000; but it probably does not exceed 33,000. The population of the circle of Gratz, one of the five circles of Styria, is 296,424. East Longitude, ac cording to accurate observations, 15° 27' 15", North Lati tude 47' 4' 9". See STYRIA.